"The First Ally" finale! In the final issue of Scott Snyder's high-octane run on ALL STAR BATMAN, he and superstar artist Rafael Albuquerque put Batman to the ultimate test! Faced with either losing his future as Batman or the person he loves most, the Dark Knight must decide which ultimate price he is willing to pay.
Across both his previous series and the current All-Star Batman, Snyder has rarely looked back, and not for very long. Where many books featuring major heroes can get lost in nostalgia, Snyder's emphasis on new villains, scenarios, and visual styles (pink was the most common color in his initial Batman series after black and grey) have offered a fresh take on a hero that has been too prominently featured to not be at the risk of growing stale. Read Full Review
Overall, I'm sad to see All Star Batman go. Snyder has crafted an adventure that stood firmly on its own, took us all over the world, and established a firmer bond between our hero and his faithful butler. This issue caps off an exciting tale that ends a title that never overstayed its welcome, and got me excited about pirates again. Read Full Review
It's hard to see All Star Batman go, but if we have to, this is definitely the way we wanted to see it end. You should always end in a way that makes your audience scream "Encore" and Snyder has definitely done that. It's hard to end the book on a better note than the beginning of two compelling new villains that will almost certainly resurface in Batman lore sooner than later. If ever there were a series that deserves to be collected in a hardcover omnibus, All Star Batman would definitely be the one. Read Full Review
All Star Batman #14 is such a fun issue and a great conclusion to the run. This may be the last of the story in this format but I can't wait for it to spiritually continue with Batman and The Signal. With great art, exciting adventure and amazing character development, this issue is highly recommendable, making this story arc the most important of the book. Read Full Review
A great conclusion to a story that fleshes out the history of Alfred and a bittersweet end to a truly innovative book. Read Full Review
The story transitions back to the present; Alfred and Batman embrace. Alfred asks, Have I been a good father? He wonders whether he has made a life for Bruce where he can be the hero, be adventurous, learn tough lessons, and always have a home to come back to. The questions resonate for the reader given the context of self-sacrifice and loyalty demonstrated by Alfred. From a fathers perspective, Have I done enough is a question most loving fathers ask themselves when thinking about their children. Read Full Review
Scott Snyder ends his run with a terrific tale that's equal parts thrilling and touching, reminding us why Alfred will always be Batman's greatest partner. Read Full Review
Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque end All-Star Batman on a high note that was action packed, but also full of the feels. While I wish this series was continuing, but at least it went off into the sunset with a kick ass Alfred leading the way and a story that looked great and also tugged at the heartstrings as well. Recommended. Read Full Review
This series has given us a fresh look at some important figures in the Batman mythos, Two-Face and Alfred Pennyworth. In fact, this new redefinition of Alfred provides much more depth to the character without changing or contradicting anything we already knew about him. And it reaffirms a vitally important, but mostly overlooked fact that Alfred is Bruce's father as much as Thomas Wayne was. And that by itself is enough to mark this as a truly great Batman story. Read Full Review
It is the end to a beautifully crafted series Read Full Review
All-Star goes out strong. With "The First Ally," Snyder and Albuquerque ran us through a gamut of insane action, thrilling chases, and even a bit of high-seas intrigue. More than that, though, this was a look at the relationships betweenfathers and sons. Read Full Review
The First Ally arc has been rewarding for Batman fans, and even more so for Alfred Pennyworth fans; All-Star Batman #14 ends this Alfred-centric arc and does so on a high note. Read Full Review
Rafael Albuquerques tale is also about fathers and their kids and brought full circle the nemesis storyline of the premiere story. I cant wait to see the Killer Queen reappear in the future. I like that Albuquerque is both the artist of the main story and the writer of the back up. As Ive written before, this Batman is more caped crusader than dark knight. The illustrations reflect that in the first story but less in the back story drawn by Sebastian Fiurama. Read Full Review
A heartfelt tribute to Alfred's awesomeness wrapped inside a badass swashbuckling tale. Read Full Review
So, this is it. It's the end of All-Star Batman. In typical Snyder style, he ends it off with a bang. It's been a pleasure reading this series, Scott, and if you ever feel like revisiting it again, we'll be right here, ready and waiting to read it. High fives to everyone who contributed to these incredible 14 issues. Read Full Review
This is a solid finale that has some really solid moments and Snyder has pulled off an impressive thing in adding depth to characters in a way that feels natural. Overall, this series has done a great job of exploring Batman in a way that we get to think about the themes of the character but at the same time it's done in stories that are entertaining from beginning to end. Read Full Review
I have some mixed feelings about Scott Snyder's pending departure from this book. On one hand, it's really time to go when Alfred suddenly has a secret vigilante history and an enemy from his past who is out to kill both Alfred and Batman. But here's the thing that Snyder does so well: he keeps writing these emotional moments between Alfred and Bruce, and they all work. Read Full Review
In the final issue of the series, we get a bit predictable with a villain revelation but we get a decent enough ending to wrap it all up. The back-up tries too hard to make itself relevant but the art is just too great to completely write off. Whether or not this series was successful will be up to the format Snyder is interested in exploring. Until then, we got a mostly consistently good series. Read Full Review
This series was like a rough plane ride. It took off quick. It was exciting. It had lots of turbulence… but then it got you where you wanted to be. Read Full Review
I'm glad that this is the end of this story arc and really want to see where we are going from here. Read Full Review
Not a terrible ending by any stretch of the imagination but this title felt like it has ran its course. This issue felt like it was running on fumes. You know it had to have an ending like this, although learning the true identity of the ally probably wasn't expected as well as his final actions but overall it doesn't add anything new to the Batman mythos. However, it is nice to see the bond between Bruce and Alfred but odd when you consider Alfred has a daughter of his own out there that he is barely as emotionally invested in.
A very sweet end to the Alfred story. Though I thought the surprise was a bit hack-y, it's clear Snyder was really putting his all into this, which is impressive considering you know his attention had turned to Metal by this point. Can we take a moment to acknowledge how amazing Jordie Bellaire's colors are?? The backup story feels like it came to a merciful end.
Best part about it was the ad for Batman: White Knight
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