Batman: Kings of Fear, Kelley Jones returns to Batman!

[judder64]

https://www.cbr.com/batman-kings-of-fear-kelley-jones/

Well well well, unexpected but more than welcome news. I had been wondering lately whether DC should go back to miniseries created by different authors, rather than sticking with long runs like Snyder's or King's. That would add more diversity to Batman's stories, and potentially introduce new and exciting elements.

I am glad this new mini series has been announced, and I hope it is the first one of many to come. I would love to see the likes of Greg Rucka or Brubaker writing new stories set in Batman's lore.

What do you think?

[JBatmanFan05]

The preview is pretty decent and intriguing. I like the topical ambitiousness of this mostly-editor-turned-writer Scott Peterson.

So many of Jones's project kinda disappoint and never match Jones's 90s run with Moench (not even Moench could match his older stories). So Scott will really have to win me over with the writing.

Kings of Fear is not connected to current mainline Batman storylines, and it’s vaguely described in solicitation copy to take place after Bruce Wayne has been active as Batman “for years” — but Jones and Peterson say the story could take place at any point in the Batman timeline, with a focus on asking existential questions cutting to the core of the Caped Crusader, formed from their years of work on the character.

It really can't, guys, c'mon now (Scott was an O'Neil era editor!). It clearly takes place after Knightfall and before NML based on the villains' costumes alone. (the costumes definitely suggest Jones at least had a timeline period in mind, what he thinks of as his period (as usual), which was the 90s)

And Bane (if that isn't some toxin-based hallucination) really narrows the placement to before Vegeance of Bane II I think (the last time Bane was incarcerated in the 90s/that period of the timeline, even though he was in Blackgate and not Arkham I think...but you could imagine some fair enough reconciling explanation like that he was occasionally being transferred from one to the other perhaps for mental healthcare because Bane was suffering in Blackgate, getting bullied for a bit and struggling mightily with Venom withdrawal).

(for others villains besides Bane, I think it's easier to imagine off-panel arrests and incarcerations and escapes, but Dixon (and others) really seemed to impliedly rule out doing so for Bane, connecting every new Bane arc to the last, no gaps)

[Slim Shady]

I'm a big fan of the Jones/Moench run, it all had such a trippy vibe to it. Haven't seen much of his stuff since then so I might check it out.

[judder64]

It really can't, guys, c'mon now (Scott was an O'Neil era editor!). It clearly takes place after Knightfall and before NML based on the villains' costumes alone. (the costumes definitely suggest Jones at least had a timeline period in mind, what he thinks of as his period (as usual), which was the 90s)

I guess they meant that Kings of Fear is going to be a full stand alone story, with no relevant connections to previous works. That pretty much means it could take place at any time in batman's timeline, even if there are small tibdits pointing to the contrary.

[JBatmanFan05]

I guess they meant that Kings of Fear is going to be a full stand alone story, with no relevant connections to previous works. That pretty much means it could take place at any time in batman's timeline, even if there are small tibdits pointing to the contrary.

I think you might possibly be correct, this is some imprecise attempt to emphasize accessibility, but my point is that it's a tad odd and possibly dishonest/accidentally misleading because Jones (and maybe the writer Peterson) awfully seem to have a ballpark continuity point in the timeline in mind.

[millernumber1]

Well, I've been a fan of Peterson's writing gigs fairly consistently. I'm just worried because I was much more a Graham Nolan fan during that era, and I just don't like the huge ears. Ah, well.

[PurpleGlovez]

I’m totally down for this, the preview looks great and I love projects like these. I can’t help but admire the world of Kelley Jones’ Batman.

As for the continuity. Bane’s presence and Batman’s costume (he still has trunks) would place this after KnightsEnd and before Prodigal. However, Arkham Asylum didn’t technically exist at that point; the inmates were being housed in Blackgate until the new Arkham was opened at Mercey Mansion well after Troika. The Joker originally remained free from incarceration all the way from the Knightfall Arkham breakout to the events of Joker: Devil’s Advocate, set closer to Contagion. Penguin’s presence suggests a pre-Detective 683 setting. Bane was never an Arkham inmate during this era, but perhaps he was transferred briefly for a psych eval or something. It’s definitely before Vengeance II at any rate. Alfred’s presence and Jim’s police rank might give us more clues.

[Jovos2099]

Wait I'm confused is this in continuity or is it an elseworlds?

[JBatmanFan05]

Wait I'm confused is this in continuity or is it an elseworlds?

I think creators would say it can be read as either. Though they do say it can be read anywhere that's "years" into Batman's timeline, perhaps indicating they slightly lean toward treating it as in continuity or they would left out the timeline talk.

the inmates were being housed in Blackgate until the new Arkham was opened at Mercey Mansion well after Troika . . . It’s definitely before Vengeance II at any rate. Alfred’s presence and Jim’s police rank might give us more clues.

I think there is a fair chance that this team will instead prove this story can't be read anywhere in Batman's timeline. Because the period they seem to be suggesting is a continuity landmine field of things you have to account for.

Mercey Mansion is a good example of that.

It will depend, but if Alfred is butlering, you might be able to say this story happened after Batman #521 and before Veng of Bane II (which were released within months of each other). You might have to assume/pretend this is the Arkham at Mercey Mansion.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

I hated Jones Batman. Great art for Swamp Thing and some Vertigo stuff though.

[TheNewFiftyForum]

I'd rather have seen him do an arc on King's Batman than another throwback project.

[judder64]

This has nothing to do with Kings of Fear, but it is related to going back to the stories told durant those publishing years.

I was more of a detective comics fan than the main batman line, because I enjoyed more the more detective approach than the superhero one.

Don't you think DC should go back to writing more detective focused stories in the Detective Comics regular series?

[millernumber1]

This has nothing to do with Kings of Fear, but it is related to going back to the stories told durant those publishing years.

I was more of a detective comics fan than the main batman line, because I enjoyed more the more detective approach than the superhero one.

Don't you think DC should go back to writing more detective focused stories in the Detective Comics regular series?

People say that a lot. But I say eh. (Obviously. ).

I am really curious to know if people feel like the old timelines have "hollowed out" so that there's more room to tell stories because a lot of the old ones aren't remembered, so they aren't considered as "counting" similar to the way Loeb seemed to use Long Halloween and Dark Victory to fill in the Year One era, even though it didn't fit super well with things like Year Two and Year Three and the other things DC did in the 80s and early 90s to fill in Batman's early history.

[MajorHoy]

Just bought and read issue #1 yesterday.
Bought the variant cover by Sienkiewicz.

Strange thing I noticed (at least in my copy) was that when Batman had brought Joker back to Arkham and was "discussing" with the female doctor that the insanity of the criminals wasn't his (Batman's) fault, there's a panel where an alarm goes "clang clang clang" in a circular pattern. But in the bottom half of the basically white panel it has in typeface "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT". Anybody know why that might be in the panel? (And was it a coincidence that Batman: White Knight #1 was a free offering for Batman Day 2018 this month?)

By the way, here's the page as was posted on the thedailyfandom.com site last month. It doesn't have the wording in that bottom panel.

[MajorHoy]

Bought and read issue #2 this weekend.



Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the coloring job this issue. Felt it was too dark and muddled in several panels which made it difficult to tell what was actually suppose to be seen.
Now, I did get a paper copy, so I don't know if the problem was just a poor job by the colorist, or maybe an unintended consequence of DC's recent change in the paper stock, or even possibly just a case of when it came out in the print run in terms of the finished product.

Anybody else have any issues with the coloring of this issue?