King Batman Run: Analysis and Enjoyment Thread

[millernumber1]

Mitch Gerads posted on Twitter the other day about taking a break from Strange Adventures to draw a goodbye to Gotham. I don't remember him being solicited in any of these final issues. Do you think he will be providing supporting pages, or will we get another issue out of King in one form or another? Be it a one-shot, a special, or what have you, I'd totally welcome it.

Another possibility I'm wondering about is the transition from King to Tynion. I know that the circumstances of Rebirth necessitated a status quo reestablishing additional first issue, but I would absolutely appreciate a King to Tynion transition issue in the same vein as the one we got from Snyder to King.

I agree with Inversed below about Gerads contributing.

In terms of a transition - We've seen a couple of major transitions in the past 4 years - Snyder to King, with the Rebirth special, Jurgens and Tomasi to Bendis, with the Superman and Action Comics specials. But I think King's Batman run is a bit different, since he's transitioning to a more focused stage, rather than leaving entirely. And Bat/Cat, though I bet it will stand on its own, will also be able to be read as a new chapter in King's run. Which is very different from what Snyder did with All-Star Batman - it doesn't feel like "the next chapter" of his n52 run. We'll have to wait and see, but I'm betting we're just going to see Tynion on 86, and King on Bat/Cat 1, and go from there.

I think Clay Mann is doing the whole thing. King posted on twitter that all the scripts are already done.
https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status...82605649776642

That doesn't prevent Gerard from working on an annual for Bat/Cat, a King/Gerard story in a Batman annual, or some kind of special.

I would be very curious to see if all 12 scripts are done. That would be quite impressive, unless he is mostly adapting previous plans. But that seems unlikely, since he was planning with Mann just in May, and he tends to be very improvisational in his scripting sometimes.

I believe since King mentioned that Jorge Fornes would also be coming back beyond just his story in Annual #4, I think we may be getting some guest artist appearances in #85. I also would not be surprised if other artists end up showing up in Bat/Cat beyond just Mann, especially the finale if that's his "biggest issue he's ever written."

I don't think we'll be getting a transition issue, just because that was something they did special for every series during Rebirth, and the reason they hired Tynion was because of his familiarity with Batman already, so he could easily just jump into #86 and just start up his story.

Agreed - #85 is oversized (48 pages, though I always forget how many story pages that is - probably at most 38), so I'm betting we're going to have a sort of "greatest hits" type of thing, similar to Batman Eternal #52, where you have different artists contributing different sections that hopefully celebrate the impact those artists have had on the run.

[millernumber1]

https://www.denofgeek.com/us/books/d...-catwoman-bane

Preview is up! I'm a big fan of JRJR, and I think it's really interesting that King is structuring this issue like a Western - the lone stranger walking into town. Similar to what Damian did, but where that was a sort of stealth and attack mission, this is a challenge. The Hush standoff we saw on twitter last week also really gave that vibe. Very excited!

[Katana500]

Another awesome issue! I really want to know what happens next.

spoilers:

I'm guessing Thomas will switch sides next issue and free Damian. Bruce had an awful lot of faith in his father to do the right thing though. I'm a bit anxious for Gotham Girl since she doesn't look particularly well. I hope she doesn't die or anything cause that'd be sad. I wonder what role she will still have to play. Any predictions? Also is it next issue Bruce rallies the rest of the family?

end of spoilers

[Inversed]

Another awesome issue! I really want to know what happens next.

spoilers:

I'm guessing Thomas will switch sides next issue and free Damian. Bruce had an awful lot of faith in his father to do the right thing though. I'm a bit anxious for Gotham Girl since she doesn't look particularly well. I hope she doesn't die or anything cause that'd be sad. I wonder what role she will still have to play. Any predictions? Also is it next issue Bruce rallies the rest of the family?

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I don't think Thomas is going to switch sides, instead I believe this'll be the moment where we get his true reveal, refusing to kill Damian and how he's not doing all of this for Bane, but for himself. Based on all the clues we have, it seems to all be pointing towards him being the true mastermind/hijacking Bane's plot. 81-83 will probably be the fight against Bane, with 84 and 85 being the fight against Thomas.

end of spoilers

[Chubistian]

It's interesting just how little Bane has appeared in this storyline, which I think fits with how King has put his ideas into play. It's similar to I Am Bane, where Bane seemed more as a force of nature than a human for the first two issues, and with The War of Jokes and Riddles, where the war itself takes a step back to the real theme of that arc, that has to do with Bruce and the proposal. Tom King is building the tension for the big showdown and I have been really enjoying the ride. John Romita Jr did an amazing job this issue. While I was a little worrisome after seeing his covers, my faith remained because I know that covers are not his strength. Kudos to Klaus Janson and Tomeu Morey for elevating his pencils.

