Set Description:
The focus of this set is signature series Batman books, the majority of which came from my personal collection that I've sent in to get signed by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Most of the regular covers have been signed by Snyder and Capullo along with a few of the black and white variant covers. Some of the regular variants have been signed by Snyder and, if possible, the cover artist. The second image option has been utilized to showcase original solicitation art, pages from the series or other information.
Eventually, I'd like every book here to be Signature Series. And here we go...
In September 2011, DC Comics relaunched their entire line with 52 new ongoing titles. Among them was Batman. This was the first Batman #1 since 1940.
In June 2011, the new creative team for Batman was announced. Fresh off his stint on Detective Comics, DC chose American Vampire writer Scott Snyder to write Batman. Snyder was paired with artist Greg Capullo, who was best known for his work on X-Force and Spawn.
"It's very much a Batman story in Gotham with big revelations, big fights and big tech." - Scott Snyder
Batman #1 was released on September 21, 2011. It was Diamond's number one selling comic of the month with estimated sales of 188,420. A second print soon followed on October 19, 2011. Batman #1 has since gone to a fifth printing.
In the first story arc, Snyder introduces an ancient conspiracy which has controlled Gotham City for centuries. The Court of Owls contains some of the wealthiest and most influential of Gotham's families. Members of the court wear owl masks, even the very young. To carry out their bidding, they use the Talons, highly trained assassins that have been hand picked by the Court every generation. The Court kept to the shadows, making Gotham City believe they were nothing more than a myth as their influence grew. The only hint of their existence was from an old nursery rhyme:
"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send The Talon for your head."
Issues 8 and 9 tied in to the "Night of the Owls", which crossed over to several other Bat books. The Night of the Owls takes place on a single night, where the Court of Owls unleashes the Talons upon 40 of Gotham City's citizens. The Court of Owls storyline comes to a conclusion in issues 10 and 11, where an old Wayne family secret comes to light and Lincoln March reveals himself as Owlman.
"Death of the Family", the next major Snyder/Capullo storyline starts up with issue 13 and a special Joker die cut cover which overlays over Batman's face. An exclusive die cut cover was also released in October 2012 at NYCC. In this story-line, the Joker returns after having his faced carved off a year ago. The Joker retrieves his face from GCPD and kidnaps Alfred Pennyworth. The Joker confronts Batman claiming to know his secret identity and that of all his allies. The story-line culminates in issue 17, which received three convention edition die cut variants. A green cover was released at ECCC, a pink cover was released at WonderCon and a red cover was released at C2E2.
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