Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52) Paperback – Illustrated, March 26, 2013

Court of the owls is a bullet-proof near-perfect story with very little to complain about. I will start off by addressing those of you who don't have much interest in the court of the Owls because they are just "Another group of Supervillains." The court of the owls are a very mysterious organization indeed, and their goals are very similar to those of most bad-guy teams, but there is more to them than what meets the eye. I don't believe it is fair to just lump them off into a category with "a bunch of other bad guys who do the same thing" just yet because Batman's story has just barely Begun. What makes villains interesting are their personalities and back stories because lets face it, most bad guys want the same thing even if they go about getting it in different ways. The Court of Owls still have a lot more back story to go and I am most definitely interested.Everything about Batman vol. 1: Court of the Owls is basically a win. Batman is interesting, but one of my favorite things about this story is the fact that I finally get to see some Bruce Wayne again. I get tired of the way people claim that "Bruce Wayne is just a mask and there is only Batman" because without Bruce Wayne, and what happened to him, there is no Batman. Without the Money Bruce Wayne inherited from his parents and continues to earn because he is an amazing businessman, Batman doesn't have the money or the resources to be Batman. He might pretend to be more of a Party Boy than he really is, he might pretend to be a bigger whore than he really is (Okay maybe not) but Bruce Wayne and Batman still live by the same basic principles. They still have the same basic goals, the only difference is one is exposed by the daylight, and the other is concealed by the night. One creates Buildings, gives money to charities, and tries to bankroll the honest politicians he supports. The other Fights crime, saves lives, and constantly fights the good fight and both make the city he Loves a better place so I don't really see how there is no "Bruce Wayne." They are two parts of the whole character that is Batman so I hope Bruce is never taken for granted again.The art is stunning and I personally don't mind that all of the bat babies have a lot of resemblance to Bruce because this makes them look more like a family. Even Jason Todd, who is not in Batman just yet b/c he has his own comic, looks like his foster father. I believe it was intentional and should not be complained about too much. Also the choice to change the page layout for the labyrinth scene was a ballsy experiment and I actually really like it. It helps emphasize that Batman feels out of his league and is losing his cool, his confidence, and his sanity.In Batman: Court of the Owls Batman is as sharp, cool, and interesting as he always has been. It is a great showcase for the character with a story I cannot wait to keep on reading in Volume 2. If you have any love for Batman at all, then you need to buy this book ASAP! You are missing something great without it!

In DC Comics, there are many alternate realities (together called the “multiverse), one of which has the heroes of the main DC universe as the villains, and the villains as the heroes. In this universe (Earth-2, I believe), the Batman type of villain is called “Owlman”, because he is Batman's polar opposite, and it's a fun play on the idea that in nature owls hunt bats.In the rebooted, before the latest "relaunch" called "Rebirth", DC Universe of the “new 52”, the writers of *Batman* took the central idea of the owls hunting bats concept to a whole new level. In *Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls*, the Dark Knight finds himself the prey for a change. Both of his personas are being separately hunted by a group of men and women called “the court of owls”. The “court of owls” is the subject of an old children's' rhyme and scary story of some shadowy group that “controls” Gotham, and supposedly has since colonial days. Unfortunately for Batman, they are *quite* real, and after some years of ignoring him, now are turning their attention to the Dark Knight. Their assassin, the Talon, has been sent to do the dirty work of taking out the enemies of the court. The owls want to kill Bruce for funding urban renewal that may harm their plans and they want to kill Batman for interfering with their illegal activities throughout Gotham.What really made this story disturbing was that the comic book writer forced the audience to take a turn in Bruce's psyche when he is even more off-balance than ever before, and let me tell you, it isn't pretty. The moments when Batman seemed to be about to be killed off were unnerving, but the psychological aspects of seeing him hunted and relentlessly worn down were truly chilling.What's more, the way the panels were drawn in a spiraling format every other page for a section of the story accentuated just how bad our hero's mental situation was. Oh, did I forget to tell you that this section of “spiraling panels” occurred *during* Bruce's meltdown while he was being drugged and gaslighted? Brrr! I have to say that this was the really disturbing part, and yet was also what made this story arc worth reading. Yes, Bruce was in physical danger, but the psychological suspense of everything that happened to Bats (and I haven't even scratched the surface yet) was what made this tale so terrific. It was almost like Alfred Hitchcock meets comic books.The artwork wasn't exceptional, by any means, but it was good enough. The pacing of the mystery was exquisite. Each step really drew you in, and had you biting your nails. Even though I *knew* Batman would survive, I still worried. That is probably the best complement one could give to a writer of any comic featuring such an iconic (and therefore one the reader knows won't be truly killed off) character as Batman.Another facet of this story I really liked was how the writers again showed the closeness of the “Batman family” and how much Bruce needs his surrogate father and his children (real and surrogate). They are his anchors that keep the insanity and ruthlessness at bay, and that make this young man (about 28 in the story under the revamp) the hero that he is.I can't *wait* until the next volume comes out. This was a terrific Batman comic.Highly Recommended.