The wait is over, and the war for Gotham City is about to begin. Pitting Batman and the extended Bat-family against the Court of Owls and their sinister agents, the long-awaited Night of the Owls” crossover kicks off this week.


A shadowy secret society with deathless assassins known as Talons to execute its malevolent will, the Court has roots that reach back into Gotham’s deep past – and now this cadre of killers has mounted an all-out assault to exert its influence on the city’s present. It’s the Court of Owls versus the Allies of the Bat to determine once and for all who will rule the shadows of Gotham City.


BATMAN back-up artist Rafael Albuquerque discusses his collaboration with writer Scott Snyder, and how their previous work together helped to inform the storytelling behind the BATMAN back-ups.


I have been collaborating with Scott for a while since we have teamed up to do AMERICAN VAMPIRE, so when I was invited to draw the back-ups for Batman I thought it would be a good opportunity to bring that "Vertigo flavor" to the most popular comic in the business. We did our basic game. Used different art styles to improve the storytelling and I can say that, besides all the pressure of drawing a BATMAN book, I believe this is one of my favorite works along with Scott.


(Art by Rafael Albuquerque for BATMAN #9)

 

The “Night of the Owls” begins this week in BATMAN #8 and NIGHTWING #8, exploding across the rest of the Bat-books in May. Stay tuned to The Source all this week for more insights from the architects of this epic event.