Tom King Batman: Reread & Bat/Cat Appreciation 2020

[millernumber1]

Batman #63: Knightmares Part 3: Smoke and Mirrors

THIS is where I fell in love with the Knightmares. Not only is this a really nice one shot, it's also the honeymoon and early marriage stuff we never got. Yes, yes, it ends with Selina murdered, but that's part of the nightmare. For the first 3/4ths of the book, I got to taste what it could have been, and it was so sweet. Knowing it wasn't real didn't take away the sweetness. And part of knowing it's not real, and knowing that the end was coming, was part of the meta message for me. Because, as First Dates, Last Rites showed, it doesn't matter if it's now or in 50 years. Everyone is going to die. And one of them is going to be left behind. And it will hurt. And the question is (haha, foreshadowing for the next issue!): is it worth it?

To which I answer: yes.

I have 63 and 66 signed - probably the last of the run I'll get signed for a while, since I moved away from the DC metro area, where King consistently does cons, and I dunno what cons will be like in the coming few years. These two are deeply meaningful to me, because they're such beautiful glimpses of what's going on. And also, King masterfully slips little pieces of information about what's going on in this issue - that Batman is on a machine with fear gas. But he also has dream Constantine tell Batman he can't get out - which we know isn't true - but how will he get out? That's the tension, beautifully drawn out.

I'm not well read in Constantine, so I don't really get the monologue or why he chose John for this issue - or honestly, why he chose Question for the next, besides the obvious "question" theme. But it works.

As a big fan of Gerads style, visually I do love this issue. I think Tom King's technique of monologue works even when it is not especially original for a Batman story, because it's such an unique technique in this run to have Batman as a traditional first person narrator, that it fits pretty well.

About earning or creating the love the Batfamily has for Batman, as happens many times in this long run, sometimes I think there're big differences in what Batman thinks of himself and the world surrounding him and how things truly are. But as you say, that particular line of thought isn't followed up in the issues to come, but I think we can see that Tom King (and Tim Seeley) think of the Batfamily as earned love, as shown in Grayson.

I can't make a solid argument for Damian's especific participation over any other member of the Batfamily, so I don't know if any other Robin could have worked in this issue's final page or it had to be Damian, but Tom King has used Damian a lot and has given him an special focus in some of his stories (Grayson; Rules of engagement; City of Bane). I think Damian represents the true over the fiction Batman has built surrounding this true (Pyg/Pygmalion/the ideal he made of his relationship with Selina that turned out in one of his worst moments ever)

Sorry if my use of "pastiche" implied I didn't like the Frank Miller/hardboiled monologue. I thought it was really nice.

I think that King does view the Batfamily that way - but I wish that particular thread had been more developed later in this run. (also, I'm tempted to make this a Grayson reread following the end of the Batman reread ).

I don't really have a question about "why Damian", rather, my question is "why is Pyg not Pyg"? Why would one of the family represent the truth? I dunno. The issue still puzzles me a bit, which is why it took until 63 for me to really love the arc.

[Chubistian]

Batman #63: Knightmares Part 3: Smoke and Mirrors

THIS is where I fell in love with the Knightmares. Not only is this a really nice one shot, it's also the honeymoon and early marriage stuff we never got. Yes, yes, it ends with Selina murdered, but that's part of the nightmare. For the first 3/4ths of the book, I got to taste what it could have been, and it was so sweet. Knowing it wasn't real didn't take away the sweetness. And part of knowing it's not real, and knowing that the end was coming, was part of the meta message for me. Because, as First Dates, Last Rites showed, it doesn't matter if it's now or in 50 years. Everyone is going to die. And one of them is going to be left behind. And it will hurt. And the question is (haha, foreshadowing for the next issue!): is it worth it?

To which I answer: yes.

