New Comics!: The "Night of the Owls" Edition #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm posting these reviews in the order in which I read the issues, which winds up having been the exact opposite order in which I should've read them.  One of my pet peeves (though not an official one) is when publishers don't tell us the order in which we're supposed to read the issues of a cross-over event, a service to the fans that, to me, seems like a basic step if you're asking them to buy multiple issues of series that they don't normally buy.  As such, I saw Alfred sending out the call to arms in both "Red Hood and the Outlaws" and "Nightwing," despite not actually seeing the circumstances surrounding the event until I read "Batman" #8.  Annoying.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #8:  Oh, thank effing God!  I have, since the first issue of this series, been desperate for a story that shows us some insight into the state of Jason's relationship with the Bat-family in the DCnU.  Given the soft reboot that the Bat-family was given (and Jason's previous comments about repeatedly trying to kill Dick), it was pretty clear that all his crazy moments, such as "Battle for the Cowl" and "Batman and Robin" #3-#6, still likely happened.  In Jason's conversation with Tim here, we more or less get confirmation that they did, with Jason noting that he wasn't always that nice to Tim (you know, like, when he stabbed him in the chest in "Battle for the Cowl" #2).  However, and this part is key, we also get, finally, someone in the Bat-family stating what should've been the obvious, that Jason returned from the dead after being murdered, and that's a lot to digest.  It makes sense that it's Tim who holds out the olive branch.  After all, he never knew Jason alive (the first time), so he doesn't come to his relationship with him with quite the same baggage that Bruce and Dick do.  It turns into a lovely moment, with Jason somewhat shockingly accepting Tim's offer to stay and have breakfast with him and the two of them bonding over a discussion about how terrible Alfred's waffles are.  (I found the revelation that Alfred's waffles are terrible to be possibly the most shocking part of this issue.)  Given the anger we saw in "Red Hood and the Outlaws" #3, when Jason leaves behind his most cherished memory, of Bruce skipping patrol to stay with him when he was sick, I'm thrilled that Lobdell opens the door to reconciliation one day.  "Batman Incorporated" #6 seemed to be going down that road, before the reboot, when most of us assumed that the mysterious person getting fitted with armor by Batman, who suggested it was this person's chance at redemption, was Jason.  Other than that moment (which, again, wasn't confirmed to be Jason and happened in the DCU), the breakfast scene gives us the first hint that we've seen that Jason maybe is starting to think he might want a reconciliation (or would at least consider one).  He's always been so adamant about his hatred of Bruce for not avenging him, but, as Tim said, he had a lot to digest and maybe he's done some digesting by now.  Tim also raises the idea that the other members of the Bat-family will eventually realize that, too.  At this point, I would've just been happy to know that Jason had Tim as his link and therefore have my hope kept alive that we'll see everyone hug out their emotions soon.  But, Lobdell goes one step further here, and we see Jason take another step towards the Bat-family in agreeing to help with the Night of the Owls.  Now, I have no doubt that, after the dust settles, we'll at best get a tense conversation between Bruce and Jason acknowledging what Jason did in helping with the Court of Owls and what him doing it means in terms of his relationship with the Bat-family.  But, at this point, I'll take it.  Jason deciding to help the Bat-family is a huge step and it gives me hope.  Hurrah!  Moreover, I have to give Lobdell props for finding a pretty convincing reason for getting Jason to come to Gotham, with Suzie Su kidnapping all the kids in the Gotham hospital in order to get Jason to return so she could get her revenge on him.  I'm sad to see Su go, because she seemed to have so much potential as a crazed villain, but she served her purpose here of getting our man to Gotham.  All in all, I'm a lot more hopeful about this series now that we've at least left the All-Caste nonsense behind (no matter how temporary it is) and put our boy back in Gotham.  I'll sleep easier tonight.

