Batman #22

Scott Snyder is a busy guy, but thankfully he is maintaining the level of quality of his work.  A lot of writers handle multiple titles, but not as many maintain as many high profile assignments as Snyder.  Zero Year continues in this installment, and furthers the story of the return of Bruce Wayne to Gotham and the beginning of his crime fighting career.

Firstly, this is a Bruce Wayne story, which is new.  He is unsure of himself.  He is forming his identity, and hasn't made the important decisions yet that less him down the path to becoming Batman.  I like seeing this aspect of the character.  His argument with Alfred was an emotional gut-punch.  We're not seeing Bruce Wayne we've come to know from Snyder.  There are glimpses of what he will become, and we see that in his first interaction with Edward Nygma was great.  Seeing these two enemies meeting for the first time before their costumes careers began was a great treat.

While the core story is billed as Zero Year, it really seems like it is going to wind up overlapping with the seminal Year One story.  The real Zero Year it's in the backup stories.  The forging of Bruce Wayne's alternate identity is the focus of these smaller vignettes.  At this point in the story, Bruce Wayne and the Bauman persona are the same entity.  I look forward to seeing how Snyder separates the two in future issues.

Greg Capullo is easily one of the best artists who have tackled Bruce Wayne.  His Gotham comes alive and his museum at night was perfect.  During the aforementioned conversation between Wayne and Nygma, there is a splash page that is just amazing.  Turning their conversation into a board game was a really original take on the characters.  I reread their interaction multiple times to get everything.  The layout was great.  Do yourself a favor and follow Capullo on Twitter, you'll get lots of insight into his Zero Year work.