I have 63 and 66 signed - probably the last of the run I'll get signed for a while, since I moved away from the DC metro area, where King consistently does cons, and I dunno what cons will be like in the coming few years. These two are deeply meaningful to me, because they're such beautiful glimpses of what's going on. And also, King masterfully slips little pieces of information about what's going on in this issue - that Batman is on a machine with fear gas. But he also has dream Constantine tell Batman he can't get out - which we know isn't true - but how will he get out? That's the tension, beautifully drawn out.

I'm not well read in Constantine, so I don't really get the monologue or why he chose John for this issue - or honestly, why he chose Question for the next, besides the obvious "question" theme. But it works.



Sorry if my use of "pastiche" implied I didn't like the Frank Miller/hardboiled monologue. I thought it was really nice.

I think that King does view the Batfamily that way - but I wish that particular thread had been more developed later in this run. (also, I'm tempted to make this a Grayson reread following the end of the Batman reread ).

I don't really have a question about "why Damian", rather, my question is "why is Pyg not Pyg"? Why would one of the family represent the truth? I dunno. The issue still puzzles me a bit, which is why it took until 63 for me to really love the arc.

I do love #63 too, especially that last phrase Constantine says to conclude the issue. It's interesting that John narrates his dreams where he punches someone who just got married and later Bruce, who just got married, punches Constantine. When a dream is such a delight, especially in a bad time of life, it can be tempting to stay in it forever (see: Mr Miracle). Bruce wants to stay in the dream, but finally, he isn't captured in dreams, but in nightmares

[millernumber1]

I do love #63 too, especially that last phrase Constantine says to conclude the issue. It's interesting that John narrates his dreams where he punches someone who just got married and later Bruce, who just got married, punches Constantine. When a dream is such a delight, especially in a bad time of life, it can be tempting to stay in it forever (see: Mr Miracle). Bruce wants to stay in the dream, but finally, he isn't captured in dreams, but in nightmares

What's this from?

[Chubistian]

What's this from?

Detective Comics #471, part of the storyline Strange Apparitions . Tom King confirmed in his Twitter that the Bane scene was a reference to that story by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin!

https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status...826880001?s=20

[millernumber1]

Detective Comics #471, part of the storyline Strange Apparitions . Tom King confirmed in his Twitter that the Bane scene was a reference to that story by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin!

https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status...826880001?s=20

I really, really need to read that.

[millernumber1]

Batman #66: Knightmares part 4: Cat

This is one of those issues that just stands out. The poetic words and absolutely gorgeous images by Jorge Fornes, who I think is really one of the finds of this run, and what it says about Batman. The main cover by Janin doesn't really do much for me, so I got the Doc Shaner one, which is just gorgeous.

In a lot of ways, it's a companion piece to Annual #2 - telling tales of the first adventures of the Bat and the Cat, how they met and loved each other, and fought to make their city better. And it's so good to see how Fornes, who is most similar to Weeks as an artist in the run, also has his own style - thicker lines, more dynamic rather than meditative action choices. Dave Stewart's colors are a match for Elizabeth Breitweiser's on the Annual and Cold Days with Weeks - perfectly judged compositions of gray and black with hints and panels of lavender and yellow. For the art alone, I love this issue, particularly the double page sequence of the trinity on the roof, facing the giant squid. The narration by Selina about how Batman is only a vow - that he's a man in world of gods and demons, fighting for us - moves me intensely every time.

But you also have the progression towards...something. And the poetic rhythm of Selina and Question's dialogue, full of King's bad puns (I say bad because they're not light and witty, but they're thoughtful and funny but also so painful because of all the emotion behind them), leading to the one final panel: "I lied."

That is how you build tension so beautifully. I know, everyone says that Knightmares is so bad. But I read this issue, and I just...I'm blown away, and I love it so much.

[Chubistian]

Batman #66: Knightmares part 4: Cat

This is one of those issues that just stands out. The poetic words and absolutely gorgeous images by Jorge Fornes, who I think is really one of the finds of this run, and what it says about Batman. The main cover by Janin doesn't really do much for me, so I got the Doc Shaner one, which is just gorgeous.

