Gary Collinson reviews Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls…
“After a series of deadly discoveries, Bruce Wayne has learned that the Court of Owls is real — and a deadly threat out to control Gotham City! Unleashing their deadly assassins known as the Talons, Batman must stop the insidious Court of Owls before they claim the city for their own. In doing so, The Dark Knight will uncover dark secrets — not just about the city he’s sworn to protect, but about the history of the Wayne family.“
Writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo have been earning rave reviews for their run on DC’s flagship Batman title, and now the second volume of ‘The Court of Owls’ is brought together in hardback form with the release of Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls, which collects issues #8-12 of the ongoing series, as well as Batman Annual #1.
Before we get into the review, a word of caution: if you’ve bought last month’s Batman: The Night of the Owls hardcover (which collected the entire ‘Night of the Owls’ crossover stories from each of DC’s monthly Bat-titles) then as good as The City of Owls is, you’re going to have to think twice about making a purchase here. Including the annual, three of the issues contained here have already been published in The Night of the Owls, which is over half of the book’s 208 pages. Maybe you’d be better off tracking down back issues of Batman #10-12 instead. However, if you skipped Batman: The Night of the Owls or have extremely deep pockets, then Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls should certainly be high on your list of priorities.
Having built up the whole ‘Court of Owls’ storyline from the very first issue of the relaunched series, Snyder delivers a satisfying payoff in this second volume, channeling Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Hush by introducing a major new villain whilst simultaneously expanding the rich back-story of the Caped Crusader. The main story follows on directly from Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls, as the mysterious Owl-obsessed cabal attempts to take control of Gotham by unleashing an army of undead assassins upon the city’s most influential citizens. Of course this includes a certain Bruce Wayne, who fends off an attack on Wayne Manor before setting out to bring down the Court once and for all – a path that ultimately leads the Dark Knight to a long-buried family secret, and one which forces him to question everything he holds true about his childhood.
Complimenting the main story is the New 52 introduction of Mr. Freeze, ‘First Snow’, from Batman Annual #1; written by Snyder and James Tynion with fantastic artwork from Jason Fabok, ‘First Snow’ occurs during the Night of the Owls and adds a new twist to the now-familiar origin story from Batman: The Animated Series’ classic episode ‘Heart of Ice’. While it’s certainly no ‘Heart of Ice’, for me ‘First Snow’ is the highlight of the collection, although it has to be said that its placement midway through the book does interrupt the flow of the main story. Meanwhile, Tynion also contributes to the backup story ‘The Fall of the House of Wayne’, which is drawn by Rafael Albuquerque and delves in to the secret history of Bruce’s early childhood courtesy of a letter of warning from Jarvis Pennyworth to his son Alfred, while the collection is rounded out by another Snyder / Tynion collaboration, ‘Ghost in the Machine’, with Becky Cloonan becoming the first female artist to draw the main Batman title as the teenage tech whizz Harper Row is introduced to the DC universe.
As I said at the start of this review, if you haven’t picked up Batman: The Night of the Owls and have little interest in what’s going on outside of the main Batman title, then this second volume is a must-buy (although if you’re new to the New 52, you’ll want to make sure you read Vol. 1 first). There may be an air of familiarity about some of the proceedings in the main arc, especially with regards to this new villain, but aside from a few small niggles, Batman Vol. 2: The Court of Owls is a quality collection and one that’s sure to please any self-respecting Dark Knight fan.
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
Originally published March 24, 2013. Updated April 12, 2018.
