All-Star Batman 3: The First Ally Paperback – September 18, 2018

I can't get enough of Scott Snyder DC books these days. I guess you could say I'm more a fan of his writing style than I may be for the characters. However, I love Batman and thoroughly enjoyed this next installment in the All Star Batman run. I am not a fan of spoiling books through my reviews, but if you're a Snyder or All-star Batman fan I think you'll enjoy this read.

Highly recommend

Solid book and art. All-Star Batman is a bit of a different, modern, pulpy twist on a Batman series that felt right against the tone of regular Batman Rebirth and Detective series’. Not my favorite Batman run but I’m glad I collected the series anyway because it broke up the tone of other Batman runs I was reading

This is volume three of “All-Star Batman” that is a part of DC Comics’ recent “rebirth” reboot. I enjoyed the storyline for this present work more than the previous two volumes. It seems the “All-Star Batman” is more fast-paced than other Batman titles which can have its strength and weaknesses but being bored won’t be one of them. But in volume three the timing was right in my opinion along with a great reoccurring theme and human interest’s angle. The artwork is great as well. I give this a rating of five out of five.This work contain two stories. The first is titled “The First Ally” and the second is titled “Killers-In-Law.” The bulk of this volume is dedicated to “The First Ally.” At first it might seem to be two unrelated stories but by the end of the volume the author gives enough clues of how they relate but it does so in a way that builds anticipation for the next volume.Concerning the first story, “The First Ally,” I love how the story is told from the perspective of Alfred narrating the story. The author did a good job of bringing a character that is usually in a supporting role of helping Batman and placing him to the limelight. What we have here is not just only a story about Bruce Wayne/Batman but also Alfred the man, his past and also his motivation and relationship with Bruce Wayne and his adventure of being Batman. The plot for this story is centered on Batman trying to find and retrieve a mysterious “Genesis Engine” device but we also the narrating voice of Alfred and flashback scenes from Alfred’s younger days. Here we see Alfred’s youth and how much it parallel that of Bruce Wayne. I thought that is a fascinating angle, where you discover there is more to Alfred than the stoic butler. In fact Alfred’s lives isn’t just parallel to Bruce in the story but also becomes relevant to what’s going on in the present as readers discover more about Batman’s latest villains that he is fighting. Both the villain Blair and the knight Nemesis has ties to Alfred and towards the end of the story there is a fascinating twist concerning their relationship to Alfred.Concerning the second story, “Killers-In-Law” Batman sneaks into Russia pretending to be a Russian thug in order to penetrate into a powerful Russian crime organization run by the Myasnik Family to pre-emptively stop a weapons smuggling operation into Gotham. As the story progress we see Batman’s philosophy of not killing being contrasted with how the father and daughter of the Myasnik Family operate. The daughter Vik is the chief villain against Batman in this story and like the first story there is a theme of fathers, secrets and betrayal. The ending is gold in how it ties it to the first story in the volume. Readers shouldn’t miss the last few panels of this work.Overall I enjoyed this volume very much and one reason is that the story takes Batman out of Gotham to other locations such as the islands off of Florida, a deep sea in a submarine and to Russia. Like the other “All-Star Batman” volumes there is a hosts of various villains and with many of them being new ones. It is nice to see some new characters with different personalities and motivations being introduced. This volume also is a testament to the author’s creativity of having a running theme that unified the two stories which at first glance seems so different and unrelated but towards the end of both stories the saying of “the first and last ally” and echoes of the theme of fathers and lost children occurs. I think this work was quite deeper for a comic for exploring the theme of the impact of fathers on their children, whether for good or for ill. It also explore the theme of dark secrets, authoritarianism, love, betrayal and more complicated is the theme of how being a father with good intention can still bring about questions of enabling problems for one’s son. Again I give this work a five out of five rating.NOTE: This book was provided to me free by DC Comics and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

A good read not a typical Batman material though at times was confused of what is provided for here is ok.

Scott Snyder delivers with All-Star Batman Vol. 3: The First Ally. One of my favorite things about Snyder's Batman stories is how he is able to new ideas and characters to Batman's past while making it seem like they'd been there all along. That is what he's done with The First Ally, only in this case, he's added to Alfred Pennyworth's past.Batman tracks Hush to Miami to try and acquire the Genesis Engine before Hush, Penguin, Black Mask, and Great White can get there hands on it. As Batman nears his goal in a confrontation with the descendants of actual pirates, he encounters an unexpected new foe: a Black Knight, or Nemesis, and his handler, a man named Briar. While Nemesis is new to Batman, he is familiar to Alfred, who at one point in his life was on the path to be a Nemesis Black Knight. As the struggle for the Genesis Engine heats up, Alfred will revisit a part of his past he thought was over.There was a lot to like about the First Ally storyline. I really liked the focus on Alfred, who narrated the entire story. Snyder alternates between Alfred's past as an SAS agent and his present as Bruce Wayne's ally. We are given a very open, and interesting, look into Alfred's relationship with his father and some unresolved feelings that led him to join the military. The confrontation between Batman and Briar and his Black Knight dovetails with Alfred's training in the Nemesis program. Additionally, the modern pirates tie in with Alfred's story, as well, which ends up bringing The First Ally full circle. All of these things made for a rich, deep story, one which was really enjoyable. I've found that often times my favorite Batman stories are the ones that deepen the characters that surround Batman, rather than just focus on Batman himself. This is what Snyder did with The First Ally, and it paid off.Along with The First Ally arc, there was a back-up story arc called Killers-in-Law that focused on Bruce Wayne going undercover in Russia as a part of a Russian crime family known as the Myasniks. Batman wants to stop a shipment of weapons from making their way to Gotham for the Russian crime families there to start a war with the Falcone family. While in Russia, Bruce makes the acquaintance of Vik Myasnik, who will become known as Killer Queen. Snyder makes this an interesting story with Batman out of his normal element, and also finds a way to tie it into his main First Ally story arc.Overall, I found All-Star Batman Vol. 3: The First Ally by Scott Snyder to an excellent read. I highly recommend this story of fathers and sons, especially to Batman fans who like their supporting cast to be rounded out with depth of character.I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Un cierre bastante digno para la serie All-Star Batman de Snyder. Tuvo sus altibajos en el argumento, como en este volúmen pero el arte es lo que salvó y resaltó la saga. Es una buena lectura, hasta ahí.

All Star Batman was a weird take from Snyder given his really impressive work on the New 52 Batman but this volume in particular is surprisingly great. It seems he was going for a theme of large spanning conspiracies and literal end-of-the-world plots but he's found a good balance here. My Own Worst Enemy and Ends of the Earth were decent reads but this steps it up considerably. Playing off of Alfred's past, Snyder crafts an interesting story with compelling villains. There's not much else I can say without ruining plot points but this is without a doubt the best arc of All Star Batman.

Marvelous Graphic novell! Excelent job of Scott Snyder and Rafael Alburqerque! Fantastic!

Good story. Like the ending

Very good