http://www.dccomics.com/comics/all-star-batman-2016/all-star-batman-3
Ah, my favorite book on the shelves right now. Snyder tells the third part of our story and the fun indeed continues.
Snyder showcases a whole littany of villains from the DC universe these last few issues. The KGBeast makes his appearance and seems to be substantially more powerful and respected over his last incarnation in the old DC universe. It was also fun to the Royal Flush gang from the Batman Beyond cartoon.
One of the best parts of Snyder’s writing for Batman is that he is not afraid to delve into and explore the Batman canon. We get to see another piece of the Batman puzzle in Harold Allnut, another engineer who works for Batman. I thought Lucius Fox had replaced all Batman but it’s nice to see a familiar face from Batman’s history.
We also learn more about his relationship with Two-Face. I thought it was cleverly done in that it does not change all the prior Two-Face stories in past Batman books, but makes some changes to add color and further develop the story.
Regardless, this is book is a step away from Snyder’s work in the main Batman book. It’s not serious and the stakes don’t feel quite as heavy. Instead, the reader gets a fun, high octane joy ride through the Batman universe and a showcase of DC’s villains.
After the main story, we continue with Duke’s story. It’s a surprisingly interesting side story which adds color to what could be a potentially awesome addition to the Batman universe.
As for Romita’s art, it’s good, but not great. Quite frankly, part of the reason why this book is fun is because you simply cannot take Romita’s style seriously. Caputo style danced the line between beautiful and menacing. There was always this feeling of something being hidden in Caputo’s images. Romita’s is mainly concerned with action. Accordingly, even if Snyder’s intent was for a serious, dramatic story, Romita’s art guarantees this will be, at best, a fun ride. It’s interesting because even seeing acid being poured into Batman’s eyes isn’t that terrible. You just get the feeling that people are going to get beat up next book regardless of whether Batman has his sight or not. It’s just the character of Romita’s art.
Score: 6.5/10
Muse Bank 