Batman Vol. 5: Zero Year - Dark City (The New 52) (Batman (DC Comics Paperback))

Batman Vol. 5 Zero Year-Dark City collects two of the final story arcs for Zero Year; Dark City (issues 25-27) and Savage City (#29-33). This is the conclusion of the three-part story arc major crossover origin event known as Zero Year. Dark City picks up after the events in the first story arc of Zero Year, Secret City, after Batman has stopped the Red Hood Gang and the Riddler shuts off all the power in Gotham City. We see the reintroduction of the classic GCPD blimps from Batman the Animated Series, which is awesome to see, as they comb the city searching for any sign of Batman. But, Batman has a new case on his hands involving a killer who uses a serum that causes uncontrolled bone growth. Batman discovers the villain, known as Dr. Death (who was Batman’s first major supervillain he fought in DC Comics, the Joker was the first villain Batman faced in his own comic book series) and both Death and the Riddler team up to seize control of Gotham during superstorm Rene which threatens to cause even more problems for the powerless and crippled Gotham City. In Dark City, more is explained about Bruce’s opinions of Lt. Gordon and why he doesn’t trust the police lieutenant. We also see more backstory involving Bruce as a child and his parents leading up to the fateful night in Crime Alley. Dr. Pamela Isley also has a cameo appearance in this arc but her research will later impact the look of Gotham in the next story arc. Savage City takes place several days after the events in Dark City. It is now, Zero Year: the new calendar year according to Edward Nygma. Using Isley’s research Riddler has turned Gotham into an overgrown barren wasteland and his demands for Gotham is quite simple: get smart, or die. Every sunset, the Riddler on a giant screen in Gotham and challenges any brave citizen to ask a riddle that he can’t solve. No one has been successful. Bruce can’t retrieve any of his suits or gadgets from the cave so he must improvise and create a torn and tattered costume and tools to help him mount a counterattack against the Riddler. Batman enlists the help of trustworthy allies who are trying to fight against the Riddler, specifically Lucius Fox and Lt. Gordon. The team is also joined by a special covert military assault force as well. But time becomes the enemy as jets threaten to bomb Gotham, doing exactly what the Riddler intended and sending Gotham crashing down all around. Batman and his team must work together to stop the Riddler and survive Zero Year. Scott Snyder’s writing is still great. The characterization of these characters is both refreshing and still honors the source material, which Snyder is very good at doing. The interaction between Bruce and Alfred is very special and very well written. Bruce’s relationship with Gordon changes drastically in these final arcs and it makes sense why Bruce finally throws off his uncertainty about Gordon and accepts him as an ally going forward. The story appeared to take a lot of inspiration from The Dark Knight Rises and the video game The Last of US (both can be seen in the Savage City story arc). The inclusion of Dr. Death as one of Batman’s first villains, just like in the original comics, was amazing. Snyder really got to show off his horror writing here with gorgeous yet very visceral character design for Dr. Death by Greg Capullo. Speaking of Greg Capullo, he hasn’t lost his touch at all. Gotham is very vibrant and well defined as well as people are all distinctively drawn. Capullo always brings his unique style to many of these characters which I enjoy, it definitely sets his work apart from other artists. We see many new vehicles a Bat-blimp, a proto-Batmobile race car, and the Bat-boat. All of them are beautiful to look at and are drawn with great detail. Danny Miki and FCO Plascencia make Capullo’s art look absolutely gorgeous and very vibrant and colorful as well. Batman Vol. 5 is a great ending to the masterpiece of an origin story retelling. To me, this will be my favorite Batman origin story, not because it’s new and I very much enjoy Snyder and Capullo’s run on the character, but because, like Year One when it was written, Zero Year speaks to us in the 21st Century. Zero Year addresses our anxieties our struggles and places Batman’s emergence in the midst of all of those things to show us how truly great a hero he is.