In a lot of ways, it's a companion piece to Annual #2 - telling tales of the first adventures of the Bat and the Cat, how they met and loved each other, and fought to make their city better. And it's so good to see how Fornes, who is most similar to Weeks as an artist in the run, also has his own style - thicker lines, more dynamic rather than meditative action choices. Dave Stewart's colors are a match for Elizabeth Breitweiser's on the Annual and Cold Days with Weeks - perfectly judged compositions of gray and black with hints and panels of lavender and yellow. For the art alone, I love this issue, particularly the double page sequence of the trinity on the roof, facing the giant squid. The narration by Selina about how Batman is only a vow - that he's a man in world of gods and demons, fighting for us - moves me intensely every time.

But you also have the progression towards...something. And the poetic rhythm of Selina and Question's dialogue, full of King's bad puns (I say bad because they're not light and witty, but they're thoughtful and funny but also so painful because of all the emotion behind them), leading to the one final panel: "I lied."

That is how you build tension so beautifully. I know, everyone says that Knightmares is so bad. But I read this issue, and I just...I'm blown away, and I love it so much.

This is my favorite Knightmare issue. I love film noir, so the whole setting of the interrogatory is a plus for me, besides, I always enjoy the Question, even if he's a dream version. The way the dialogue is constructed to have such a heavy ending with such a simple phrase is a master class on how to make a scene that relies on text. Jorge Fornes is the biggest finding of this run personally and I'm really expecting to see a writer that wants to give him a heavily detective story in Batman or Tec (or a limited series), though he can clearly tackle actions scenes too and I love a Batman that actually looks like a man in a costume who can bleed and fail

[millernumber1]

Batman #67: Knightmares part 5: All The Way Down

This one was, honestly, a little bit of a letdown for me. I'm not a huge fan of pure dream sequence issues (I know all of these are technically pure dream sequences, but this is the first one that really feels like it to me), and generally wordless issues aren't my favorite, with a couple of exceptions. I like words a lot. Plus, the art, while uniformly great, was a bit disappointing that Weeks wasn't able to do the whole issue.

However, after doing a podcast where one of my cohosts did some research and pointed out things I missed, it works a lot better for me. Still not my favorite (that's always gonna be 66), but it's really good. The Elmer Fudd jokes all the way through is funny, especially when you realize that it's the heart monitor "beep beep"ing, mirrored by Joker's mask. The vast descent from the rooftops to the bottom of the sewers, speaking underwater - that was very effective, structurally and in terms of things I've actually felt during dreams (talking/breathing underwater).

Still kinda wish it was all Weeks. Ah, well. Speaking of which, are people interested/surprised about the King/Weeks Deluxe edition they've solicited? http://prhinternationalsales.com/boo...=9781779505743

This is my favorite Knightmare issue. I love film noir, so the whole setting of the interrogatory is a plus for me, besides, I always enjoy the Question, even if he's a dream version. The way the dialogue is constructed to have such a heavy ending with such a simple phrase is a master class on how to make a scene that relies on text. Jorge Fornes is the biggest finding of this run personally and I'm really expecting to see a writer that wants to give him a heavily detective story in Batman or Tec (or a limited series), though he can clearly tackle actions scenes too and I love a Batman that actually looks like a man in a costume who can bleed and fail

100%. It's a brilliant issue.

[Chubistian]

Batman #67: Knightmares part 5: All The Way Down

This one was, honestly, a little bit of a letdown for me. I'm not a huge fan of pure dream sequence issues (I know all of these are technically pure dream sequences, but this is the first one that really feels like it to me), and generally wordless issues aren't my favorite, with a couple of exceptions. I like words a lot. Plus, the art, while uniformly great, was a bit disappointing that Weeks wasn't able to do the whole issue.

