Batman #2 and #3

Remember: Batman #1 was okay. When I wrote about Batman initially I was a little underwhelmed with the mystery revealed at the end of the book. I thought it obvious that Nightwing didn't murder that guy.

And in #2 the evidence that Nightwing murdered the victim is hastily dismissed.

While this dismissal is a nice character moment that shows Nightwing's closeness with Batman and him acknowledging Batman's anal retentiveness about detective-ing, it also works to explain the trajectory of the series thus far since the first issue.

Batman #2 starts out with Bruce Wayne falling to his death, pushed by a highly skilled assassin, from a tower his grandfather constructed in the early days of Gotham. As like every other narrative does, the book then goes back to show how it all started. What it does differently than #1 though, is actually make me interested in what happens in the story.

Honestly, Batman #2 and #3 have me hooked. Apparently there has been a secret society in Gotham since its earliest days, known as the Owls or something, and they control Gotham. The details aren't clear yet obviously, but I'd expect the run of the mill control of the government, cops, and crime. That's how these things work. Didn't you see The Skulls 3!?

There is also this nursery rhyme in Gotham that warns about the Owls and scares young children, which Batman of course dismisses as just a nursery rhyme. But oh ho ho, when an assassin in an Owl costume throws him from the top floor of a tower, through unbreakable glass might I add, he changes his tune. I know I've been through the whole thing with the Jolly Rancher gang in my city. Watch out for Watermelon.

Oh yeah, Batman is a badass.

Batman #3 then has Batman all detectin' and shit, uncovering some information about these Owl people. Much of what he learns about them connects to various historical facets of Gotham City. While I am aware that Gotham is a fictional city, subject to the history that is conjured by the needs of a writer, it is somewhat interesting to have a threat tied so much to the history of a major city. Might be the humanities major in me, but these faux-historical connections ground the mystery in a sense of realism. Gotham is a place with history, and the society of Owls is bound and integral to that history. Indeed the act of solving this mystery is akin to historical research, recontextualizing the historical narrative of Gotham City. But with like dudes dressed as flying nocturnal animals and have bloody knife fights.

Oh yeah, they seem to want Bruce Wayne dead because of the new Gotham project that is meant to rejuvenate Gotham. So obviously they are an allegory for conservative politics. Har.

Batman #3 also has one of my favourite covers of the DCnU so far. It also is part of the white cover trend I've noticed. I'll keep you posted on this unreported conspiracy.

There's suddenly a lot I like about this series. It is well written for the most part, with jokes and good dialogue, the mystery is intriguing, and the threat palpable. Definitely a step up from the first book. I highly recommend.