Morrison, Tomasi, Snyder or King?

[Blue22]

Tomasi's got my vote. His current Tec run might not be great but his Batman and Robin is still one of my all time favorite comic book series. I'm really gonna miss seeing him and Gleason working together.

Morrison's next on my list. Then Snyder. And King's in dead last. Which is a shame, because his run had the potential to be one of the best things that ever happened to Batman. Then the halfway point came and it ended up being one of the worst.

[JBatmanFan05]

I know people on these boards do not like King as much as critics do especially on the bigger comic sites, I wonder where the disconnect is coming from

I actually like King enough, it's just that IMHO decompression works less well for him than one-shots, two-parters. Batman #23 "The Brave and the Mold" is like King doing what he does best.


And both King and Snyder have a vision of Batman that's interesting to read, but too dark, too distrustful at times. As I get older, I more appreciate the O'Neill, Wagner, Morrison, Englehart, etc vision of Batman. I'm a big Bronze Age Batman fan despite growing up more with Post-COIE Batman.

[Restingvoice]

BTW all these guys best stuff was with Dick. Thats right, come at me Bruce.

Alright, I'll come ^^

Tomasi's best work is Bruce Batman and Damian Robin instead of Dick Batman and Damian Robin, and not because of length but because he's establishing and defining their dynamic for the first time with the additional difficulty of the characters having a similar stubborn personality. Morrison already did the leg work on Dick Batman and Damian Robin so when Tomasi came in, it was not as impactful in comparison.

Just him though. I got nothing on Morrison, King, and Snyder.

[charliehustle415]

Critics don't read comic lore. Critics don't care if Holly Robinson, Booster Gold, or Flashpoint Thomas Wayne are written wrong or if Catwoman and Thomas Wayne are OP or if his version of Riddler deviates from fans' common understanding of him. They're just some of the thousands of characters of DC with so many different versions and continuity that they don't matter, but for fans, they matter.

Ah, I see.

This is the problem with modern comic book reading: do we read a piece of work on its own or as part of a larger body of work?
I tend to go with the former reading King as a stand alone writer absent from the baggages of continuity because it just makes things a bit easier, something akin to watching different movies with the same character (similar to Batman [1989] vs Batman Begins vs The Batman)

But I do understand your point and having an attachment to continuity. I wonder though as time goes on how much continuity will matter I mean look at DC's current state.

I actually like King enough, it's just that IMHO decompression works less well for him than one-shots, two-parters. Batman #23 "The Brave and the Mold" is like King doing what he does best.


And both King and Snyder have a vision of Batman that's interesting to read, but too dark, too distrustful at times. As I get older, I more appreciate the O'Neill, Wagner, Morrison, Englehart, etc vision of Batman. I'm a big Bronze Age Batman fan despite growing up more with Post-COIE Batman.

I totally agree, that's why I was wishing that Bat/Cat comes out as a Black Label OGN.

King is not a good long form writer, but his work on miniseries is first class

[charliehustle415]

Alright, I'll come ^^

Tomasi's best work is Bruce Batman and Damian Robin instead of Dick Batman and Damian Robin, and not because of length but because he's establishing and defining their dynamic for the first time with the additional difficulty of the characters having a similar stubborn personality. Morrison already did the leg work on Dick Batman and Damian Robin so when Tomasi came in, it was not as impactful in comparison.

Just him though. I got nothing on Morrison, King, and Snyder.

Totally, this thread is making me want to reread New 52 Batman & Robin, that gorgeous art with Tomasi's stellar writing is amazing. Superman and Supersons is a great companion to this run

[Lucky Looke 90]

Having read the 3 runs (Morrison, Snyder and King) in full, I think I prefer Morrison and then very closely the Snyder era and finally King's run. Although I think of the 3, Snyder's run works best to get a first look at the character. I don't think they are conflicting views of the character. On the contrary, they complement each other but in a very personal opinion, the one who added the most new things to Batman's lore and best played with these elements was Morrison, the pinnacle of his story reached in Batman Incorporated was a totally new approach for the character, despite the fact that his stage brought back elements of the silver age that were thought no longer fully fit with the "modern" story of the character.
What I think ends up affecting King is that while Morrison and Snyder concluded their story in a satisfactory way, in the King's final the pieces don't end up fitting completely and it doesn't help that the run goes from more to less (personal opinion) getting too repetitive and with too many filler issues.

