This week, Favorite Comic Runs shined a spotlight on Scott Snyder's debut Batman story and his latest work with the Joker. The Comic Vine crowd had all week to reread these two epics, cast their votes and discuss which one they've decided to side with and why. Initially, The Black Mirror took a heavy lead over Death of the Family and the comments about the New 52 story arc... well, let's just say they weren't exactly flattering. However, as the week progressed, the the race became a little tighter as DotF gained more and more votes. In the end, Death of the Family just wasn't able to catch up and The Black Mirror is taking the victory!
Scott Snyder's first Batman story received 52% of the votes. Death of the Family wasn't too far behind and managed to earn a respectable 41%. Meanwhile, 6% shamefully admitted they haven't read either. Well, here's hoping this segment convinced them to give at least one of them a shot.
Look, I'll be blunt: if you haven't read this story yet, drop what you're doing (after reading the rest of this article, of course) and go pick it up. Snyder's tale is a legitimately haunting and a completely absorbing experience. Dick Grayson's detective work will keep you guessing, the depth given to the Gordon family is absolutely brilliant, and on top of doing a superb job handling the characters, Snyder also expands the world around them. To make matters even more impressive, Jock and Francesco Francavilla do a stunning job bringing the entire experience to life. They're without question the perfect compliment to the atmosphere Snyder establishes and you'll most definitely find yourself immersed in the experience.
Viner Post of the Week for The Black Mirror is by spidermonkey2099
"Well I think those are Scott Snyder's two best Batman stories so far (though I haven't read Zero Year yet, so maybe it blows these other two out of the water), but I think I have to give a slight edge to The Black Mirror. That book was extremely creepy and suspenseful, and was really just about perfect. Death of the Family is one of the best Joker stories that I have read, but it just doesn't quite reach the same level of quality that Black Mirror did. Regardless, two great Batman stories by one of my favorite comic book writers."
A NEW TEASER APPEARS! We've taken a small sample of the image for next week's match-up. Gaze at it and see if you can identify the two covers before one of your fellow Viners can. The first person to get it right will get a mention in Monday's article. It's not the best accomplishment around, but that'll grant you a little bit of bragging rights. We won't judge you if you celebrate with a dancing GIF. Okay, ready? Set? GAZE!
Don't forget to check the homepage on Monday to vote in an all-new edition of 'Favorite Comic Runs.' If you do forget, you'll make Stan Lee cry, and you wouldn't want that, would you? Of course not. Also, want to suggest a writer and two of their stories for the segment? Go ahead and tell us below or send it via Twitter. Don't be shy, we welcome the input.