Batman: The Black Mirror [Hardcover]

Scott Snyder (Author), Jock (Illustrator), Francesco Francavilla (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: November 29, 2011

A NEW YORK TIMES #1 Bestseller and Amazon Best Book of 2011

In "The Black Mirror," a series of brutal murders pushes Batman's detective skills to the limit and forces him to confront one of Gotham City's oldest evils. Helpless and trapped in the deadly Mirror House, Batman must fight for his life against one of Gotham City's oldest and most powerful evils!

Then, in a second story called "Hungry City," the corpse of a killer whale shows up on the floor of one of Gotham City's foremost banks. The event begins a strange and deadly mystery that will bring Batman face-to-face with the new, terrifying faces of organized crime in Gotham.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Dick Grayson, formerly Robin, has taken on Bruce Wayne’s cowl and penthouse apartment, but struggles to feel at home in either. Though he now patrols Gotham as Batman, Grayson still shines through the cape and cowl: at the end of one of their signature rooftop meetings, Commissioner Gordon turns around to find Batman uncharacteristically still there. As much as the story is about Dick Grayson as Batman, though, the real intrigue involves Commissioner Gordon’s family. The city is besieged by seemingly unrelated attacks from gangsters and supervillains. At the same time, Gordon’s long-lost, troubled son reappears as a changed man. Snyder’s story expertly prolongs the tension until the disturbing end, when readers finally learn the connections between the truly terrifying bad guy and the acts of gruesome violence. The segments featuring Jock’s dynamic depiction of supervillains and gangsters contrast nicely with the splashy, saturated colors and heavy lines in Francavilla’s chapters about the Gordon family. This darkly riveting story with gritty atmospherics is sure to please. --Sarah Hunter

Review

“The art is beautiful. The writing is terrifyingly spectacular.” —IGN

“This is going to be one of those Batman stories I remember for a very long time, as a perfect marriage of story and art.”—iFanboy

“Scott Snyder, with rotating artists Jock and Francisco Francavilla, has solidified the title as the place for serious crime fiction in the Bat-universe.”—The A.V. Club

“Detective Comics follows the tried-and-true formula that has been working for decades, yet it also adds layers Batman with some much-needed character flaws. Not to mention, there's a heaping splash of atmospheric art by Jock.”—Complex Magazine

“Scott Snyder is, simply put, doing a career-making job…this is just killer stuff here….If you’re only reading one Batman book, it should be this one, folks.” —MTV Geek

"The best Batman arc in years."—Omnivoracious

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (November 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140123206X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401232061
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.9 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive Batman of the 21 century! November 29, 2011

By Carla G. Dávalos Rdz

Format:Hardcover

Being particularly jaded with sexy vampires and blushing maidens pondering whether to accept to accept the gift of eternal beauty and immortality I was not that familiar with Scott Snyder's American Vampire so when I learned that he would be taking over Detective Comics I was not that hyped about it....what I was excited about was Jock coming over with him, I begin a huge fan of his work in Hellblazer and the Losers, so I decided to give it a shot...and what I found was some of the best Batman stories I have read in quite awhile. While I love Grant Morrison, his work tends to be rather overwhelming at times; here was a perfectly accessible series (in comic book terms at least) magnificently written by Snyder, and beautifully drawn by Jock and Francavilla. Their art styles might be quite different, but since they got to draw completely different stories (Jock focuses on the Dick Grayson Batman and Francavilla on James Gordon) it works like a great collaboration which is helped by focusing on each artist's strength, plus Francavilla's style is reminiscent of Dave Mazzucchelli's Batman Year One, which is always a plus for me in a Batman story.
This collected edition covers Detective Comics 871-881 and the 3 mayor arcs that Snyder set up to during his run, based the premise that Gotham city somehow corrupts all its inhabitants and heroes. It is a rather striking concept which sets up the city itself as an actual character (similar to Will Eisners' The Spirit).
I won't comment much on the storylines in case you didn't get to read the original single issues, but I will say the read rather nicely as a single unified story (especially the James Gordon backups).... The hardcover collection also includes some cover sketches and a rather interesting script by Snyder which really shows the meticulous and through approach he takes to his craft.
All in all this is a must for any Batman fan past or present and surely fated to become a modern classic, and at the price that Amazon is offering it is a steal.
BTW I did get to read Snyder's American Vampire and I must say it really good to, so give it a look in case you are interested Read more ›

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Batman Classic December 1, 2011

By Randall Sullivan

Format:Hardcover

Ill try to keep this short and to the point. This collection of issues of Detective Comics by Scott Snyder will be mentioned alongside other great stories of the caped crusader such as Year One, Hush and The Long Halloween.

This fact is even more amazing when you realize Batman is not even Bruce Wayne but rather Dick Grayson, the first Boy Wonder (don't worry, that's not a spoiler). Snyder weaves not only a great tale about the Dark Knight but maybe the greatest story about Lt. Jim Gordon ever written (which i will not even begin to spoil for you). Snyder is able to all of this while turning the city of Gotham itself into its own character, serving as the antagonist to these two brave heroes who must overcome there own personal misfortunes all while protecting the city they swore to do so. I simply cannot overstate how much I loved this run and how sad I was to see Snyder taken off Detective Comics in DC's recent relaunch. If you tend to only pick up trade paperbacks or collections of stories you can't go wrong this one. Snyder is as good as anyone when it comes to Batman and Jock's artwork is top notch.

