Batman #41 Review

Writer: Scott Snyder / Art: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki / DC Comics You know, comic traditionalists like to whine a lot about how comics should stay the same forever and ever, but if we’re honest with ourselves, the only way we get some classics elements we love in comics is through change. I mean, Batman wasn’t always a gruff talking badass from the start. At one point, he was a nice guy. He was….well, Adam West. Just let that sink in before you rush to judgment about this fresh coat of paint Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are putting on the Dark Knight. Batman #41 picks up some time after the original Bat’s presumed “death” (oh, please) when we’re told in different ways by different characters that it’s a new era in Gotham City. And so, to fill the void left by its greatest hero, city turns to someone else to be the kind of protector it needs/deserve. For those of you that don’t know (even though it was announced two months ago, I have been sent an editorial mandate about spoi. lers, so….), I won’t spoil the new Batman’s identity, but it’s definitely someone that Snyder has been re-establishing as part of Gotham’s foundation as much as (if not moreso than) Bruce Wayne himself.

It’s nice to see longstanding characters get unexpected upgrades that, in some ways, seem long overdue. If you go into this issue expecting an omega level threat that has Gotham on the brink of disaster like we’ve seen from Snyder in the past, you won’t find it here. However, that’s not really the po…