However, after doing a podcast where one of my cohosts did some research and pointed out things I missed, it works a lot better for me. Still not my favorite (that's always gonna be 66), but it's really good. The Elmer Fudd jokes all the way through is funny, especially when you realize that it's the heart monitor "beep beep"ing, mirrored by Joker's mask. The vast descent from the rooftops to the bottom of the sewers, speaking underwater - that was very effective, structurally and in terms of things I've actually felt during dreams (talking/breathing underwater).

Still kinda wish it was all Weeks. Ah, well. Speaking of which, are people interested/surprised about the King/Weeks Deluxe edition they've solicited? http://prhinternationalsales.com/boo...=9781779505743



100%. It's a brilliant issue.

I can't say I'm interested in that Deluxe Edition, because, though the King/Weeks stories work on their own, I prefer the entire big story Tom King wrote, and I don't like to have comics repeated. I think this edition works for those who just care for the duo or, if the book has extras and a well thought edition, to those who want a cool book in their shelves, especially if it highlights Weeks's art even more.

Batman #67 is hard for me to judge. Visually, I love it, even with Weeks not being able to do the entire issue. But I don't think it leaves much to think about or remain hooked, as other stories do in Knightmares. As part of the arc, I think it is fine as a great action sequence, on its own, I enjoy it but not much more

[millernumber1]

I can't say I'm interested in that Deluxe Edition, because, though the King/Weeks stories work on their own, I prefer the entire big story Tom King wrote, and I don't like to have comics repeated. I think this edition works for those who just care for the duo or, if the book has extras and a well thought edition, to those who want a cool book in their shelves, especially if it highlights Weeks's art even more.

Batman #67 is hard for me to judge. Visually, I love it, even with Weeks not being able to do the entire issue. But I don't think it leaves much to think about or remain hooked, as other stories do in Knightmares. As part of the arc, I think it is fine as a great action sequence, on its own, I enjoy it but not much more

I agree. The fact that I already own them all, a large number of them signed by both Weeks and King, also decreases my interest in rebuying. I would love to see if they put in some sketches and maybe King writing a preface about working with Weeks. But...I don't have much faith in their willingness to do anything interesting with these editions. The Deluxe editions have mostly just been more efficient ways to collect (except for Deathstroke vs. Batman, which did have an preface by Priest). The Essential Editions at least had either a new key art cover, or a preface. I want bonus material, value for money.

Yeah, the wordlessness of 67 really leaves it without those great meta commentaries or characterization notes. That being said, it's still more fun than 61.

[millernumber1]

Gonna do two, because I meant to do one in the morning and one tonight, but got all wrapped up.

Batman #68: Knightmares part 6: Solitude

This piece is delightful. I remember when I wrote my review of this issue, I said (and still believe) that King's writing and Connor's drawings don't QUITE match - there's something a bit too dry, a bit too earnest, for Connor's style to completely mesh with in King's dialogue. That being said, Connor's panelling is masterful - as a formalist, she works perfectly with King. And the emotion of Lois and Selina, and Bruce and Clark, are so delightful. I really wish the people who love Double Date would take a look at this issue and see just how perfectly it complements. The relationships, the wordplay ("check" "check" "check" "mate" while Clark is trying to tell Bruce about mates and marriage), it's all so beautifully done. The cover is very funny, too, though I don't know why they added the panel of Bruce and Alfred at the bottom, which wasn't in the original solicited cover.


