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May 23, 2017 DC Comics By Ryan E.C. Hamm

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s long, wonderful run on the main Batman title came to an end last year, but fans of the Dark Knight were thrilled when Snyder announced he’d be moving on to write a new, in-continuity title, All-Star Batman. As Snyder explained at the time, writing the non-primary Bat-book would give him the ability to tell different stories, and a chance to work in non-Gotham settings and with other artists.

The first arc, illustrated primarily by John Romita Jr. (with backup pencils by Declan Shalvey), finds Batman on the road trip from hell with Two-Face, as the Caped Crusader is trying (yet again) to bring Harvey Dent back completely from his evil side. Snyder’s writing is strong as always, though the story doesn’t pack the same personal punch as Gotham stories can. Plus, Romita’s art simply isn’t up to the kinetic horrorscapes conjured by Snyder’s script—where Capullo’s exaggerated figures served action scenes (not to mention the genuinely creepy villains) perfectly, Romita’s art makes it hard to sometimes tell what’s taking place. It’s a knock on an otherwise perfectly fine book. It doesn’t reach the heights of the Snyder/Capullo run, but, then, Snyder’s just getting started. (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 7/10