Serials for 11-16-11: Batman and Daredevil

Batman #1 (Sep. 2011) 

by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion

I've been sitting on this one for about two months, because I just don't know what to make of it. The opening splash page has Batman facing down his rogues gallery and grinning, saying, ":Sigh: There's no place like home." It's so strange to see a Batman who's embraced his role and even loves it, like Daredevil would. This isn't my idea of the grim avenger, and the cognitive dissonance has plagued me for two months.

By all accounts, I should enjoy this book. It steers Bruce Wayne, Gotham City and Batman into a bold, optimistic direction. It's fresh and takes advantage of the New 52 reboot. Platonically, I should love this book for the way it pushes Batman forward, for all the information it packs into 20 pages, but it's darn hard for me to accept this Batman. I have an idea in my head already of what Gotham's in-continuity dark knight should be, and this doesn't mesh with it.

Maybe I'll accept it over time if I get the next issues, but I can't really afford to give it the chance.

HERE'S A HIGH POINT TO MAKE UP FOR MY APATHY:
check out the bat-symbol on the sole of Batman's boot! Make it happen Adidas!

Daredevil #4 (Sep. 2011)
by Mark Waid and Marcos Martin

That cover is just gorgeous. Stare at it for a while and you'll realize that the "buildings" are actually the barrels of gigantic guns, some of them still smoking. It's a beautiful metaphor for the direction that Waid is taking Matt Murdock - the Daredevil is a man who dances between the barrels of rifles. Matt Murdock is risking his life for the joy of being alive, because for once, he's happy to be alive!

This issue sees the start of a new arc with the debut of rotating artist Marcos Martin. He is just as brilliant as Paolo Rivera. Here's this panel of DD dodging a streak of bullets, which appear to him as super-dangerous lines of sound:

My one complaint is Martin's interpretation of radarsense. It's a Mad Men-esque depiction of silhouettes and concentric circles:

Would Daredevil pick them up as silhouettes? I feel like he would be able to pick up depth within an object, not just between objects. Martin portrays depth between objects with color, ie, the darker an object is, the closer it is to us, but an object also has its own curves and whatnot that the panel doesn't represent.

What I'm trying to say is, it's wonderful that Martin has his own take on radarsense. I'm allowed to disagree with it, and I guess that's what makes "art."

Mark Waid packs all kinds of information in the issue, and Matt Murdock's a real person to me. Do yourself a favor and check out this title.