Batman #69: Knightmares part 7, Finale: The Last Dance

This is the first time that issue #44 is recapitulated - we see the street/boat dichotomy, and ALL of the costumes that Janin drew in the Wedding Dress issue. I really adore how there's so many pieces, from the proposal in #32, to the costumes, to the fight between Thomas and Bane, just come back and make all of the Knightmares and much of what's come before make sense. It's truly masterful, and the first time I really started to see King in payoff phase. Yes, he'd setup and paid off bits before, but here he took all the pieces of the Knightmares and made them come together in a coherent plot - which is why I love King's writing. Some have accused King of basically only being able to write one shots, whether those one-shots have one issue, 12 issues, or 85 issues. I think there's some truth in that - King does his best work in tightly controlled pieces that have a beginning, middle, and end, rather than the uncertainty of an endpoint in ongoing comics - but I see that as a strength, rather than a weakness. Now, I DO think that 85 or 100 issues is probably too many. But I admire King for trying it, and more of it works on a really deep level for me than doesn't, and that's definitely true for 6 out of 7 Knightmares.

Tomorrow, I'll post my ranking of these seven one-shots. I hope all of my fellow re-readers will join me!

[Chubistian]

Gonna do two, because I meant to do one in the morning and one tonight, but got all wrapped up.

Batman #68: Knightmares part 6: Solitude

This piece is delightful. I remember when I wrote my review of this issue, I said (and still believe) that King's writing and Connor's drawings don't QUITE match - there's something a bit too dry, a bit too earnest, for Connor's style to completely mesh with in King's dialogue. That being said, Connor's panelling is masterful - as a formalist, she works perfectly with King. And the emotion of Lois and Selina, and Bruce and Clark, are so delightful. I really wish the people who love Double Date would take a look at this issue and see just how perfectly it complements. The relationships, the wordplay ("check" "check" "check" "mate" while Clark is trying to tell Bruce about mates and marriage), it's all so beautifully done. The cover is very funny, too, though I don't know why they added the panel of Bruce and Alfred at the bottom, which wasn't in the original solicited cover.


Batman #69: Knightmares part 7, Finale: The Last Dance

This is the first time that issue #44 is recapitulated - we see the street/boat dichotomy, and ALL of the costumes that Janin drew in the Wedding Dress issue. I really adore how there's so many pieces, from the proposal in #32, to the costumes, to the fight between Thomas and Bane, just come back and make all of the Knightmares and much of what's come before make sense. It's truly masterful, and the first time I really started to see King in payoff phase. Yes, he'd setup and paid off bits before, but here he took all the pieces of the Knightmares and made them come together in a coherent plot - which is why I love King's writing. Some have accused King of basically only being able to write one shots, whether those one-shots have one issue, 12 issues, or 85 issues. I think there's some truth in that - King does his best work in tightly controlled pieces that have a beginning, middle, and end, rather than the uncertainty of an endpoint in ongoing comics - but I see that as a strength, rather than a weakness. Now, I DO think that 85 or 100 issues is probably too many. But I admire King for trying it, and more of it works on a really deep level for me than doesn't, and that's definitely true for 6 out of 7 Knightmares.

Tomorrow, I'll post my ranking of these seven one-shots. I hope all of my fellow re-readers will join me!

Batman #68 is fun as hell. Maybe the issue closest to full comedy Tom King has written, I think in due part to match Amanda Conner's strenght as a penciller. I love her style and she does a perfect job here, making some of the funniest dynamics of Bruce and Clark and also between Selina and Lois, a great follow up to the double date issue, though here we have more scenarios that probably can't happen in canon, like robot Supermen doing striptease, which shows just how sick Bruce's mind can be once you realize it's his head making the dreams hahaha. I love that such a fun issue has a sour finale with a trapped Bruce drawn in the less cartoonish style Mikel Janín has. It would have been great if Amanda could have done the rest of the issue without the replacements that handled a couple of pages. I like the addition of Batman in the cover, it makes it even funnier

Batman #69 is the most traditional of the Knightmares issues in the sense that we see the real world. The exchange between Thomas and Bane is great and foreshadows a lot of what's to come. Yanick Paquette, a penciller that most of the time I really like, does an amazing job with the dance sequence, with many clever compositions. Tom King makes a wonderful dialogue, but I don't know if singing a song in a comicbook is the best of options when you make it such an important element. I think the best execution of this narrative decision I've seen is in V For Vendetta. Maybe I should look out the songs the characters sing in Tom King's Batman to make myself an idea of the rhythm I should consider while reading

