Batman #80 Review: Bat/Cat Returns to Gotham City

Batman and Catwoman have returned to Gotham with nothing but the entire city standing between them and Bane. Minor spoilers for Batman #80 follow.

It’s been a long time coming, but we’re in the endgame for Tom King’s Batman run. Stakes are high, character arcs are coming around full circle, and tensions are escalating. Coming off the back of the emotionally rich issues of #78 and #79, this issue is honestly quite jarring though. This is a much more plot-driven issue as compared to the previous two. That isn’t a bad thing though as this storyline, despite how emotionally investing it has been, has needed to pick up the pacing. This issue does exactly that.

By virtue of being plot-driven, this issue has very little in the way of dialogue throughout. This is a Tom King staple. If a story is plot-driven, there is often very little dialogue, whereas character-driven issues feature plenty of it. There are exceptions, but this is often the case with his writing. And it’s a good thing with this issue that it is light on dialogue. The momentum of the issue is carried forward through the actions of the characters rather than what they are saying to each other. Batman is on a warpath, while Thomas Wayne is wrestling with his inner guilt. Two diametrically opposed motivations, but both shown through their actions rather than their dialogue, which is a great choice.

Because Batman is on the warpath that he’s on, we get to see some fun cameos from several villains, whom Batman and Catwoman dispatch easily. It’s entertaining to see these fights happen, even if it does bring up the question “Why don’t they take them down this easy every time?” but entertaining, nonetheless. This leads to an intense cliffhanger that will make you crave for the next issue to read immediately.

As mentioned though, this issue takes place almost entirely through visually storytelling. Thus, in order to create an impact, the art needs to be great. Thankfully, John Romita Jr. delivers in this issue. I’m generally not the biggest fan of Romita’s. I like his art just fine, but he’s not my favorite. However, he kills on this issue. There’s an epic feeling that hearkens back to some his best art, aka Eternals by Neil Gaiman and Romita, while feeling exactly like Gotham.

Even though Romita’s style is drastically different from every artist present in the storyline before, the inks and colors help keep the style consistent. Klaus Janson has been consistently one of the best inkers in comics for decades and that’s no different here. He brings the perfect amount of moodiness that the issue needs, which enhances Romita’s linework. Then when it comes to colorist Tomeu Morey, he’s one of the best colorists working in comics right now. His colors bring a presence to every page, creating an almost different world on these pages, while also feeling cohesive.

CHECK OUT: Batman #79 Review: Emotions are High for Bat/Cat