Batman has fallen and now Gotham belongs to Bane. What havoc will ensue during this new king’s reign over the city?
This is it. Thus, begins the culmination of Tom King’s run on Batman. Everything that has happened up until this point has been leading to “City of Bane.” How does it begin though? Instead of a bang like many, including myself, were probably expecting, this issue is more of a whisper. It’s set-up for what’s to come and provides the information that the reader needs to know about this new status quo. Could there have been more going on? Absolutely, but that doesn’t change the fact that this issue does a pretty decent job of paving the way forward.
If one could say anything about Tom King is that he’s not one for playing it safe. Clearly, that’s what going on with this issue. King manages to take elements from several past Batman stories, such as “No Man’s Land” and “Knightfall,” and combine them to make his own thing. There’s is definitely a similar feel on the surface, but King makes everything his own. There’s a twisted undercurrent for how normal everything feels in this issue.
Joker and Riddler are seemingly sane (for the most part) detectives. Hugo Strange is the mayor. And after the cliffhanger in Batman #74, it’s revealed that Thomas Wayne was the Batman to crawl out of the pit. So even Batman and Robin, now Gotham Girl, is twisted in this issue. Honestly, this feels like a classic issue of Batman from several decades ago that would tell a complete story in one issue. Now though, the cast is switched around and changed to a darker version of itself.
The issue doesn’t really do much more than that though, other than some Bruce sections of this, which are the least interesting parts. As great of a writer as King is, sometimes he falls into some bad tendencies, such as telling stories that don’t pertain to the issue as a whole. This occurs during this issue and, having read it twice, it kills the momentum of the story for the few pages that it’s on. The story could become relevant later, but for now, it’s not good.
Because of this extended nature of this issue, two artists are present here, Tony S. Daniel and Mitch Gerads. Daniel handles the main portion of the issue, while Gerads handles the “Year of the Villain” back-up. Both are great artists and handle their portions perfectly in this issue.
Daniel’s art feels classically Batman. Gotham is dark and grimy, but within it is beauty. Not from the city itself, but rather the movements and actions of those who are on-page. Little details, such as the Joker flipping Two-Face’s coin or larger details like the intricate designs of a broken Batmobile make this issue beautiful. His figures are kinetic, the action is easy to follow, and his faces are extremely emotive when they need to be.
As for Gerads, his art is much more subdued than Daniel’s. He tells the story of Gotham not through, actions, but through wide shot coverage. From Firefly being a member of the fire department letting buildings burn to a fascist Gotham Girl sign, Gerads shows how far the city has fallen. He doesn’t need any words to help explain, he just shows it, and it’s gorgeous.
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