Posted By Keith Hendricks on January 17, 2013

This is the penultimate Batman issue in the Death of the Family storyline, and it is amped up with a climactic battle in the lead story, “Castle of Cards,” by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Having entered Arkham Asylum, Batman passes through a gauntlet of death traps, henchmen, and supervillains. Our hero disposes of the supervillains with such economy of movement that one wonders how they bedeviled him in the past. When Batman gets within batarang distance of The Joker, the latter’s sense of theater and showmanship leads to a masterful stalemate that sets up the next issue. In the backup story, “Judgment,” by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Jock, The Joker retires his hired help and indulges his penchant for monologuing. As this is not the final chapter, the last panels summon all our suspense by having The Joker present a covered dish, asking the reader to speculate as to what cannibal entree it contains. At the end, we know less than we did before we started. Just as in The Court of Owls, the first arc of the New 52 Batman line, we find ourselves in a story that owes more to detective fiction than superhero comics.

Detective fiction, like physics, loves a Schroedinger’s cat. Any object or character that invites multiple interpretations increases our enjoyment of a good detective book, as we participate with it by means of our own speculation; Snyder has given us at least three in Death of the Famly: 1) the Joker’s skin mask; 2) the covered dish; 3) the absence of Alfred. Is Alfred alive or is he dead? What (or who) is in the covered dish? Can we even contemplate on what lies under the mask? Until the last act, each issue of a Snyder story is a circular event that brings you back for numerous rereadings.

Capullo stages the narrative with a lyrical line that not only adapts to express each mood as it occurs, but also gives each emotion staying power through causes that foreshadow and effects that linger. Like Batman, his art moves with an economy of style. On the first page of this issue, he depicts two men dancing by mostly drawing hands–no toes, no feet, not any legwork at all. His images are arcane, and have a power of suggestion all their own. While he is a consummate cartoonist, his studied approach one-ups realistic art styles: clothes, even Batman’s costume, bunch up, fold and crease.

From Batman #16; Art by Greg Capullo

If you have not been reading Batman, you should drop everything and buy the past sixteen issues as soon as humanly possible. You are missing the best Batman creative team in the past forty years.

Categories: Comics, Reviews
Tags: Alfred, Batman, Death of the Family, Greg Capullo, James Tynion IV, Jock, Scott Snyder, The Court of Owls, The Joker