Guys, I have a problem. When someone asks me to name one of my favorite Batman runs and I say Batman by Snyder and Capullo, they think I’m talking about that guy Zack Snyder, and they just look at me, confused. Even worse, when I mention how good Snyder’s Justice League was... Let me tell you, it’s not easy enjoying Scott Snyder’s DC work!
The man who would become one of the most well-known and well-regarded Batman scribes began his career at Walt Disney World. He first worked as a custodian and later moved on to working with characters. Funnily enough, he claimed this experience shaped how he approached horror and all the things we fear – growing up, commitment, love, loss, and everything in between.
One of the leading DC writers (basically the man behind DC Absolute Universe) began his career writing for their competition, working on the original Human Torch and Iron Man. Soon after, he moved to Vertigo to publish his American Vampire. He was then given a chance to write for Detective Comics (the book!). The rest – as they say – is history.
Masks, Monsters and Myths
In these fifteen years of writing comic books, Scott Snyder has collaborated with many fantastic artists and worked on a variety of characters and genres. However, he seems most at home when writing horror.
This may be because he claims his love of storytelling began when he was nine and read Stephen King’s Eyes of the Dragon at summer camp. In that vein, his favorite comic writers are Alan Moore and Frank Miller – both known for their moody styles and innovative ideas that push storytelling to the extreme.
Snyder revels in horror and is at his best when given room to breathe and explore a character’s inner world. He delves into their psyche, finds what makes them tick, and then subverts it in the most horrifying ways – whether it’s Batman grappling with the fear of losing control or Swamp Thing confronting legacy and questions of identity.
While he can write dynamic action set pieces, Snyder thrives when he sets his own pace. He is methodical, picking and prodding at a character until he gives us something truly beautiful and exciting.
American Vampire
Snyder’s first big hit in the comics world came when he worked with his childhood inspiration – Stephen King. This was Snyder’s first creator-owned and ongoing title, with Rafael Albuquerque primarily on art. The series was published under DC’s Vertigo imprint, and the first five issues featured a story by Stephen King.
American Vampire introduces a new breed of vampire – unlike the classic, Dracula-type European vampires, this new kind emerged in the New World, creating something… unique. The story presents different kinds of vampires and follows their movements, conflicts, and (un)lives. American vampires have new powers and traits that will shape a new future.
What's American Vampire by Scott Snyder about?
The story follows Skinner Sweet, the first American vampire – an outlaw living in the Wild West. In 1925, he meets Pearl Jones, an actress working as an extra in Hollywood just as “talkies” are about to take over, who might face a grim fate…
The story is intense and jumps across time periods, from the Wild West to the Cold War, exploring different eras, characters, and ideas. It’s a tale of evolution – of vampires, technology, and the population – and a story of corruption, demystifying the American myth through the lens of horror.
Of course, a good scary story is nothing without a good artist – someone who can set the mood as easily as portray the grotesque things the characters get up to. Rafael Albuquerque fills this role with pitch perfection.
Snyder won the Eisner and Harvey Awards in 2011 for the Best New Series for this book, as well as an Eagle Award nomination in the same year.Three years later, in 2014, he would receive an Eisner Award for Best Writer as well. If you want to be infected too, the DC Compact Comics Edition: American Vampire offers a cheap, pocket-sized bite into this world, same as the American Vampire Trade Paperback. The American Vampire 1976 Hardcover offers the ending to the story, which was also completely collected in two omnis:
Black Mirror: First Trip to Gotham
A year after starting his work on American Vampire, Snyder was given a chance to tackle another type of Bat – the cape-wearing one. He picked up Detective Comics with issue #871, signing an exclusive contract with DC. The first foray into Batman was the story arc called The Black Mirror.
The story takes place after Final Crisis and the Battle for the Cowl: Batman is dead (or is he?) and Dick Grayson has huge shoes to fill in. While Morrison was tackling the story in Batman & Robin (or Volume 2 of their omnibus, if you’re so inclined), Snyder followed along with a more grounded, crime/horror approach.
Dick Grayson has to tackle a series of bizarre crimes which keep escalating. At the same time, he is tackling the legacy of Bruce Wayne as Batman. Will he be enough to fill in the shoes? Will he be able to solve the case before more lives are lost?
Meanwhile, Jim Gordon has issues of his own – with the return of his son, James Gordon Jr., to Gotham, claiming he’s better than he ever was. Can the Gordons trust the young man, or will tragedy strike?
Throughout Snyder’s work, Gotham is a big part of the narrative – it’s a character just as much as any other. Here, Snyder explores this idea for the first time, positioning the city as the Dark Mirror – stare too long into it, and you’ll soon see your own dark reflection. The same happens to Dick, Jim, and everyone they interact with.
Snyder also played with the Batman mythos and showed his penchant for the world (which most likely landed him the place as the main Batman scribe once New 52 hit). The characters are Black Mirrors of each other – Dick is the opposite of Bruce (a smiling Batman is the most terrifying thing in this book!), and Jim and James Jr. are on opposite ends too.
