Batman has always been one of my favorite superheroes, and this fantastic omnibus collection breathes new life into the character. The art is amazing, the story is gripping, and I would highly recommend this not just to longtime comic fans, but also to newcomers. A great, great read!

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (DC Essential Edition) by Scott Snyder and artwork by the brilliant Greg Capullo is now out and if you have not heard of the Court of Owls and how can a Batman or Gotham fan have not? Then this is the book to pick up. But be prepared, The Court of Owls is far more dangerous and far more insidious than what is shown as in the television version on Gotham.

A series of brutal murders rock Gotham and the Batman is beginning to believe there is a connection between them that goes far deeper than what appears. He begins to see the hand of a villain he has never faced before. A conspiracy that reaches back to the very core and origin of Gotham City. A cabal that has impacted the city since its inception. Batman is beginning to suspect that the urban legend of a powerful group of people are actually running Gotham behind the scenes. The elusive Court of Owls.

This storyline not only introduced the Court of Owls, but the henchmen of the Court known as the Talons. These killers are virtually unstoppable. The Court of Owls is aptly named as well because Owls feed on Bats. There is of course, the enigma of Thomas Wayne Jr., the first born son of Martha and Thomas Wayne and the long lost brother of Bruce Wayne.

It also showcased the enormous talent of the dynamic duo of Snyder and Capullo as they would go on to rewrite and expand upon the legend of the Batman.

This is a story not to be missed in Batman lore and one that laid a foundation for many to come.

And excellent book!

DC is releasing some of the best stories from the new 52 as part of their <i>Essential Editions</i>. It's not often that a creative team adds something to the Batman mythos that sticks. The Court of Owls shaped the Bat-family for several years. The idea of Batman discovering a secret society that has been pulling Gotham's strings for hundreds of years is a very cool. I loved the thing with the 13th stories. The best part of the book is still Batman wondering through the labyrinth. The art getting trippier with each page as Batman hallucinates while having to turn the book as if the reader is walking through the maze as well. Capullo's art overall is pretty fantastic even if he sometimes draws Batman a little too barrel-chested, sometime to the point of looking like he's ate too much to fit into the suit.

Batman thought he knew Gotham, his city. He finds out the hard way that he did not. Many facts are found to be close to fictions and certainties are now suspect. This story line helped set up the Dark Metal story line which is why I took the time to read this.

One of the hardest things to do with a character like Batman is find new and unique stories to tell. After 75 years in the hands of some of the best creators in the history of the medium, the Dark Knight has faced it all.

Enter Scott Snyder.

Snyder is one of the brightest talents to hit comics in years and his run on Batman during the New 52 was high spot of an otherwise uneven project.

How did he do that?

The Court of Owls, that's how.
WHO?
To find a space for new stories, Snyder looked not to Batman but rather to Gotham City. By stripping back the city's history and revealing a cabal that has hidden in the shadows for centuries, manipulating people and events, including Batman himself.

The new Essential Edition, out now from DC Comics, collects the first 11 issues of Snyder's New 52 run. That's the entire saga from rumor, to exposure to confrontation to victory. It's really the best way to introduce yourself to this new threat to the Dark Knight.

I read these stories piecemeal and maybe out of order in their trade paperback form. The new Essential Edition lays the story out in one giant sprawling read just the way it was meant to be.

The sinister nature of the Court of Owls and their plan to plant doubt in the mind of Batman are the heart of this story and Snyder executes at a masterful level.

The Court of Owls has already appeared on Gotham and in the animated Batman v. Robin film. They've become firmly entrenched in the Batman mythos, so this sprawling collection is a great way to get to know this new addition to the rogue's gallery.

The Court of Owls Essential Edition is available now wherever you buy your comics.

This graphic novel tells the story of a secret society who works in the bowels of Gotham City.

It becomes a detective story of Batman getting pulled deeper into conspiracy theories.

This started out as a great Batman story. There is a fun twist right from the very get-go.

I liked the artwork done with this new direction of the Batman comics. I liked how it had almost everything you've come to expect from a Batman story: Batman uses his intelligence, he proves to be a great detective, he uses his physicality and demands to do things alone.

This is what many have come to expect from a Batman comic.

It's enjoyable to watch Batman dig deeper into a supposed secret Gotham group that has always been beneath the surface and he not knowing. It's fun to figure out what is going on behind the scenes.

But then things get really weird. It was almost as if someone else took over the writing and plotting. Batman gets a bit too close for comfort to the Owls and, while in a maze, basically loses his mind maybe?

I don't know. It just went really weird near the end of the novel.

I liked the build up, I liked the characters and the writing...all of it up until the last few pages of the story.

I was very impressed with Batman: Court of Owls. It was a gritty story that pushed Batman in ways he isn’t used to. This secret organization found ways to harm him that will take him a while to heal from. It made him wonder so many things about his past, and as this saga came to a close he gets left with more questions than answers. In this edition we also get to see a bit of Alfred’s past, and how a choice he made had dire consequences for the Wayne family.

I got an ARC of this book.

This is a Batman series I have been attempting to get a copy of for years. I read the sort of epilogue The Night of Owls years ago and was thirsty for the story, but didn't have a way to collect the rest. 
The book follows Batman's search for the Court of Owls. Lots of owls eat bats metaphors abound, which is my sort of birdy language. It could have been super cheesy, but instead it really just heightened the emotions for me. It allowed me to get into that head space of "this is the end" very quickly because of the imagery of owls eating bats throughout the comic. I also really like watching Batman suffer. This comic delivered so much suffering and pain, some of which was brought on by Batman's ego which made it even better for me.

