Review of Batman: Court of Owls – The Complete Saga 1

ECC Ediciones presents Court of Owls, the first of two volumes containing the entire Batman saga, written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Greg Capullo.

Throughout Batman’s history we experience great milestones both in and out of continuity, long and short. Frank Miller reimagined the character through his rise and fall, Alan Moore gave us unforgettable numbers in which he addressed the nature of his greatest nemesis, and Tom King put all of his skills into a long-lasting and impressive take. But it would be extremely unfair to leave Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s incredible work, a true comic book blockbuster, off this list.

Now ECC Ediciones recovers the entire platform in two volumes, the first of which comes to us under the title Batman: The Court of Owls – The Complete Saga 1.

The architecture of Gotham City and the amazing nature of the cape and cow

Before Scott Snyder took over the regular Bat-Man series, he could already see the path the screenwriter would take in his work with the character. The city, its people and its history will be the pillars on which your platform will be built. And this makes a lot of sense when we think about the history he has developed in the more than fifty cases that he has taken on, what he has been to Gotham City, what buys him in the shadows and how he has affected him. Fillable characters.

To complement the original and bold vision Snyder brings to the series, it takes a touch of the awesomeness of a man who transforms an environment where Batman’s fate hides into darkness and madness. In each corner, the contribution of greatness in action scenes that act as hinges in the plan. Fortunately, Greg Capullo is best known for his work up until that point as Todd McFarlane’s clone in Spawn, and here we see him grow wildly as an artist, starting at the top and ending up in the stratosphere.

Court of Owls

The audio’s title may cause confusion, as it would be more appropriate to say “Snyder and Capullo’s Batman” or something similar that doesn’t give the impression that a specific story is being developed, rather than an entire platform. However, it is easy to understand why the title was chosen, and the Court of Owls is a significant contribution of these authors to the legend of the character.

It is a secret society made up of socialists from ancient families, with secret bases in Gotham City, that has existed for at least four hundred years. They run the city’s politics and business from the shadows and employ experienced assassins (Claws) to eliminate unwanted threats unless more peaceful and civilized methods are sufficient.

Watch out for the Court of Owls, always watching, shopping Gotham from the shadows behind the granite and chalk. They see you in your house, they see you in your bed. Do not speak softly of them, or they will send their claws to your neck.

The owl masks worn by their leaders give the team a very closed-eyed look that contrasts with the usual villains that Batman usually faces, while at the same time being conceptually fascinating and visually intoxicating. We are talking about the 1% of the 1%, the most respected and cherished, who have everything from their sleep, who did not have to fight for it and are willing to get their hands dirty (or let others do it). for them) as long as he does not risk his wealth, power and influence.

There is some class warfare, some social justice in this whole plot, but always without losing sight of the fact that Snyder’s goal is always to build a great story. The concept of their print success has already been transferred to other media: they appeared in the TV series Gotham (probably not a great success) and many viewers saw a hint of Matt Reeve’s plans to include them in Batman. At the end of Robert Pattinson’s trilogy, which certainly catapulted them to world fame.

Return of the Joker and other stories

But this first volume does not exist only on owls. We also get a family arc where the nostalgic Joker returns in an amazing new form (his face was already ripped off, so now he’s attached to a Halloween mask) to destroy the entire Batfamy, both physically and mentally.

We also learn about Batman’s origin in Year Zero, and see him face an enigma as he takes over the entire city and turns it into an environmentalist Madmaxian nightmare. These and many other stories are accompanied by other great mediums such as James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Jock, Jason Fabok, Rafael Albuquerque, Sean Murphy or Becky Cloonan, the main character of the couple. .

You can already see how important Snyder and Capullo are building in this first volume. It’s a story level at a very important time in terms of the Batman legend, which ends brilliantly in the second volume.

Edition to enjoy the story at once.

ECC Ediciones offers this volume in cardboard format. It has a recommended retail price of €85 and will be available in April 2024. The reduced size isn’t the best way to enjoy Greg Capullo’s art, the line work and narration look great on larger pages, but on the other hand, despite the thickness, the size is still manageable and easy to read. For the reader who wants to get the complete story at a good quality/price ratio, this is the best edition you can get.

The volume contains 1088 full-color pages and the American edition includes the regular series of Batman issues in the New 52 period from #0 to #33 in addition to the first two annual events. Additionally, an end section with extras such as sketches and biographies is also included. The correlation between this and the number of pages is generally not bad, so the inclusion of each issue’s covers and the price point are appreciated.