Originally Posted by
millernumber1
War of Jokes and Riddles, as is well known, was originally supposed to be a 12 issue mini with Mitch Gerads. Didio and editorial made it part of the ongoing storyline, which cut it down to 8 issues and to Mikel Janin and Clay Mann. We get the lovely and structurally fun Ballad of Kite Man, a couple of fairly squished opening issues with a few good spreads, the really frustrating (to me) Deathstroke/Deadshot duel, then the quite solid conclusion, with the dinner party, the penultimate Kite Man assault, and the finale, with Catwoman's answer. As a whole, I find the story a bit underwhelming, though great notes like Batman remembering all those murdered in the war do shine through. However, the final issue, #32, is one of the best issues in the whole run. Yes, Batman trying to kill Riddler is a bit cliched. But the way Catwoman responds to it elevates it. "Who cares" is so multi-layered - it's initially a sign of "why does it even matter," but if you think harder, I think King and Selina are saying that "Who cares" as in, "Who is the specific person who cares for you, Bruce"? And the answer, of course, is Selina. She cares, and she says yes. Even after 50, with no happy end in sight, I treasured my copy of #32 (with the Coipel variant).