Nightwing #8:  Okie-dokie, the "Night of the Owls" has started, with William Cobb coming after his descendant, Dick Grayson.  Higgins gives us Cobb's history here, moving him from a poor boy on the streets of Gotham performing juggling tricks around the turn of the century to a celebrated acrobat in Haly's Circus romancing the daughter of one of the city's elites.  His story doesn't finish here, since Higgins only sets up the betrayal that we'll presumably see turn him into a Talon next issue.  But, Higgins does his best to set up the tragedy of Cobb and make it clear that the Court of Owls has done some pretty terrible things to him.  It's not all about Cobb's past, though, with Higgins focusing on his attack on Mayor Hady in the present day and ensuing fight with Nightwing, who arrives to save the Mayor.  I was initially surprised by Nightwing stabbing him in the eye, but then Higgins reminds us that Cobb -- and all the Talons -- are already dead, making me realize that we're really going to get to see the Bat-family unleashed in this event.  I'm still a little confused, because I thought we last left Cobb in the Batcave, though I'm assuming I'll see how he escaped in "Batman" #8 (despite this issue being labeled a "Prelude" and that issue being labeled "Begins").  But, Higgins really moves us along this issue better than he has in previous installments of this title, a weakness that I'm realizing might have been more related to his need to stall on the reveal of who Saiko was (to conincide with the "Night of the Owls") than any failing on his part.  It gives me hope for the future of this title, and makes me anxious to see how Dick survives three blades to the chest next issue!  I'm also intrigued to continue the Cobb story, since Higgins does a good job humanizing him here, paralleling his story to that of Dick, who also wasn't born "of Gotham" but became as central to the city as anyone other than Bruce could be.  All in all, it's one of the stronger issues of this series.

Batman #8:  OK, somewhat surprisingly, I actually have a few complaints about this issue.  First, the transition between Capullo and Albuquerque in the art department is bizarre.  It seriously, seriously disturbs the flow of the story because, although DC appears to want us to believe that the Albuquerque part is a secondary feature, it's really just the second part of the story that this issue tells.  The first is the Court of Owls' attack on Bruce Wayne in the Mansion, and the second is Alfred's call to the Bat-family while Bruce fights the Talons in the Batcave.  They're really not separate at all.  Second, I'm a little confused why the Talons don't know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, since I'm pretty sure that the Court knows.  I mean, Snyder made a point of the Court not removing Batman's mask in issue #5, to prove how irrelevant his identity was, so maybe it doesn't know.  But, if it doesn't know, why send that many Talons to kill a millionaire playboy?  I mean, they only send one guy to kill the Deputy Police Commissioner, who, presumably (despite being in the bathtub), probably had a better chance of putting up a fight than a guy known for being a bon vivant.  Plus, if the Court is really as connected to the Waynes as we're lead to believe, did it really not figure out the fact that Bruce is Batman?  Really?  I'm hoping Snyder has a better explanation up his sleeve for this part, because, so far, it's a pretty gaping hole in the plot.  (I'm going to have to re-read the last few issues to see exactly what they seem to know.) 

Otherwise, it's a pretty straightforward story, with both Snyder and Capullo showing us a Bruce who hasn't been this broken, both mentally and physically, since "Knightfall."  While knitting from the wounds inflicted on him while he was stuck in the Court's maze, Bruce realizes what a fool he's been not to have seen the Court's role in Gotham all along.  As I said in my review of last issue, Snyder has done a brilliant job of showing that the Court of Owls has manipulated Bruce' overconfidence in his knowledge of Gotham to stay in the shadows.  At some point in this series, we should learn how it managed to do so, and how that answer is tied into the Wayne family's past.  Did it know that it was escaping Bruce's notice, or did it just happen that way, as part of its general goal to escape everyone's notice?  (Moreover, again, this manipulation speaks to the fact that I'm pretty sure that it would've known Bruce is Batman.)

At any rate, I'm not thrilled with this issue, but, given the amazing job that Snyder has done with this arc, I'm definitely willing to reserve my judgment and see how the main event progresses.