SPOILER FREE COMICBOOK REVIEW: BATMAN: NIGHT OF THE OWLS
“A new villain is born in the destruction of youth.”
NIGHT OF THE OWLS is the latest story arc starring Batman and his allies facing off against a secret order of assassin’s who don outfits resembling owls. These “Talons” as they’re called invade Wayne Manor seeking Bruce’s death and what follows is a great detective story that leads to a new revelation and an interesting new villain in the making.
The story is great ‘cause of the personification and characterization of the concept between how owls and bats hate one another and the single greatest part of this story is how it tweaks and delves not only into the past of Bruce Wayne’s parents and the secrets they held from him but also the side story of Alfred Pennyworth’s late father, Jarvis.
NIGHT sports dazzling and equally brooding fight scenes with Batman facing off against death squads of seemingly immortal assassins that no matter how many times he takes down, get right back up and dive in for some more.
It’s great to see Batman using his intellect instead of his brawn to win most of his battles in this story arc as he uses the weaknesses of the owls animal species to gain the upper hand on his opponents. The concept of a court of assassins harbingering owl looking gear and weaponry as they hunt the big bad bat is a really cool twist and a welcome addition to all the other crap Batman deals with in his career as The Dark Knight.
As for the villain, it’s someone new to the series and fits in a very special place chronologically in Batman’s past. But who is it? Why do they want the caped crusader dead? And how can the owls regenerate wounds so fast? It’s all a mystery until you get into it.
The artwork is great sporting great contrasts between the dark brooding tones of the Talons and the sporty lights and whatnots of Gotham City and the Bat-Cave. Did I mention that the story is good? I did right?
Overall from the new 52 launch, the Batman book series shines as a pillar of new ideas and dazzling revelations that even when this single night of terror is over, there’s still quite a few possibilities left out in the open for future stories to emerge.
The villain is great and has a lot of potential, the conflict is dire and interesting and the Court of the Owls is a great driving force to keep Batman on his toes. Looking forward to the next arc, PRINCE OF GOTHAM which will focus on Dick Grayson.
Get on it, NIGHT OF THE OWLS is only technically four issues long if you just read Batman’s main side of it. It’s worth the investment to watch Batman fight all this crazy shit.
Go get it!
OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10
BY MILAN JEGENJAN
