Court of Owls

Red Hood and the Outlaws #9

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red-hood-and-the-outlaws-9-cover“Night of the Owls” continues as the Red Hood finds himself in Gotham doing a favor for Batman and protecting Mr. Freeze from an man brought back to life as an assassin. The irony of the situation isn’t lost on Jason Todd.

As Todd gets reacquainted with his hometown, and deals with his conflicted feels with helping his former boss who he is adamant he now hates (although it’s clear his feelings are far more complicated), Starfire and Arsenal try to keep Freeze under control so the Red Hood can deal with the Talon sent to kill him.

Although I’m not thrilled with the redesign of Freeze or the conclusion of the Red Hood’s battle with Talon there are several nice moments here including Kory’s reaction to being attacked by Mr. Freeze, Todd’s inner struggle and walk down memory lane, and his confrontation with Batgirl in the comic’s final pages. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Batman and Robin #9

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batman-and-robin-new-52-9-coverDamian gets his first solo mission of the New 52 in this “Night of the Owls” tie-in issue as he’s sent to protect Major General Benjamin Burrows from a being the latest victim of the Court of Owls.

Although it’s not a bad issue, Damian taking control of a small squad of soldiers to save their wounded leader, for Damian’s first big adventure on his own it’s far from memorable. The dialogue of Damian convincing the soliders to take his orders, and eventually lead them is pretty damn awkward. I’m also not totally sold on the art by Lee Garbett which in some panels feels a little too goofy for so serious a storyline.

If you’re only picking this up as a “Night of Owls” tie-in you could probably give it a pass. If, however, you’re a fan of Damian (even the New 52 version) there’s enough here to keep your interest, at least for awhile. For fans.

[DC, 2.99]

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Batman #9

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batman-9-coverThe Night of Owls continues as Batman fights off an army of Talons inside the Batcave while dressed in an armored Bat-suit designed for the most hostile and alien places on Earth, and armed with a pet dinosaur and an army of bats that come in the nick of time.

Most of the issue deals with the fight in the cave but I do wonder why so many Talons were sent after Bruce Wayne (who they didn’t yet know was Batman) when the other targets didn’t garner so much attention.

The back-up story features Alfred‘s father Jarvis in his final days of service for the Wayne family and his attempts to leave Wayne Manor and make it back home only to be stopped by a member of the Court of Owls.

I wish the last few pages had dealt with the Night of Owls other than a mostly forgetable back-up story. I’m also not thrilled with writer Scott Snyder’s attempt to rope Alfred’s family into the seemingly all-encompassing Court of Owls arc. Worth a look

[DC, $2.99]

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Nightwing #8

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nightwing-new-52-8-cover“Night of the Owls” continues as Nightwing receives Alfred‘s call for help and sets out to save the Mayor from a Talon attack. Issue #8 is a little different from what we’ve seen of the title so far as most of the issue isn’t presented from Nightwing’s perspective, but from that of a character who will only appear on the final page.

Most of the issue is narrated flashback of William Cobb, retelling his life story including his early days with Haly’s Circus and his recruitment into the Court of Owls. Nightwing is able to save the Mayor by defeating one of the Talons, but our final panel gives the arrival of another, far more deadly Talon (Cobb, who arrives to kill his descendant).

For an issue where Dick Grayson’s voice is largely absent the story still works, although I’m not sure we needed this much of Cobb’s backstory. I’m more surprised, however, by the continued level of smart aleck banter from the zombie-ish Talons. Who knew the undead were so talkative? Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Batman #8

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batman-new-52-8-coverDC’s new Bat-Family summer crossover begins here. The Court of Owls story explodes into other Bat-titles as “Night of the Owls” finds several Talons sent to assassinate Gotham’s most prestigious citizens – including Bruce Wayne.

With Batman busy fending off the killers sent after his alter-ego, Alfred sends out a distress call to all members of the Bat-Family (Nightwing, Red Robin, the Red Hood, Batgirl, the Birds of Prey) with a list of the Court of Owls’ targets.

Although I’ve been lukewarm on Scott Snyder’s Court of Owls stories the past few months, now with the Talons unleashed on the city and several more Bat-folk looking to show up in the coming months, things certainly seem to have picked up in a hurry.

The structure of the book is a little odd as the first half is written by Snyder with art by regular Greg Capullo. However, the second-half of the story, drawn by Rafael Albuquerque, has a completely different look (which still works, although not quite as well). Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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