Oh, Scott Snyder, you had me going–even through Bruce and his male love interest flirting while discussing the mystery–until you tried a hard cliffhanger with Batman dying.
Batman is not going to die this issue of Batman, Scott Snyder, and your readers know it.
Immediately preceding the cliffhanger is a series of nice pages–Batman finding these hidden “Owlman” lairs around the city, something the World’s Greatest Detective has missed his endire career–and the visuals work. It’s cool to see where the lairs are, how they look the same, how they look different. Up until the cliffhanger, this issue is an exercise in how to keep exposition lively.
Capullo still draws his fit gentleman exactly the same, except facial hair, and without much life. But Snyder’s multiple long dialogue sequences still work–the dialogue is strong (if long).
It’s neat, though the cliffhanger doesn’t reward the reader.
