Tom King Batman

Batman 75-85

Original review.  Still not a fan of Alfred’s death, even from a story POV.  (Of course I don’t want him to die, he’s the best, but if it’s going to happen, at least make it more emotionally satisfying.  Like Tony Stark in Endgame.)  That said, his farewell letter to Bruce is pretty darn good.

"The butler was family."  Only took Alfred dying for him to say it.

No way Thomas takes them all out later on.  Don't buy it.

The final issue is a complete mishmash of scenes, but Tom King somehow manages to make it work, tying everything up very neatly and going so far as to give running gag offscreen sad sacks Kite Man and Gotham City Knights quarterback Campbell happy endings.  

Other highlights:

King using the Killing Joke line for the second time this run.

Lovely action by Mikel Janin.

At the end of it all, I rate King’s run as a success.  It had gorgeous art throughout, and the stories mostly floated around Pretty good, sometimes dipping to Nice, sometimes rising up to Good.  (It’s the annuals where he really flourished, with three out of four Really goods.)  Beneath all the superhero trappings and Bane/Thomas Wayne’s byzantine plots, this was really a romance between two flawed people and their long struggle to come to terms with each other and themselves.  Not too shabby, Mr. King.

Beautiful posing by Clay Mann.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good to Good

Batman Annual 4

An amazing look at the day to day life of Batman.  King, Jorge Fornes, and Mike Norton start with a multipage story showing one day, then gradually shrink the number of pages and panels devoted to each day until the never-ending-battle nature of Batman’s crusade can’t be missed.  It’s so well written and executed.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good