Batman #30 Review

 

I am Legend.

Scott Snyder lets loose his wild side as we see Gotham overrun and returned to nature, courtesy the Riddler.

And Capullo is brilliant as ever, though Gotham still seems unnaturally sunny (where’s my dark Gotham?).

SPOILERS FOLLOW…………..

Julie, I’m home! We first get a flashback/dream sequence to Bruce Wayne playing truant with Julie Madison (who was his first love interest back in 1939) until it is interrupted by his meshing it with his mother’s bloody forehead.

The map, reminiscent of No Man’s Land, gives a great overview of Gotham.

As Bruce wakes up (and we get a Robin symbol etched glass? Can someone tell me why it’s there?), he finds himself on drip and in the room of a crossword enthusiast Duke Thomas.

Zero Year has literally arrived as Riddler has thrown out the calendar and is claiming his radical makeover of Gotham as the beginning of a new era.

Gotham resembles a jungle clashing with a lost town (mostly thanks to Riddler using Pamela Isley's work on vegetation). The level of detail here is amazing. Every nook, every crevice – it’s all drawn with such a gentle and loving touch.

And amid that, is a full on bearded Jim Gordon. The time has passed, as we see Gordon is truly alone in his efforts.

Bruce uses the phone to call Alfred, who we find disheveled (but strangely inactive during Gotham’s plight?) and relieved to hear Bruce is alive.

There still seems to be an unknown here – Riddler’s supplier. Gotham is now off limits to outsiders and it’s a trap for anyone inside. Nygma has established a rule that if anyone can give him a riddle he can’t answer, he’ll let Gotham go.

One man rises as a challenger and fails. And Snyder is exacting in his denouncement. Capullo isn’t the only one who’s great on details.

Meanwhile we learn that Bruce left his costume behind during the fall of Gotham and it now hangs as a warning to any ‘heroes’. Alfred urges him to let the force use his resources, but this falls on deaf ears.

A group of commandos arrive on the spot Gordon has marked as a blind spot, but they are quickly discovered and an attempt to bargain fails. This gives rise to a beautiful (or terrifying, your choice) sequence – the Riddler drops buildings in a brutal attempt at life sized domino play, while cornering them in by Riddlerbots.

The Riddler provides them with a clue to disable the robots, but it takes Batman’s arrival to stop them and provide a means for escape by collapsing a water tower to be used as a bridge.

Gordon introduces the commandos to his friend – the godd*** Batman!

SPOILERS END………………..

Excellent artwork combined with a free flowing Snyder give us a great issue which acts as an introduction to a Riddler styled Gotham.

This is something quite novel, not quite No Mans Land or anything else I’ve seen Gotham go through so far (especially since Poison Ivy’s been so underused since the New 52 started).

So, I give it 9.0 out of 10

+Excellent character work for Riddler

+Gotham looks beautifully savage

+A nice introduction to Riddler’s Gotham

+Some excellent riddles.

+Great attention to details

-Alfred feels out-of-character

-Gotham is too sunny