Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batman #22
DC Comics
Snyder, Capullo & Miki
Year Zero continues to roll forward as a young Bruce Wayne comes to understand the role he will play in the shaping of Gotham through some trial and error. What appears to be the first big threat continues to play Bruce well as it is clear Bruce has the vision but isn't quite done finalizing the approach. It's a good read that contains one excellent sequence. I'm not sold on the chief villain but we will see how this all shapes up in the coming issues.
Bruce Wayne confronts the Red Hood in a blimp to open the issue. The key to remember is that Batman doesn't exist yet and Bruce Wayne is using disguises to hide his identity. The other piece to understand is that the city of Gotham believes Bruce to be dead.
Bruce does his best to protect his identity from Hood but this handicaps him into fleeing the blimp before capturing Hood. Bruce then deals with a confrontation with Alfred and then his Uncle and finally Edward Nygma.
The sequence with Nygma is the highlight of the issue as Bruce gets his first taste of Nygma's riddles. The meeting feels oddly out of place in the book but the playful confrontation is a welcome one.
The book struggles with the relationship between Alfred and Bruce. There is too much friction and without some feeling of respect I can't help but question why either party elects to stick with the other. This needs to be moved in a better direction because it plays out much too awkwardly for anyone that feels they understand these characters and their relationship.
The other component of the book that is difficult to truly embrace is that of the Red Hood. His criminal assets are good and logical, but he just doesn't seem to be something the police would have trouble dealing with on the level of a Joker or a Bane. Time will tell with this plot device.
The book excels with the art of deception though. Snyder is very good at faking out the reader in a number of spots in the book and it is definitely not an easy task to accomplish. Snyder shows great command in telling a good story in so many aspects.
Capullo does a knockout job on art. His single best page is one between Bruce and Nygma. I do not want to spoil it but it appears to be an ad or something at first as there is only a small amount of space used, on a black page, for words and illustrations, but it is very, very clever. He has other little nuggets in the book, such as the "R" on Bruce's cap and the smirk Bruce gives Alfred during their discussion. Overall, I loved the art in the comic.
Year One is a slow burn but this issue feels very dense and that helps make the issue feel fulfilling and entertaining despite only being Part Two of the story. I like the idea of Bruce running around fighting crime as something other than Batman and that is what we have here. If only Snyder can work through the characterization growing pains and we will another classic on our hands. I recommend picking this issue up.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
