Is It Good? Batman #30 Review

The final part of Zero Year, Savage City is here. As Gotham changes once more, Batman is going to have his work cut out for him. Is it good?

Batman #30 (DC Comics)

After the events of Dark City’s conclusion, Bruce Wayne wakes from a coma and finds himself in a whole new Gotham, which is under the control of the Riddler now. There are few people left to stand up to him under this harsh rule, but now is the right time for a hero. A hero named Batman perhaps?

Will someone give him a challenge so he just shuts up already?

Batman #30 seemed a nice start to the final act of Zero Year, although reminiscent of the very start of this long arc. That is, very heavy on the dialogue and setup and trying to establish the new status quo — which ultimately slowed things down quite a bit. The setup for the arc is intriguing of course and I’m very curious to see where the story goes in the final issues, but it didn’t doesn’t get you real pumped like say, the beginning of Dark City due to the slower narrative and lack excitement (corny and cartoonish excitement mind you) until the very end of the issue. Also, if you saw The Dark Knight Rises, prepare for some big flashbacks, along with No Man’s Land as well.

Snyder’s writing is fine overall. While it certainly is dialogue heavy, none of it is outlandish or awkward and the more monologue heavy moments make sense, especially with the Riddler (given the nature of his character). There’s some nice humor interjected at points as well, one that even got a big laugh out of me. The pace is slow going as the story develops its new world, though reads fine, the transitions work, and the slow pace definitely works more in the quieter and reflective moments. Characterization is pretty great here though with Batman and Jim Gordon, especially in the finale of the issue. It really does make you look forward to them teaming up next issue.

Hey….that glass gives me an idea for a cool logo.

The artwork is what we’ve come to expect from Greg Capullo at this point in the series. It’s very high quality, with excellent penciling, inking, and coloring. The characters look fantastic and easily distinguishable from one another, the layouts are solid overall, the backgrounds and locations are lively and beautiful looking, the action is fun (though more on the questionable side this issue), and there is some great imagery here. If you have been enjoying the artwork before, I don’t see why you would start disliking it now.

Is It Good?

Batman #30 is a decent, but could be better start to Savage City. It’s slow going with its world building and very dialogue heavy at the start, but the promise and potential so far is strong and makes you really want to see what comes next. If you are in this far, there’s no reason to give up now in this small bump in the road.