Batman #16 Review

I am going to start off by saying that I am 22 years old; and I was really shocked at some things that I saw in this issue. It is by far one of the darkest superhero comic books that I have ever read, and I am not too sure how young teenagers are deemed suitable to read this issue. It is just a bit odd to me.
Saying that, yes it is a dark book, but it is one of the best issues in this current 16 issue series. Joker's plan is finally starting to come together, so we get a lot of answers to our many questions as readers. There is still more to come from Mr J, I am sure, but with this issue we can see just how horrifying his grand plan really is.

This issue mainly focuses on Batman travelling through Arkham Asylum trying to find the Joker. Along the way he encounters many different horrifying images and threats. As a reader we get thrown right into what is going on. At first we are unsure what this first scenario is, but once it becomes clear, we become fully aware of what kind of issue that this is going to be. This may be the Joker's best laid plan of them all. However, the fact that it is as graphic as it is, makes me wonder if this really is him after all. I mean, it has to be though doesn't it?!?

What I really liked about this issue was the fact that even Batman himself seemed to be quite shocked at what he was seeing. Over and over again he was telling himself to not think about it and to just move on as he was getting close to the man he was looking for. I am starting to think that maybe at the end of this arc, Bruce may not be the same again. I am sure Scott Snyder has a very well laid out plan for the future of Bruces' mental state.

The Joker finally did make an appearance towards the end of this issue. He carried on being this new scary monster that we are becoming used to. He seems to have a plan for everything, but that makes sense considering everything him and Batman have been through. The end of this issue shows that he knew exactly what Batman would end up doing to himself, which leads nicely onto the 2nd part of his perfect plan to destroy him in Arkham.

The art by Capullo was once again spot on. He was made to draw a Batman title; this story arc in particular. He just nailed it throughout, with one of the highlights for me being the new "Justice League"; especially Wonder Woman. Read it and you will see exactly what I mean.
The back up story in this issue carried on directly from where this issue ended. It was one of the best back ups so far in this series by a long way as it showed just how much power Joker has over his allies in Gotham City. It also shows that he knows exactly how they will behave too. He is a truly horrendous human being, who you can really not get on top of.

This issue was amazing. There really are no more words to describe it. Scott Snyder is hitting top form with this story line, and you can really tell that he is loving telling us this tale.I know that some people were a bit against #15 in this series, but I am sure that they have changed their minds after reading this. Batman is turning into the best horror comic book out there at the minute, and that is something that I never expected to say.

Rating: 9.5 / 10