The unstoppable team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo is at No. 1 on the graphic books hardcover best-seller list this week, with “Batman: The City of Owls,†in which the caped crusader combats an evil tied to the earliest days of Gotham City. The top spot is not unfamiliar to Mr. Snyder and Mr. Capullo â€" they were there last month with “Batman: Night of the Owls,†another chapter in the superhero’s battle against the Court of Owls.
When I reviewed “Night of the Owls,†my main problem with that collected edition was the supplemental parts of the saga, which took place in issues of “Nightwing,†“Batgirl,†“Batwing†and other series. Some of them were good, some of them were not. I wanted more of the main event, as supplied by the team of Mr. Snyder and Mr. Capullo. “The City of Owls†is almost exactly what I ordered â€" this collected edition is more tightly focused on the issues they worked on. The script is action-packed and emotional, while the artwork is detailed and dynamic. This is one of my favorite interpretations of Bruce Wayne and Batman.
On a sadder note, Carmine Infantino, one of the giants of the comic book industry, died Thursday. He was 87. Mr. Infantino was particularly noted for his work on the Flash, but he also added to the Batman mythology, including the addition of the yellow oval to Batman’s chest emblem in 1964 and the creation of Batgirl in 1967. His artwork has inspired many who followed in his footsteps. Two of my favorites examples of his work are a pin-up shot of Batman and Robin on a rooftop that, over the years, has become Nightwing and Speedy, Batman and Captain Atom and other combinations; and the classic cover of “The Flash†No. 123, in which the original and modern-day versions of the character, on opposite sides of a brick wall, race to save a civilian. Many artists have had fun with the image.
As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.