Now, I can't automatically say that this book or these books by this writer and artist team is going to be for everyone. These books can be awfully wordy and dense and that might turn a lot of people off from the stories, but you get the most bang for your buck in these trades. It's masterful. Just the storytelling alone is refreshing, inspiring, and cinematic. You can study and analyze this book, and explore the themes in this story. The writing lends itself to it almost intentionally. Very well crafted writing from Snyder. This book is a continuation of the zero year arc from the batman series, where the riddler reeks havoc in Gotham. This book certainly highlights how menacing and dangerous the Riddler actually is and actually can be. This is certainly a set up from what we are use to seeing from him. This isn't the simple nerdy villain that puts batman in traps. This is a book shows you why the Riddler will and will always be one batman's greatest villains. One of the best Riddler stories and interpretations of the character I have ever seen. The art in of itself is beyond impressive, and stories in of itself. The designs of characters, the expressions, the action, the symbols, it's so beautiful to the point where I want to hang each page as a poster in my room. You have one of the best artists in the industry working on this book, and you get a lot from him. I actually think we get to see a lot of this artwork shine because the story lends itself to it. A great continuation to the series. I mean just the idea of Gotham falling into his almost apocalyptic ruin is fascinating in of itself which I think would be amazing to see adapted in a feature film. It's no surprise that Snyder and Capullo are able to give us another satisfying story. This is certainly a book and series that benefits from a re-reading. This isn't just another story to read to see what happens next. This is a well crafted story from top to bottom, with twist and turns that raise the bar in every issue. There is so much detail being put into this book, where you have to read this a second time just to get better sense of everything going on to not do the writing a disservice. This is certainly the most satisfying book of the series yet. I feel like I got more from this book than I would have in most comic books. I'm actually planning on buying this book again in paperback form just for collection and personal use because of how great this book is. It's certainly a classic in my eyes, so this is a must own. It's well worth your money. You will get more out of this book than you will from most. Books like these is why comics and writing inspire me. It goes without saying that I recommend you reading this series. If you aren't, you are missing out on something that is truly great, something that will last. Classic batman story.

This TPB contains the conclusion to the Zero Year story arc started in Volume 4. Whereas the last volume felt tired and plagued with obligatory plot points about the beginnings of Batman, this felt all new, fresh and exciting. The first half of the volume focuses on Batman's clash with Doctor Death, a character with pre-New 52 history that gets a Snyder makeover and in this version, is a grotesque, superhuman experiment gone wrong. While Doctor Death is intriguing visually, there's unfortunately not a lot of depth to his character or purpose, though Snyder tries hard to build in the character's family history and give him dialogue to spew about his medical research career spiraling into super villainy. It kind of works, but is paper thin if you ever pause (and take a breath from all the over the top action, explosions, and blood) to think about it. Doctor Death looks cool/gross, is frightening, but is ultimately a lower tier distraction put in place by the Riddler to set up the ultimate arc. So the first half of the volume is visually interesting and passably entertaining, but otherwise not that meaningful to Batman's canon or really the greater New 52 run. The second half of the volume, though, is the core of the Zero Year story and was shown in the very beginnings of Volume 4. The Riddler has shutdown the power in Gotham and has held the city hostage in a No Man's Land-esque scenario for months on end. He holds all the figurative and literal power, and forces Gothamites to challenge him with the promise that he might relent. There are some twists and turns and complications to defeating the Riddler, but under the artifice of the setup, this is simply a straightforward Ridder versus Batman faceoff to see who is the smarter man. In that sense, it's predictable, but at the same time, it's so well done (riddles included) that in my mind it is one of the quintessential Riddler stories now. Strangely--and this is just the feeling I get when re-reading it--the final arc of the Riddler story could almost have been a very self-contained and intriguing story all on its own that could have taken place any time in Batman's career. It didn't necessarily need the Red Hood Gang or Doctor Death to build it up (and is barely related really), and whereas the first couple of Zero Year arcs were about Batman firsts (Batman's first costume, his first criminal rival, his first super-powered villain), this final Riddler story really wasn't about Batman finding his footing and could easily have been about Batman in his prime. I don't count that against it, I only wonder now, looking back, if the Red Hood and Doctor Death stories could have been stronger if they weren't built in as leadups to the Riddler's arc. But again, I don't rate the volume lower for this reason, just something to consider for readers going through both volumes of the Zero Year story.

