Batman #35

By Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki and Fco

What can you say about Batman that hasn’t already been said? Really and truly this has been a career defining, character defining and, dare it be said, reboot refining series from the very first issue. How about the recent news that Snyder and Capullo fought, and won, with the DC brass over a suggested price increase? That’s right, DC Comics wanted Batman to be regularly $4.99, something that all fans seemed to be against, and these creators fought for us to keep it back at $3.99. That doesn’t happen often and considering the amount of extra money generated by an increase like that, it’s fantastic to see. So, bravo gentlemen; we, the fans, salute you.

With that out of the way, let’s take about Endgame. Snyder has something big cooking here and once again looks to put ol’ Bats to the test. This time, though, it’s not against somebody like the Riddler or Two-Face, it’s against his fellow Justice Leaguers. We get to see the ultimate tactician use his knowledge of everybody’s weaknesses to stop them from, well, killing him. Adding little bits like a section where Batman is watching Wonder Woman attack him and in the heat of the moment he notices that while she’s not holding back, she’s slower than usual is just great. It’s a little box that says so much about Batman and how prepared he is for something like this to happen.

Take nothing away from Scott Snyder as we dive into art, because he puts just as much time and effort into his end of things, but Greg Capullo man. Greg f’n Capullo. This guy literally bleeds into the pages that he spends hours crafting, and it shows. Look at his design for this Justice League Buster armor that he’s created. Just look at it! The hits of a bat, the scale of it; everything about it is just perfect and he makes it seem so easy. Another great thing about this issue and, quite possibly, Endgame in general is that we get to see Capullo draw characters like the Flash (a personal favorite) and, boy, does he nail that scene. The scene crafted by Snyder and then executed by Capullo is so brilliant, and so well done that those few panels alone could challenge a lot of the books out there right now. It’s that good.

Add to Capullo’s work the team of Danny Miki (inker) and Fco (colorist) and you’ve got yourself a dream team. Miki really adds to Capullo’s pencil work and it’s clear that these two just keep getting better and better at working as a team. For the finishing touches, Fco, who impressed big time with the last Zero Year arc, keeps up his high caliber coloring with great choices on the armor and, of course, the Flash sequence. If only there was some way to clone this team and get them to work on more books…

Look, you pretty much know what you’re going to get when you pick up an issue of Batman; after three years, at least, you’d better. The fact that the team keeps getting better and keeps stepping up their game is something you might not except. Some creative teams can get complacent or lazy as their run drags on, but not this one. It’s hard to believe that these guys can still blow you away, even with just one issue, but they do. There’s a reason this is the one of the top books month after month and all credit goes to the names on the cover. If you aren’t reading Batman (and you’d be stupid not to) start here with Endgame; I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.