Best of the Pull List: Batman #38

31 January 2015

Batman #38: Endgame Part 4

I wasn’t totally sold with the first issue of Endgame from the amazing creative team of Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, FCO Plascencia, and Danny Miki. It seemed easy. Don’t get me wrong, it was a solid issue and of course had amazing art but let’s look at the big picture: the three previous story lines have added up to one of the greatest Batman runs ever. Yes, issue one had an epic setup, but it was missing some of the story telling elements we have grown to expect from Snyder. Living in this resurgence of comics, I’ve become accustomed to amazing first issues, and there was just something missing in Endgame Part One. This just seemed like a normal issue of any large scale comic. It lacked the intricacy of what I yearned for.

The story has, indeed, built into something much more since issue one and has everything I could ask for. Just like the arcs that came before, these guys have put together another great story and I’m sorry I ever doubted them. In this issue alone, we see references to all three of the previous arcs, which is the kind of thing that really gets the fanboy in me excited. It’s beautifully written, moves at the perfect pace, and gets your heart racing as you turn to the next page desperately needing to know what comes next. And trust me, when you finish this issue you are going to be dying to know what happens next. Let’s just say, when it comes to the Joker, desperate times call for desperate measures. Extremely desperate measures.

Even though the story has amped up to another level, the art may be the best thing about this issue. I have to admit, when Miki first took over inking duties I wasn’t sure he could fill Glapion’s shoes and the repertoire that Glapion and Capullo seemed to have built together. To be honest Miki’s first couple issues were a little too clean for my liking, especially coming off of the gruesome Death of the Family arc. Eventually Miki got in a groove and hasn’t looked back. He’s added back the edge we saw from Glapion but brings a polish to it we didn’t quite get before. Now let’s not forget FCO who has brought the colors to another level ever since the start of Zero Year. He has been incredible with the bright highlights of pink and yellow throughout the the issues that give this Batman a unique and instantly recognizable look. Everything has been spot on and there is a reason both FCO and Miki have their names on the cover.

Lastly, I could go on and drool about Capullo’s pencils but if you have gotten this far you already know that he has been killing it on Batman since issue one. The creepiness he has instilled in all the villains, especially the Joker, is unparalleled.

I’d be doing this issue a disservice if I didn’t mention the back-up story by James Tynion and Sam Keith. The story throughout the back-ups in Endgame has been intriguing to say the least but Sam Keith brings it to another level. There’s a reason his Black & White Batman statue is so sought after.

So just do yourself a favor and read this. Now. You should really be going back to issue one if you haven’t already been entranced by this Batman run but its never to late to pick up an issue and just jump in.

[going to try to make this a weekly thing (if it’s not hated) and post it closer to Wednesday going forward]


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