Batman #43

By Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, FCO Plascencia

Month after month, these reviews continue to sing the praises of Snyder and Capullo. Every Batman review consists of gushing over how these guys continue to find new things to do with a 76-year-old character and this review is going to be more of the same. It’s really difficult to figure out how they do it; these guys are on a whole other level.

Issue 43 shifts the narrative a bit to focus on Bruce Wayne and his current standings. This is easily one of the most interesting looks at Batman since R.I.P. Bruce is different; he’s happy and clearly doesn’t feel compelled to dress up like a bat and punch out criminals. It’s a captivating angle to go with, especially since Snyder achieves this by creating more ways to look at the character. How does he do that? Well, by taking away his driving force and reason for being Batman. It’s a really weird direction to go with, but this Bruce Wayne is just as captivating as he was in Batman: The Animated Series.

Unfortunately, all of this means that Gordon had to sit in the backseat. Gordon as Batman has been a lot of fun, so it was a bit of a bummer not to see his character arc progress further. Characters like Bruce and Clark Kent, in a really great guest role, steal the show. Of course, it wouldn’t be Batman without some great villains. This new Mr. Bloom character hasn’t been explained or revealed in any significant way, but he closes out the issue in terrifying fashion. It looks like Batman’s villains might be getting another solid addition.

Capullo works his magic (of course) in what can only be described as a crash course in modern superhero storytelling. Oh, and Batman/Gordon uses sharks to even the odds against some thugs. Thanks to Capullo, and inker Danny Miki, Gordon looks like a baller while doing it. Mr. Capullo also manages to change things up, by using abstract shots of flowers while Mr. Bloom is ranting (as villains have been known to do). With FCO Plascencia’s colors looking brighter and better than ever, these are panels that can really hypnotize you into submission.

This entire creative team consists of genetic freaks, grown in a lab for the sole purpose of writing powerful Batman stories. Or, at least, I think that’s true. Either way, go buy Batman.