The art throughout the whole thing is insane! Jock handles the art and David Baron the colors on the Dick Grayson parts of the story, giving it a visceral feel. It looks like the art is etched into the page, with Jock’s dramatic, almost manic yet precise linework. Meanwhile, Francesco Francavilla takes care of both art and colors on the Gordon parts, playing with warm and cold tones to great effect. His more detailed art mirrors the story as Jim’s thoughts and memories grow murkier.
The two styles meet and clash as the stories converge in the epic finale, and you can pick up either The Black Mirror TP or The Black Mirror Deluxe Edition HC to enjoy it.
Batman
What can I say about Snyder’s Batman that much smarter and more educated people haven’t already said? When the New 52 launched, he teamed up with Greg Capullo and delivered one of the biggest blockbusters in comic book history.
I wasn’t reading comics as much back then as I do now, but I imagine following in Grant Morrison’s footsteps must have been intimidating. That’s why, when The Court of Owls hit the ground running, it must have blown everyone away.
Snyder’s Batman is still the Bat-God Morrison created – a man larger than the myth surrounding him – but he’s also more human. He gets hurt, tricked, and in the very first story, he loses control of the one thing he thought he knew like the back of his hand – Gotham City itself.
Capullo’s art is astonishing – clean, crisp, a joy to look at. He stayed for the entire run (which is rare for artists these days) and consistently delivered breathtaking visuals, along with Jonathan Glapion on inks and FCO on colors.
It’s no wonder the series has been collected in so many different formats over the years:
- DC Compact: The Court of Owls is a cheap gateway into the run;
- The Court of Owls trade paperback is the first of ten that collect the run in the format;
- Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo Omnibus Volume 1 and Volume 2;
- Absolute Batman: The Court of Owls and the following 2 volumes give an even bigger treat to enjoy the fantastic story!
Other Batman Work
Snyder’s work on Batman did not stop there. Throughout the years, he would revisit the character and the world again and again with many collaborators.
Batman Eternal (in three volumes, or the omni version if you like it all in one place) was a collaborative challenge for the creators, delivering one issue every week for a whole year. While many smaller stories are woven into the narrative, the overarching plot follows Batman as he faces a villain known as Mother, who reveals secrets from his past.
Batman & Robin Eternal followed, focusing more closely on the extended Batman family, letting Tynion IV take the reigns and prepare for his fantastic run on Detective Comics in the pages of The Rise and Fall of Batmen.
The Last Knight on Earth (and its hardcover edition) joined Snyder and Capullo years after finishing their New 52 run, to tell one final story of Batman and Joker, in an alternate universe where Bruce was a patient in Arkham, young and – never being Batman. Is this the real world? An elaborate trap? Find out for yourselves 😉 (the story is also collected in the Batman by Snyder and Capullo Omnibus Vol. 2 as a great finishing salvo).
Finally, All-Star Batman joined Snyder with Albuquerque, Jock, Romita Jr. Francavilla and a host of other all-star artists to tell different tales of Batman facing his villains. From fast-paced action to some dramatic reveals, there was a lot to enjoy in the pages of this series!
Superman Unchained
Snyder didn’t only stop at Batman – he also wrote the other caped icon of DC Comics. Superman Unchained maxi series (lasting 9 issues) joined Snyder with Jim Lee on pencils, Scott Williams on inks and Alex Sinclair on colors to tell a story of Superman facing a new enemy: W.R.A.I.T.H.
The story is highly entertaining, and there’s little that I can say about the art of Jim Lee – the man is an absolute unit and everything with his name on it is an instant buy for me (you guys are reading Hush 2, right?)
Justice League
During DC’s Rebirth era, Snyder moved from Batman to Justice League. First, he teamed up with Capullo to create the limited series Dark Nights: Metal. Exploring the multiverse and its dark counterpart, they introduced new, twisted versions of Batman, while the Justice League faced one of the biggest new DC villains ever created – the Batman Who Laughs.
The trade paperback collects the main event while Dark Knights Rising collects various “Dark Knights” stories. There is also a compendium and an omnibus floating around!
This led to the main event – the Justice League series, which follows dual narratives: the Justice League (written by Snyder) and the Legion of Doom (written by Tynion IV) racing to seize the power of the Totality, a force that could reshape the entire multiverse if unlocked. Jorge Jimenez, Francis Manapul, and Jim Cheung provided the art, and it’s absolutely stellar. These are some of my favorite artists in the industry, so I might be slightly biased though!
The series was collected in three hardcovers:
- Justice League by Scott Snyder Book One;
- Justice League by Scott Snyder Book Two;
- Justice League by Scott Snyder Book Three.
The Justice League by Snyder and Tynion Volume 1 Omnibus just dropped, and Justice League Volume 2 is coming right behind it too!
