Batman #91

When Tynion took over on Batman I had high hopes, the characterization was solid, I liked the tone and while I felt the plot was a little bit of a rehash of other "new" criminal mastermind stories like RIP, Hush and Knightfall it was interesting enough to keep me reading. Now however we're six issues in and the plot has moved forward by only a few inches and we know little more about the new villain, The Designer, than we did at the start and nothing about his motivations or plans. Six issues is enough space to tell a whole story so I don't think it's asking too much to have at least a decent feel for a new villain...and we don't have one yet. RIP took 6 issues to tell it's whole story, Hush was 12 issues but at half way through we had a great feel for Hush and his designs and likewise the introduction to Bane and the first leg of Knightfall was 12 issues and again by its half way mark we knew who Bane was and how he planned to beat Batman. That we have no concrete information on the designer or what he plans to do and why by this point is just a travesty in storytelling. I'm out.

The only positive? Albuquerque draws a great Joker...but it's in a wasted scene that basically summarizes the last issue. Why was that needed?

After suffering through Tom King, I am still delighted with this run. To each their own though.

[QUOTE=Steven Caldwell;4893762]After suffering through Tom King, I am still delighted with this run. To each their own though.[/QUOTE]

I don't suffer through bad books, I just drop them. I really wanted to like this run but the pacing is just so bad.

Yeah, I'm not liking it at all. The story's dumb.

The artwork is great and I think the story is interesting but I agree, it feels a bit drawn out. It's a serviceable run so far. Not bad, but not anything great either for me at least.

I'm not necessarily keen on the story dragging.

But god it's nice to see Joker behaving like a human being with "some" sense of humanity, interest in human affairs, neither being God Tier nor involved in Cosmic Conundrums that he's somehow keenly helpful at solving.

CROOKS. They're crooks. They're the coolest crooks that ever lived ... but they're still crooks. Gangsters. Punks. Hoodlums. Why wouldn't Joker "not kill an entire room full of people, just the bartender for no sense of humor"? Like what motivation would he have for being Jason or Freddy or Michael Myers and leaving everyone in any given room dead? What's the point? For a guy whose entire ... BODY, face, brand, and style ... are designed to make points ...

And the art really was lovely and helped convey that groundedness, both with Joker feeling like a person (horrible or not), or with Batman and Slade falling off of a plane feeling like it had weight, gravity, groundedness, and a bit of the world-weariness that makes them feel like people, and veterans of comic book conflicts - because they had weight and character, it felt like a continuation of the grizzled veteran dynamic they had in Priest's run.

Harley still felt fun and funny. Selina still felt catty, cunning and bold. Designer is still a cipher in a story that could go any direction. And I even liked Eddie's new costume.

So while I have my qualms about pacing like anyone else, I'm still along for the ride. They do all still read as characters who are People, with Relationships and even Friendships or Rivalries with one another.

I've actually really enjoyed this run so far over the end of Tom King's. I especially liked that Batman in this tried to reason with Deathstroke/appeal to his humanity, that he's taking ownership of the mistakes he's made in King's run, and that he's trying to make amends. Along with that, I like how Bruce has been fairly grounded so far and that he's hasn't really been able to keep up with everything. He's human and certainly isn't some God-tier who can tag/knockout two speedsters running at high speeds and coming from different directions (seriously just no on that).

Anyway I'm pretty to see what Riddler's got and funny thing is that I reread Zero Year recently.

[QUOTE=thwhtGuardian;4893981]I don't suffer through bad books, I just drop them. I really wanted to like this run but the pacing is just so bad.[/QUOTE]

I collect Batman main title, so I've weathered through runs I did not care for myself.

I like this run so far just because it's fun. I didn't care for the art this issue though.

[QUOTE=Centrions;4895716]I've actually really enjoyed this run so far over the end of Tom King's. I especially liked that Batman in this tried to reason with Deathstroke/appeal to his humanity, that he's taking ownership of the mistakes he's made in King's run, and that he's trying to make amends. Along with that, I like how Bruce has been fairly grounded so far and that he's hasn't really been able to keep up with everything. He's human and certainly isn't some God-tier who can tag/knockout two speedsters running at high speeds and coming from different directions (seriously just no on that).

Anyway I'm pretty to see what Riddler's got and funny thing is that I reread Zero Year recently.[/QUOTE]

I agree, I think this is a great story arch! I am pretty sure the Designer is the Joker at this point. (the hint to the bartender, the green gas zombies, and the Riddler working with him, though they may just want you to think that?

Writing taste is subjective, I almost packed it in with City of Bane, but I'm really enjoying this!

[QUOTE=Centrions;4895716]I've actually really enjoyed this run so far over the end of Tom King's. I especially liked that Batman in this tried to reason with Deathstroke/appeal to his humanity, that he's taking ownership of the mistakes he's made in King's run, and that he's trying to make amends. Along with that, I like how Bruce has been fairly grounded so far and that he's hasn't really been able to keep up with everything. He's human and certainly isn't some God-tier who can tag/knockout two speedsters running at high speeds and coming from different directions (seriously just no on that).

Anyway I'm pretty to see what Riddler's got and funny thing is that I reread Zero Year recently.[/QUOTE]

The characterization is strong, he writes a great Batman and I like his Catwoman as well...he just needs a better editor to tell him to pick up the pace and as no one seems to be telling him that I just get myself to care about getting to the end.

[QUOTE=thwhtGuardian;4896710]The characterization is strong, he writes a great Batman and I like his Catwoman as well...he just needs a better editor to tell him to pick up the pace and as no one seems to be telling him that I just get myself to care about getting to the end.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I agree with this. The best parts are the dialogue and banter between the characters. There's a lot of humanity there. And the story beats are well-timed, but the overall story is kind of dragging for sure. It's another mysterious all-knowing behind-the-scenes villain who gets Batman running to and fro fighting a who's who of bad guys, which should sound pretty familiar by now. Hopefully there are some genuine surprises coming.

Let's get ready for Joker Wars!

[QUOTE=K. Jones;4894319]I'm not necessarily keen on the story dragging.

But god it's nice to see Joker behaving like a human being with "some" sense of humanity, interest in human affairs, neither being God Tier nor involved in Cosmic Conundrums that he's somehow keenly helpful at solving.

CROOKS. They're crooks. They're the coolest crooks that ever lived ... but they're still crooks. Gangsters. Punks. Hoodlums. Why wouldn't Joker "not kill an entire room full of people, just the bartender for no sense of humor"? Like what motivation would he have for being Jason or Freddy or Michael Myers and leaving everyone in any given room dead? What's the point? For a guy whose entire ... BODY, face, brand, and style ... are designed to make points ...

And the art really was lovely and helped convey that groundedness, both with Joker feeling like a person (horrible or not), or with Batman and Slade falling off of a plane feeling like it had weight, gravity, groundedness, and a bit of the world-weariness that makes them feel like people, and veterans of comic book conflicts - because they had weight and character, it felt like a continuation of the grizzled veteran dynamic they had in Priest's run.

Harley still felt fun and funny. Selina still felt catty, cunning and bold. Designer is still a cipher in a story that could go any direction. And I even liked Eddie's new costume.

So while I have my qualms about pacing like anyone else, I'm still along for the ride. They do all still read as characters who are People, with Relationships and even Friendships or Rivalries with one another.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I agree... Do you think there's some twist coming with the Designer or the Joker will be the Designer and will reveal as a joke?

I cant wait for this month of Joker Wars