Batman #12

Before the DC reboot writer Scott Snyder was focused on telling an extremely good multi-issue arc in Detective Comics about Commisioner Gordon and his son James Jr. that only peripherally involved the Batman. With Night of the Owls officially done Snyder returns to this style of story giving us a Batman comic with very little of the Caped Crusader.

The protagonist for Batman #12 is a young woman named Harper Row and her brother Cullen who is constantly picked on and beaten up by local thugs for being gay. Harper works as a city electric engineer, through her job and winning a chance to attend a lavish Wayne Foundation event, finds her paths crossing with Bruce Wayne and Batman.

It may not be as good as Snyder's pre-New 52 work, and it certainly drags in places with the sheer amount of Harper's narration, but it's refreshing to read something new after the prolonged Court of Owls arc. Whether meaning to or not Harper certainly reminds me of Carrie Kelly and from the final panels, despite Batman's orders for her to stop trying to help him, I have a feeling we may see her again. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]