Added note, if you like this collection, Snyder is now the writer for the Batman series starring Bruce Wayne and it has been equally great so far so be ready for a collection of those stories as well!

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Batman Story. Should be in the top Five. November 30, 2011

By T. JACKSON

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Scott Snyder is an amazing writer and his grasp of the Batman lore and mythos is pretty cool. I am a Batman fan. He is without question my favorite superhero. I especially like to read Batman when he is written well and the mythos of the character are seen as assets to the narrative as opposed to a liability. Given the long history of the character and his supporting cast, there are only a handful of writers who have been able to develop the core of who the character is. Snyder does no compromise that in his work. The Batman in Black Mirror is his adopted son and protege Richard 'Dick' Grayson who was the first Robin the Boy Wonder and later Nightwing.Nightwing: Year One (Batman) Grayson replaced the original Batman Bruce Wayne when he "died" Batman R.I.P.and this story takes place after Bruce makes his return from the "dead". Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne This story should be on the top five lists of Batman tales. It is just that good. I think Scott Snyder will go down as one of the best Batman writers ever. The story is awesome and stunning. I highly recommend you pick this up especially if you are fan of Batman. You can read this as stand alone tale but if you want some background on Dick Grayson's tenure as Batman check out Batman & Robin Vol. 1: Batman RebornBatman & Robin Vol. 2 Batman vs. RobinBatman & Robin Vol.... 3: Batman & Robin Must Die! Those were written by Grant Morrison. I can't say enough about Scott Snyder. If you are a current comic book fan I highly recommend his current run on Batman. (With Bruce Wayne back as Batman). That is proving to be an awesome run. Batman #1 Often in the pantheon of Batman writers we tout Frank Miller as the pinnacle because of Batman Year One. I think Scott Snyder is going to be a threat to that crown when it is all said and done. This was a great book and its worth your money. It's not typical and predictable. I appreciate a writer who honors the mythos and creates something fresh and different. 5 stars for this book. Pick up this hardcover before it is sold out. Trust me it will be.I am sure it will be issued in paperback but his hardcover will be a great collectible. Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Grayson Continues as Batman December 5, 2011

By E. David Swan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really wanted The Black Mirror to meet or exceed the recent efforts of Grant Morrison. It's not that I don't like Morrison's works, quite the contrary, I consider The Black Glove, R.I.P and "Batman and Robin" to be some of the best Batman comics I've ever read. The problem is that Morrison appears a bit too taken with himself and I just wanted to see another writer belt one out of the park. My chances seemed good as the professional reviewers were absolutely drooling over Scott Snyder's writing. So did this book match my expectations? Not quite.

In the first story arc someone is stealing weapons from Batman's rogue's gallery and auctioning them off. Items like the formula that changed King Croc into a true croc and some Joker serum. Behind the scenes is a group called Mirror House that felt like a watered down version of Morrison's Black Glove organization. There was one tense moment where Batman was trapped in an absolutely fiendish trap but ended up just punching his way out in what felt like a bit of lazy scripting. Following this arc we are introduced to James Gordon Jr., son of the famed Commissioner. He made a few appearances in Batman Year One but here Snyder reinvents him as a recovering psychopath (now on meds) attempting to make amends with his family including his step sister Barbara. Adding to the mix is Sonia Zocco, the daughter of mobster Tony `Fats' Zucco the murderer of Dick Grayson's parents. Sonia is attempting to distance herself from her shameful father having risen to the level of bank president while going under the assumed name of Sonia Branch. Can Grayson trust the supposedly reformed James Gordon Jr. or the daughter of the man who killed his parents?...

I'm glad that Snyder stuck with the Dick Grayson Batman and I liked how Grayson's thoughts always went back to his years in the circus to differentiate himself from Bruce Wayne. The Joker was able to deduce that the current Batman was in fact a grown up Robin because he would smile while he battled crime. That's a great touch. Damian Wayne (Robin) makes no appearance but we do get Tim Drake (Red Robin) assisting Grayson. About half the book focusing on the Gordon family and I give Snyder credit for creating and entire issue of Batman that was very compelling and only featured Batman in a single frame.

The Black Mirror gets pretty intense near the end but for me it was a step down from Morrison. Snyder writes very sequential stories whereas Morrison's feel more multidimensional with various story arcs bouncing off of each other. Morrison also benefited from better artists. Frencesco Francavilla has a very neat minimalist style but *ahem* Jock was somewhat forgettable. They just can't compare to J.H. Williams III, Frank Quitely and the other artists Morrison has been privileged to work with. One thing I will say is that the character of James Gordon Jr. really stuck with me and Snyder does a great job of keeping the reader guessing as to whether he's truly reformed or even more monstrous than imagined. If I've been hard on this book it's mostly because the professional reviewers yet again set me up for something spectacular rather than just quite good. Read more ›