Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "tom-king"

Batman, Volume 7: The Wedding by Tom King

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This contains four stories in six issues:

The Gift (a 2 1/2 Issue story) in which Booster Gold creates a timeline where Bruce's parents didn't die in order to give Batman a wedding present. Credit where credit is due, King doesn't go for a "Batman causes supervillains" sort of story as we see the world is horrible without Batman. Supervillains were coming, Batman's the man who is needed to fight the monsters. However, the rest of the story is so stupid, particularly Booster Gold. Compare his portrayal here to that written for him by his creature Dan Jurgens in Action Comics, Booster Shot. It's bleak and not nearly so clever as it thinks it is.

Your Big Day (Half Issue story): The Joker taunts and then kills a random father in order for Tom King to show the shocking fact that no one knew before this issue: The Joker is a crazy killer.

Best Man (Two issue Story): The story opens to see the Joker killing a groom on his wedding. This was necessary in order for Tom King to show the shocking fact that no one knew before this issue: The Joker is a crazy killer. Though that point seems strangely familiar. Batman and the Joker fight as the Joker chatters endlessly tell he knocks Batman out and its up for Catwoman to save the day. She and Joker fight until they're nearly unconscious and then lie on the floor and talk to see which one will try to get up to finish the fight. There were actually some good bits in this story.

The Wedding (Double Issue): It's the wedding of Batman and Catwoman, and its attended with great art (and not so great heart) done by past and present Batman articles of their writng letters to each other. It's actually a very nice issue for the art. However, it leads to one of the most disappointing cop-out endings in comic history after a year of build up. King's ending is not only a kick in the head to fans, ut it has Catwoman acting wildly out of character.

One other thing, I'll add is that this book has so little of Batman in it in speaking roles. We hear nothing from Batman for the first three issues and scant from him in Issues 4 and 5. Issue 6 is a bit more even, but through most of the book, Batman might as well be the guest star. Disappointing overall.



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Batman, Volume 8: Cold Days by Tom King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In Cold Days, Bruce Wayne gets jury duty on a case where Mr. Freeze is being tried on evidence produced by Batman. Bruce becomes the only hold out on a guilty verdict based on a theory that Freeze was set up that has no evidence to support it.

Tom King delivers what every Batman fan wants: three issues full of Bruce Wayne on jury duty. We essentially get an idea of the over-the-top amount of self-doubt that's hit Bruce after Selena left him standing at the aisle.

The final issue includes a long conversation in which Bruce makes his case for not believing in Batman's evidence because Batman's not God. This monologue was touched off by Bruce asking a woman wearing a chain if she was wearing a cross under her shirt. Good thing it wasn't a dogtag to honor a fallen soldier or the whole monologue wouldn't work.

There's something to the monologue because a lot of writers who treat Batman like he's a God and not just writers of Batman, but writers of other books who can't stop themselves from fanboying about Batman even to the detriment of the story and characters to be writing. It's a good idea to remind readers of Batman's humanity.

However, there's something silly about applying this to religion and further the overwrought reaction to the break up. Sometimes Bruce sounds like, "My engagement was broken, therefore Batman is not God."

Next up is the one-shot story where Nightwing shows up in Gotham to team up with Batman and just be a friend. This is a nice celebration of Dick and Bruce's relationship and my favorite part of the book.

That leads into Beast of Burden where a hired killer shoots Dick and Batman sets out to hunt him down. You have Batman getting tough, finding his man, and having a solid fight scene. You also have some gratuitous patricide because Tom King. The story ends with Batman doing something that is not consistent with his character.

Overall, this book is just not for me. The art is very good, and I think Tom King is a good writer in general, but I don't like his conception of Batman as overdone indie comic psychodrama and self-analysis with a few fight scenes and gratuitious acts of cruelty and murder to keep the hoi polloi reading. At this point, I've lost confidence that he's going to land the book somewhere good, so I'm done with this series.



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