This lead to the event Death Metal (Snyder really likes his metal), which saw the Justice League in an alternate universe of sorts, fighting for survival and against literal gods. Dark Nights: Death Metal covered the main event, while the whole story was collected in Dark Nights: Death Metal Omnibus as well.
Absolute Batman
Snyder’s current project has been no less bonkers! Recently, he helped launch what many are calling DC’s Ultimate Universe – the Absolute Universe! Teaming up again with Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin, Snyder tells the story of Bruce Wayne in a universe ruled by Darkseid energy.
There has been a lot of talk about Dragotta’s designs. This Bruce is bulky and so bad@$$! I think it really fits this over-the-top universe that Snyder is working in. At the time of writing this, there has been some controversy over Bane’s design, but I think it’s hilarious and that’s how it should be – Absolute Batman should not be taken seriously, and should be enjoyed for the silly mayhem it represents.
Both Absolute Batman trade paperback as well as the hardcover version will come out in August, and I’m very excited to see how far Snyder can push this concept.
Scott Snyder does indie stuff too!
AD After Death
What do you get when you combine two fantastic horror artists? You get a book like AD After Death. Written by Snyder with Jeff Lemire on art, this is a story set in a world after death. With a genetic cure for death discovered, Jonah Cooke will go on a journey that will test his memory, mortality and moral values.
There is so much stuffed in this three-issue story, and it’s a weird blend of comic and prose. Lemire paints each issue in his very distinctive style, and reading this is an experience like no other.
Wytches
Another limited series, Wytches (with illustrations by Jock and colors by Matt Hollingsowrth), follows Sailor Rooks and her parents as they get adjusted to living in a new city. However, the reasons for their move might not be too innocent – their daughter Sailor might have been involved in a disappearance of a school bully, and the woods around their new house might be home to something very sinister.
The story is moody, spooky and graphic. If you enjoyed the team’s Black Mirror, you are sure to enjoy this as well – minus the superheroes, and with the graphic violence dialed up. There are two ways to read this – in a trade paperback format or the hardcover edition.
Barnstormers
Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love and Murder was the most recent hit that won Snyder and Eisner Award, along with a Harvey Award nomination in 2023. Set in the period after WWI, it is exactly what the name promises – a mixture of romance coupled with some staple Snyder murder-fare.
This was a part of Snyder’s eight-title digital first deal with comiXology Originals, which included hits like We Have Demons with Capullo, Clear with Francis Manapul and Night of the Ghoul with Francavilla.
In Barnstormers, Tula Lotay truly shines, playing with figures and colors. The expressions are vivid and charming, and there is this air of old Hollywood movies in every brush stroke that is a wonder to behold.
Undiscovered Country
Another collaboration with a fantastic team. Undiscovered country is co-written with Charles Soule, with Giuseppe Camuncoli, Daniele Orlandini on art and Matt Wilson on colors.
The United States of America has been walled off decades ago. Now, a team of explorers will dare to go into this Undiscovered Country, but what they find there might cost them their lives.
Nocterra
Constant darkness has fallen onto earth. However, this isn’t your regular night time adventure – the darkness is like a virus, and light is the only medicine. If you cannot access it, then you will turn into a hideous monster. And if you need protection and transport, then there’s Valentina Riggs and her eighteen-wheeler.
With Tony S. Moore on art, you cannot go wrong. His highly detailed character works screams emotion, while his action sets will make you gasp for breath. Tomeu Morel on colors only helps lift what’s already a fantastic art showcase to a whole new level – light and dark are integral to the story, and therefore colors need to show it as well. And man does the art deliver!
The 16-issue series has been collected in three volumes:
- Nocterra Volume 1: Full Throttle Dark
- Nocterra Volume 2: Pedal to the Metal
- Nocterra Volume 3: No Brakes
White Boat
Finally, one of the newest offerings from the team we all by now know and love (Snyder and Francavilla), comes White Boat – published by the relatively new DSTLRY company. This is the team doing what they do best – going back to their horror roots!
A White Boat is a paradise for some – the mega-yacht filled with riches and luxury, where those perversely-affluent can enjoy every bit of their hedonistic life. Getting invited to join the boat might seem like a dream come true – until you discover a dark secret that’s hidden deep in the hull…
It’s Lovecraftian, filled with cults, deep sea anxiety and fear of the unknown. It’s weird and wild and full of characters that will make the hair on your neck stand up. And it will hit the shelves in just a few months – so when it does, make sure you grab yourself a copy of White Boat. Or else…
Thrilling Terrors of Storytelling
Love or hate the man, you cannot escape from him. Snyder is an educated and talented writer, and I believe we can learn a lot from him. Whether he writes about heroes or goes independent and wild, bending the genre, there is always something you can enjoy – especially in the shorter, compact projects. He’s able to sell a book AND keep it entertaining, and that’s definitely something to be admired!
