and analyses crimes at the police station whereas Batman is illegitimate and does his work from the Batcave. The colours used to illustrate Lincoln March and Bruce Wayne in this issue tells us even more about the thought that went into this story that the reader will only be able to see once they have read the entire story. From one perspective, Lincoln wearing white and Bruce wearing black can symbolise the White Knight, Dark Knight analogy used in Nolan’s movie The Dark Knight to describe Harvey Dent. Lincoln is the legitimate future of Gotham whereas Bruce is its dark present. The panels near the end of the issue are portrayed in a manner that really makes you feel like you are fall ing also. It is something that this book does so well: it makes you feel what Batman is feeling. Issue Three is where I think we really start to see the creative team play with the medium’s conventions and it all works so well. This issue is all about making the reader feel that the Owls are everywhere and the way that certain panels have been presented does this brilliantly. It gives the impression that often someone is listening in on the conversations of Bruce and Alfred for example. Capullo uses the talon’s eyes to show other buildings of interest. Once you have read the entire arc you will also notice that the Owls are watching in more ways than one, constantly keeping an eye on Batman. Further they continue to show
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the contrast between Bruce and Lincoln. Bruce is still wearing dark colours and seems to remain in the shadows or has the light beaming around him to illustrate his own darkness, whereas Lincoln has lighter colours around him. By the time you get to the fourth issue, you will be completely hooked. The groundwork has been laid and the end of Issue Three has you ready for more. This issue continues where the last left off: with a bang, throwing you straight into the action. Snyder’s dialogue continues to build on the notion that the owls are everywhere and that the city Batman thought was his is anything but the truth. Maybe my favourite pages of this issue are the flashbacks where old note pages, Gotham maps and the like are used as backdrops to what is happening. The colours used add a mood that feels like we have journeyed back in time. They add a style to them, a certain noir flavour that is perfect for Batman. Issue Five is simply phenomenal. It is up there with The Amazing Spider-man issue 33 as one of the best issues I have ever read, if not the best ever issue. The issue completely revolves around Batman losing his mind as the Owls have poisoned him. Snyder and Capullo’s story would have been brilliant on its own but the techniques they use to show his fall to madness are just exceptional. The pages actually turn so that we as readers have to turn the book in
order to read what is happening. This continues every couple of pages as it focuses in on Batman. This technique really makes the reader feel like they are going quite mad also. The jagged panels help to build this feeling of uneasiness. Further the use of colour really works well here. They have Batman skulking in the shadows as everything on the page is covered in darkness. Then suddenly the next page is glimmeringly bright, with as much white on the page as possible. The issue plays out like a good quality horror film as Batman falls further and further to the Owls. It truly takes the reader on Batman’s journey like no comic has really done before. Issue Six continues using the shock changes of colour. What is most clever about this issue is that Snyder and Capullo manage to make us feel like Batman is in true jeopardy. We know that this cannot be the end and yet we cannot see a way that he can get out of the fix he is in. It reminds you of how you felt as a child at the end of a good cliffhanger, desperate to know how the hero will fight back. This is the freshness that this team has brought to this book. There is a beautiful symmetry with Batman’s early years and his escape from The Court. Breaking through into a cave and falling down the hole is just like the initial thought of the character in Batman’s head. Issue Seven continues this theme. We see a flashback of Bruce Wayne seeing the bat
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