Some spoilers here and there in this review guys. The book is still available in Castle Geek The Collective and Glorietta and online through Comicx Hub! Check out the review after the break.
ZeroYear part one starts in this issue and rather than start with a linear story, we're left with a very perplexing imagery. We see a very abandoned Gotham City with a bunch of Joker-esque thugs trying to attack a young child. This of course is an opening for us to see what Batman has become. Or rather started with.
Snyder and Capullo hits the ground running with Zero Year and I can honestly say that it works. We are promised to see an inexperienced Batman with all the cool gadgets and the necessary training but it seems like Snyder is pushing Batman through a trial-by-fire setup.
There's only one requisite related reading for Zero Year and that would have to be Batman # 0 which was last year's September anniversary gimmick.
There's also a couple of great moments in this main story as well as the backup one written by Scott Snyder together with James Tynion IV and Snyder's American Vampire collaborator Rafael Albuquerque.
- Bruce Wayne giving the finger to the Red Hood gang after this daring escape and rescue.
- That exercise scene with those magnetic boots were also interesting and curious [why does he not have this technology with him now?]
- First appearance of the giant penny
- The hints of the Batcave can also be found in here.
- Bruce Wayne's civilian attire is so cool. You've got that awesome leather jacket...
Oh and that amazing cap with the Robin insignia also gets valuable page time.
Snyder has a good story here but I feel like it's too ambitious to tell even if he gets like a year's worth of Zero Year issues, there's still so much territory that he needs to cross. Still knowing Snyder he goes and wows us in one way or another. Let's just hope that its not going to be another "Death of the Family" dud. Yes DC give us more Snyder - Bats stories like Night of the Owls or even Court of Owls. That was fresh and interesting.
Let me reiterate it again. I like Zero Year, it's got lots of promise but there's a hesitation because it's too grand and runs the risk of destroying established Batman mythos [although that already happened the moment DC Comics decided to reboot their entire universe].
One last thing, I loved how Snyder incorporated Edward Nygma aka The Riddler into the whole story. He's also introduced as somewhat a tactician which really suits him well. It's about time DC took the Riddler seriously and not relegated to the background.
Batman # 21 [Zero Year Part 1] is still available at Comicx Hub and Castle Geek!
Verdict: 8.5/10
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