[Shadowcat]

Does anyone know where I can find the textless covers to the City of Bane storyline online?

[Restingvoice]

Does anyone know where I can find the textless covers to the City of Bane storyline online?

The solicitations list

[Hilden B. Lade]

The Lee Weeks story in Annual 4 has been placed by a new Mike Norton story, though Jorge Fornes is still solicited as being part of Annual 4.

https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status...21052269002752

King implies that the planned Weeks story will see light as a special down the line.

[Inversed]

The Lee Weeks story in Annual 4 has been placed by a new Mike Norton story, though Jorge Fornes is still solicited as being part of Annual 4.

https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status...21052269002752

King implies that the planned Weeks story will see light as a special down the line.

Booooooooooooo.

I mean its good we're probably still gonna get it eventually next year but still boooooooooooooo. I need Weeks!

[Pohzee]

Booooooooooooo.

I mean its good we're probably still gonna get it eventually next year but still boooooooooooooo. I need Weeks!

If it’s gonna be a special, that means it’ll be expanded. Which means more Weeks!

[Inversed]

If it’s gonna be a special, that means it’ll be expanded. Which means more Weeks!

Hopefully. Even for Batman/Elmer Fudd and Annual #2, Weeks didn't do the entire thing, the epilogue for both books were done by other artists, and the Road Runner issue had Fornes do fill-ins, so we haven't truly gotten a 100% Weeks issue yet. So I'm crossing my fingers for this if he's taking his time we can get a full 30-40 page Weeks spectacular.

[millernumber1]

spoilers:

I don't think Thomas is going to switch sides, instead I believe this'll be the moment where we get his true reveal, refusing to kill Damian and how he's not doing all of this for Bane, but for himself. Based on all the clues we have, it seems to all be pointing towards him being the true mastermind/hijacking Bane's plot. 81-83 will probably be the fight against Bane, with 84 and 85 being the fight against Thomas.

end of spoilers

The acetate cover does hint at that! I think that's a good theory.

It's interesting just how little Bane has appeared in this storyline, which I think fits with how King has put his ideas into play. It's similar to I Am Bane, where Bane seemed more as a force of nature than a human for the first two issues, and with The War of Jokes and Riddles, where the war itself takes a step back to the real theme of that arc, that has to do with Bruce and the proposal. Tom King is building the tension for the big showdown and I have been really enjoying the ride. John Romita Jr did an amazing job this issue. While I was a little worrisome after seeing his covers, my faith remained because I know that covers are not his strength. Kudos to Klaus Janson and Tomeu Morey for elevating his pencils.

I really liked JRJR, Klaus, and even Morey's work. I love Morey's colors on Mann's pencils, but have not liked his colors on Tony Daniel's pencils at all. He does the same kind of colors for this issue that he does for Daniel - the green skies, particularly - but it works in a way that Daniel's don't for me.

[QUOTE=Hilden B. Lade;4604065]The Lee Weeks story in Annual 4 has been placed by a new Mike Norton story, though Jorge Fornes is still solicited as being part of Annual 4.

I'm bummed at the delay, but thrilled we'll still get Weeks. He's my favorite artist of the run, despite how small his page contribution has been.

Booooooooooooo.

I mean its good we're probably still gonna get it eventually next year but still boooooooooooooo. I need Weeks!

If it’s gonna be a special, that means it’ll be expanded. Which means more Weeks!

More Weeks is definitely better.

Hopefully. Even for Batman/Elmer Fudd and Annual #2, Weeks didn't do the entire thing, the epilogue for both books were done by other artists, and the Road Runner issue had Fornes do fill-ins, so we haven't truly gotten a 100% Weeks issue yet. So I'm crossing my fingers for this if he's taking his time we can get a full 30-40 page Weeks spectacular.

We have gotten 3 100% Weeks issues, though - Batman 51-53! And they were STUNNING!

[Inversed]

We have gotten 3 100% Weeks issues, though - Batman 51-53! And they were STUNNING!

Ohhhhhh yeah that's right. Completely forgot he did Cold Days. That was fantastic and why we need more of his work!

[Coco Loco]

Batman's dialogue makes pretty clear that Thomas being ordered to kill Damian is part of the plan. We know from #79 that Bruce sent Damian into Gotham, so Damian being captured was also part of the plan.

So unless Alfred getting killed was part of the plan also - Alfred ain't dead.

LOVED the art in this issue. I wish we had a regular dose of JrJr on Batman.

[Pohzee]

I was very pleasantly surprised by JRJR's art here. I'm not usually a fan, but this was solid.