All-Star Batman, Volume 1: My Own Worst Enemy

In a weird turn of events I did not enjoy the main story here at all. I'm a huge fan and defender of Scott Snyder but this one didn't grip me. I'm also admittedly not a fan of Two-Face at all so that has something to do with it.

Now I will say, I actually really recommend this for the Backup stories collected here. They center around Duke Thomas who is a character I'm liking more and more with each appearance. The artwork was SO much better than JRJR's work on the main arc. The dialogue especially was just so much more human and gripping.

What can I say? Scott Snyder just gets Batman. He takes him out of Gotham, throwing B-level villains at him that are given just enough time to make way for the A-level mobsters, but doesn't lose sight of the people. There's a detailed focus on Two-face, fleshing out Harvey's relationship with Bruce and the Batman in the past, and a renewed sense of curiosity towards Batman's new hero Duke/ The Signal. I guess it could be confusing if you have no idea what's going on in Batman's rebirth comics, but even with my limited knowledge I was able to pick up on the story and follow it along. The art was definitely new, but I have to say I love it, and there's lots of wide action shots so nothing is out of the frame. And whilst this wasn't necessarily a story about Batman being awesome, instead choosing to develop his supporting cast and world... he is still Batman hahaha.

This is not a bad story. Scott Snyder write Batman with a combo of fun and grimness that most can't match. That being said, there's something familiar about the conclusion and that's the convenience of everything wrapping up in a manner similar to his previous Batman run. It's as if he does such a great job laying out the experience of Batman that he can't quite figure out a way to make sense of the story. Case in point: Harvey/Two-Face's conclusion just rings hollow.

KGBeast though! Man, I'd love to see more of Snyder's take on this old favourite.