Trapped in the desert with his father, Batman must find a way back to Gotham before Bane begins to inflict irrevocable damage.
Batman by Tom King has consistently been one of the best comics on the stands, at least in my opinion. There have been plenty of ways that King has excelled at bringing Bruce down to his lowest points and just when it seems like he can’t get any lower, King manages to still surprise. Which leads us to Bruce and Thomas Wayne making the trek through the desert to resurrect Thomas’ version of Martha.
At first, this issue seemed to be going off the rails in a way that the series has really only done in one other issue, Batman #57, which is easily the worst issue of the series. There’s a reason why this issue seemed to be going off the rails in a way similar to that. A large portion of this issue is a direct reference to a children’s story told in said issue. However, as the story progresses though, it becomes clear why that story was so important. It didn’t make much sense as a metaphor then, but it does so now, very clearly. This issue changes the context for the story in a much more positive manner and makes it feel like it actually mattered.
The best part of this issue is the interaction between Thomas and Bruce. King writes Thomas as a father trying to make up for lost time with his son. Very talkative and trying to reminisce about Bruce’s childhood. Whereas Bruce feels just like Bruce. He’s quiet and says very little, so by the end of the issue, you understand why he’s acting normal and it all makes sense. The interactions between Thomas and Bruce are simultaneously fun and heartbreaking, which King consistently manages to do in everything.
Without Mikel Janin’s art though, the emotional weight that this issue is trying to convey simply wouldn’t work. Janin manages to not only make wandering through the desert interesting, but he makes what should be standard conversations stimulating. Janin has always been one of King’s best collaborators and it’s evident here. The fact that a desert journey is interesting at all proves how great of an artist he is.
Janin’s use of negative space throughout the issue is wonderful in context to the themes at play as well. Bruce is supposed to feel lonely throughout this issue, even though he’s with his father, and the art plays incredibly well to that. He’s often shown as smaller in the frame than Thomas and rarely ever next to him, surrounded only by sand. As the two get closer together throughout the issue, the tension begins to rise and that’s all thanks to Janin’s art.