[millernumber1]

Batman #68 is fun as hell. Maybe the issue closest to full comedy Tom King has written, I think in due part to match Amanda Conner's strenght as a penciller. I love her style and she does a perfect job here, making some of the funniest dynamics of Bruce and Clark and also between Selina and Lois, a great follow up to the double date issue, though here we have more scenarios that probably can't happen in canon, like robot Supermen doing striptease, which shows just how sick Bruce's mind can be once you realize it's his head making the dreams hahaha. I love that such a fun issue has a sour finale with a trapped Bruce drawn in the less cartoonish style Mikel Janín has. It would have been great if Amanda could have done the rest of the issue without the replacements that handled a couple of pages. I like the addition of Batman in the cover, it makes it even funnier

Batman #69 is the most traditional of the Knightmares issues in the sense that we see the real world. The exchange between Thomas and Bane is great and foreshadows a lot of what's to come. Yanick Paquette, a penciller that most of the time I really like, does an amazing job with the dance sequence, with many clever compositions. Tom King makes a wonderful dialogue, but I don't know if singing a song in a comicbook is the best of options when you make it such an important element. I think the best execution of this narrative decision I've seen is in V For Vendetta. Maybe I should look out the songs the characters sing in Tom King's Batman to make myself an idea of the rhythm I should consider while reading

I wish the replacement had been Dan Mora for the whole last bit. John Timms does a fine job, but Mora matches with Connor's style much, much better. And would have made the "wham" of Janin's page much harder hitting.

I actually think that the real bachelorette party happened more or less the way that this issue shows it, the dream only shading the reality of the past near the end. I think King commented a bit about it on twitter.

I adore the line "When you think you've won, you'll actually have lost." That's, like the entire structure of the run.

It's funny - Paquette talked about the issue in interviews, and said he wished he could have done more with the 9 panel grid, and when I mentioned that to King at a con, he said that Paquette ignored some of the grids he gave him in the script. Ah, the creative process.

Personally, I wish King had picked a different song - at least, for the tune. I hunted it down, and it didn't really speak to me. But you can't control that.

[Chubistian]

I wish the replacement had been Dan Mora for the whole last bit. John Timms does a fine job, but Mora matches with Connor's style much, much better. And would have made the "wham" of Janin's page much harder hitting.

I actually think that the real bachelorette party happened more or less the way that this issue shows it, the dream only shading the reality of the past near the end. I think King commented a bit about it on twitter.

I adore the line "When you think you've won, you'll actually have lost." That's, like the entire structure of the run.

It's funny - Paquette talked about the issue in interviews, and said he wished he could have done more with the 9 panel grid, and when I mentioned that to King at a con, he said that Paquette ignored some of the grids he gave him in the script. Ah, the creative process.

Personally, I wish King had picked a different song - at least, for the tune. I hunted it down, and it didn't really speak to me. But you can't control that.

I will make sure to listen to the song Thomas sings in The Fall and The Fallen before reading the issue. Maybe I will put an instrumental version, if there is one, while reading it. I don't know how famous the song is.

Interesting comments from both Yanick and King hahaha. I think one thing Tom King did really well in Knightmares was making scripts having in mind who would draw it and what type of story it fits their style better. I know he as a writer does leave a lot of decision in the artist, so maybe this time the 9 panel grid wasn't truly essential as in other comics written by King

EDIT: Oh, I see Some of These Days, the song of #69 and the one Alfred sang in Annual #2, was analized once by Sartre. It fits King to use a song that has something to do with the overall plot of his story but also a link to his literary background. And the one sang by Thomas is pretty popular I see hahaha

[millernumber1]

So, I was going to do this yesterday, but here we go:

Rate the Knightmares! Here's mine, from favorite to least:

66
63
69
68
67
62
61