The Court of Owls was a worthy adversary to Batman. There was a lot of redirection and a lot of ground still uncovered. I would love a level or two in a Arkham game on this story. I would gladly play it. I would be counting down the days to a release. It is dark. It is gritty. It would fit right in with Arkham Asylum and the rest of the series.

The story allowed for a development of Bruce's character as a man obsessed and a man who is slightly delusional. He has put his parents on this pedestal that makes questioning them impossible for him, which opens so many doors for more psychological torture. It also plays into Bruce's own ego that he is right about things, even when he is faced with the fact that he is wrong. It plays into other stories where Bruce believes he is pretty much untouchable and that Damien has to fall in line. It really sets up the relationship for him and Damien, while having no real interactions between the two in the book. It did give Nightwing his old wit and humor which I appreciated, though the interactions were limited and shocking to say the least.

If you like the dark side of the bat, then this is a story that you can't miss. When I finished reading this book, I had a sense of satisfaction and of "yes, this is Batman". That feeling I have not had in the last few stories I have read that have been explicitly Batman titles. It was good to see the hero as I have imagined him for years, but better.

A few years ago when I first started reading comics again it was Batman’s The Court of Owls Saga that got me into reading the newer Batman stories and Batman in general. When the Court of Owls kicked off DC Comic’s “New 52” reboot of their superhero universe Batman gets a new and original story of a secret society that existed all the time in Gotham City under the radar of Batman’s eyes and ears. I am glad that the saga now is collected all in one volume as a “DC Essential Edition.” I think this is an essential edition for Batman fans and those who want to try out reading the better materials on Batman.
The Court of Owls tells an original story of a new group of villain that Batman faces that unbeknown to him has secretly run Gotham City for centuries. At first Batman dismisses the idea of the court of Owls as mere legends and nursery rhymes. And the nursery rhymes is rather creepy in how it begins: “Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime.” As the story progresses Batman finds out that they really do exists which totally surprises Batman since he thought he knew it all about Gotham. Scott Snyder builds the suspense with every page. The assassins that the Court of Owls send are called “Talons” and they are beautifully illustrated and prove to be quite fierce opponents fighting against Batman. These Talons can’t be killed, as they already are dead, with the Talons being a cross between ninjas and zombies.
Over all a creative and powerful story telling from the author Scott Snyder. I suppose this has to be up there among his best works. I’m glad DC decided to make a single volume of the saga which will be helpful for future fans and readers. For older fans who have read this work it is also neat to have it in a single book. I enjoyed re-reading this epic.

I'm Back on the Batman Bandwagon

This omnibus collects issues 1 through 11 of Batman comics issued in 2011 and 2012, so it's not exactly brand new. But, DC is promoting it as a high quality stand alone that serves as a good entry point for newbies and lost fans who want to check back in on Batman. On that score it seems to me that this volume works very well. You don't need to be current on all of the twists and turns in the Batman universe over the last decade just to get into this. It does indeed work as a standalone and it is perfectly accessible.

I'm mostly familiar with Golden Age Batman and I was always a fan as a kid. But time passed, and Batman got much darker and way too conflicted and angsty for me. Eventually he stopped being fun and then he stopped being even interesting. This Batman, though, has most of what I originally liked. He's Batman the Great Detective. Smart, a little dark, and a bit of a jerk but still his own man with that nice vigilante edge.

As to the story, it's deep, twisty and layered. The Court of Owls is a worthy opponent and Batman does not escape his encounter with them unscathed. There is physical conflict, but also a satisfying level of psychological warfare that tests Batman and forces him to rely on his strengths but also come to grips with his weaknesses and blind spots. This is elegant stuff and well beyond the old school plots that involve Batman stopping Joker from poisoning yet another water supply. And it is very interesting that the main thrust of the story is to pull Batman off his high horse and remind him that Gotham isn't his city and isn't anyone's city. I appreciated that gritty little reality check.

MILD SPOILER. Everything I saw about this book before I read it discussed Batman's psychological struggle with the Court of Owls. Fair enough, but that's only the first half. The second half goes into super-hyper-epic battle mode -- Bat versus Owls. So, be assured that there's a lot going on here, and after the first half setup the tale just keeps picking up speed. Actually, for more literal minded purists it may be too over the top, but by that point I was happy to go with the flow.

The artwork here also gives one something to think about. On the one hand there are panels that are bland and sort of generic. Sometimes Bruce Wayne looks like an underwear model, with his carefully groomed stubble and pretty eyes. But then you get more realistic scenes that feel old school. And then you get over the top splashes of Batman on the edge, and some of those are arresting and powerful. It's almost always set in big impressive cityscapes, which is how I like my Gotham.

So, it is an accessible stand alone, it's all Batman all the time, and it doesn't have an energy problem. In the spirit of go big or go home this was, if you'll forgive me, a hoot.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga is a giant sized bag of awesome that reminds me why I will always be a Batman fangirl. The world's greatest detective has failed to uncover a goliath conspiracy in his city. The Court of Owls, a hidden organization, has been pulling the strings in Gotham since before Bruce's parents' murder. When his people, Gotham's people, fall under attack, Batman rises to occasion with true grit and hard nosed determination. Snyder's writing reads like a thriller, full of twists and turns, all the while delivering heart pounding action for a story that is riveting and addictive. The art is gritty and dark and expertly expresses the story's chilling ambience. With bonus stories and a how its made guide, the story is supersized for an all you can read extra value of brilliance. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.