All Star Batman #14 Review

Writers: Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Rafael Scavone / Artists: Rafael Albuquerque, Sebastian Fiumara / DC Comics As it is, All Star Batman has been a relentless action romp that takes Batman globetrotting while taking on the biggest and baddest of his rogues gallery. But the First Ally storyline has been maybe the most hardcore story the book has had to offer. Not only has it taken Batman through the wringer but it’s been an amazing look into Alfred’s backstory. With the book coming to a close, Scott Snyder is clearly trying to finish strong. Issue #14 juggles the final confrontation between Batman and the mysterious new Nemesis with more looks into Alfred’s past as a British covert operative. I doubt there’s any other Batman writer that has taken so much page time to develop Alfred and after almost ten years of Snyder’s watch on this franchise, there’s nobody else I’d trust as much to develop what has classically been a static character. This story arc and, ultimately, this issue proves that my trust has not been misplaced. It takes much more than someone who vacuums and makes sandwiches for his “kids” to be as involved in Batman’s crusade for justice. By the time you’ve finished this issue, you definitely have a much more detailed picture of the kind of person it takes to ride or die with Bruce over the years. Snyder’s script seems to move at 100 mph, hitting you in the face with so much action and storyline simultaneously, it’s easily the most kinetic of the three s…