Having read the entire Snyder / Capullo run up to here, I kind of think this may be the height of their run together, in a run with many high points already. The beginning of this volume, "Dark City", is like the middle of the Zero Year arc between "Secret City" (the last volume), and the next in this collection, "Savage City". It has Batman going up against Dr Death, an old Silver Age villain. The action level is high, but I don't think it's among Snyder's best work. Capullo, however, knocks the artwork out of the damn park and into the next town. His rendition of Batman is about as iconic as it comes, even while he references (one would think intentionally) the work of past Bat-artists. "Savage City" is the battle against Riddler, in a Gotham overrun with plants first glimpsed at the beginning of "Secret City". This is quite an epic tale, and the scenes with Batman matching wits with the villain are fantastic. This may actually be the best Riddler story I've ever read. There are a few bits that are incomprehensible towards the end of this story (including some classic comic-booky physics and science), such as how Batman wrests control of the city back. Also, it's somewhat similar to the Dark Knight Rises film, at least plot wise with the compromised Gotham City. But the Batman / Riddler showdown here is tense and clever, and had me laughing with joy at reading it. This is a highly recommended volume, collected from probably the best superhero comic of the last few years.

Great ☺️ thank you!

Great book story of Dark City

Love the way the story is set it, love how it unfolds,the art, the coloring, all of it is just top notch. The extra cover art they show at the end of each volume is amazing also, just some of my favorite and most interesting, sometimes a little horrifying (in a good way) art they do in the comics and especially the art shown after each part is done is amazing and have been on constant rotation of what picture I use for my background and screen saver

This is probably my favorite Story Arc of Capullo and Snyder thus far. I don't say that lightly nor have I given many of these books the full 5 star review but most of them have received the standard 4 stars which if i could go to 4.5 on the others I would (Except for Court of Owls which is in much need of a 5 Star). That being said. Where to begin! Batman awakes at the beginning of this Arc and we see Gotham is destroyed. The shining Metropolis that has existed prior now is demolished. Now we know why Gotham is the dark slum it will become in the DC Universe. This is as much a Origin story about Gotham as it is about The Batman. I'm not going to lie, the color scheme in this comic is the best colors I have ever seen on display in a comic. I'm serious! Some of the panels make you stop and almost drop your jaw when you see the clash of green question marks upon neon-esque back drops. The Riddler is actually a serious killer who has gets the better of Batman over and over and over again and leaves you wondering if Batman will actually defeat him or not. Bruce continues to brood on his past but Scott has re-imagined him in very new ways. Mostly Bruce suffering under PTSD from the death of his parents. Also whats not to like about a Batman who looks like he is in a Mad Max movie, riding dirt bikes, wearing what looks like a simple T-shirt, no cape, a fringed backpack and yet he is REALLY REALLY COOL!! You almost wish Gotham would stay the way it is so that you can see more of this Character in this Setting. I'll finish this review to say that this Arc is fantastic in so many different ways that they are all difficult to express here. Enjoy!

I am on a marathon bing reading of the Batman Graphic Novels series as I have already read them. I simply love them and it's just as equally adorable to reread them once again. I love the art work, the dialogue and the story plot as well. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. Now I am onto the next volume in the Batman series. Best wishes Sean

Greg Capullo et Scott Snyder sont depuis quelques temps les auteurs attitrés du Chevalier Noir. Comme sur les opus précédents les duo dynamique a du mal à nous convaincre. Capullo fait son travail avec application mais les personnages deviennent de plus en plus génériques. Le scénario, au démarrage souvent intéressante et plein de bonnes idées, peine à nous emmener bien loin. Pourquoi avec un tel personnage sous la main manque-t-on autant d'inspiration? On préférera la rigueur de Frank Miller ou de Jeph Loeb qui ont su mieux traiter la chauve souris avec originalité et moins de poudre aux yeux. Les couleurs, malheureusement trop artificielles gâchent le dessin pourtant riche et nerveux.

Excelente!!

Batman #25-27, 29-33を収録 足りない分は6巻に収録されるそうなので純粋にゼロイヤーを楽しめます。 バットマンがゴッサムの顔となってしばらくのこと、徐々に秩序を取り戻してきたゴッサム。 街で暗躍していたリドラーがとうとうバットマンに挑戦状をたたきつける！ それに乗ったバットマンは罠にかかってしまい……。 スコット・スナイダーによるバットマンのオリジン刷新のはずなのですが、 ノーラン版のバットマンをうまく再構成しただけにも思えて個人的には面白いけれどもスナイダーの味が出ていなくて微妙。 派手な事件のはずで、解決しなければいけない課題もうまく答えを出しているので作品に対してもやもやすることはないんですが、作者に対しては多少もやもやが残りました。

As good as Frank Miller’s classic reinventing of the Batman origins. A must read for Batman fans. The story of Gordon was compelling as in the Frank millers