Tomasi proved to be very capable in Batman and Robin and his current Tec is fine but to judge him against the other 3, at least I would need to see him work on the character's flagship title, I think he has the ability to give us something good.

[Godlike13]

Alright, I'll come ^^

Tomasi's best work is Bruce Batman and Damian Robin instead of Dick Batman and Damian Robin, and not because of length but because he's establishing and defining their dynamic for the first time with the additional difficulty of the characters having a similar stubborn personality. Morrison already did the leg work on Dick Batman and Damian Robin so when Tomasi came in, it was not as impactful in comparison.

Just him though. I got nothing on Morrison, King, and Snyder.

Before his time on B&R, Tomasi’s Nightwing run was the first time that that Nightwing book was readable in like forever.

[Light of Justice]

BTW all these guys best stuff was with Dick. Thats right, come at me Bruce.

Did Synder ever write Dick before? About King, I can't believe the person who wrote Grayson and Robin War is the same person who wrote that damned City of Bane, so I guess you're right, it's more his forte to write Dick than Batman.

[Aahz]

About King, I can't believe the person who wrote Grayson and Robin War is the same person who wrote that damned City of Bane, so I guess you're right, it's more his forte to write Dick than Batman.

He didn't wrote Grayson on his own, and if I look at what they wrote after rebirth I think a lot of the good stuff in Grayson came from Seeley (who continued to write a really good Nightwing Run).

And for Robin War had also other writers involved and had simply not the space for decompression and filler issues.

[Restingvoice]

Before his time on B&R, Tomasi’s Nightwing run was the first time that Nightwing book was readable in like forever.

I thought you're gonna say that ^^ but the topic is Batman so that don't count XD

Did Synder ever write Dick before? About King, I can't believe the person who wrote Grayson and Robin War is the same person who wrote the that damned City of Bane, so I guess you're right, it's more his forte to write Dick than Batman.

Snyder started with Dick Batman in Black Mirror

He didn't write Grayson on his own, and if I look at what they wrote after rebirth I think a lot of the good stuff in Grayson came from Seeley (who continued to write a really good Nightwing Run).

And for Robin War had also other writers involved and had simply not the space for decompression and filler issues.

Yeah, King's Grayson idea was a lot angstier and darker until Seeley reminded him that, no, Dick wouldn't be that angsty. The fight with Bruce in the cave, the Futures End issue, the Annual, those is the hints on what his run would look like writing Grayson solo.

Btw character-wise Snyder writes the less angsty-angry-broody, more fun Batman between all of them. Not by much but it's noticeable.

[phonogram12]

Ah, I see.

This is the problem with modern comic book reading: do we read a piece of work on its own or as part of a larger body of work?
I tend to go with the former reading King as a stand alone writer absent from the baggages of continuity because it just makes things a bit easier, something akin to watching different movies with the same character (similar to Batman [1989] vs Batman Begins vs The Batman)

But I do understand your point and having an attachment to continuity. I wonder though as time goes on how much continuity will matter I mean look at DC's current state.

I'm not going to say that I loved every arc that King turned in, but he's still probably my favorite of this list. I thought his characterization was spot on for pretty much every character and I loved what he did with the KGBeast. And as far as continuity is concerned, when Rebirth started, I wasn't even going to pretend that anything from either pre-Flashpoint or the new 52 was in play. Given how fast and loose DC has been with their continuity over the past decade or so, I just figured I'd wait for them to tell me.

[marvelprince]

BTW all these guys best stuff was with Dick. Thats right, come at me Bruce.

Lol I noticed the same. Part of the reason I’m open to replacement heroes I think.

[Gridde]

I'm a real sucker for well-crafted hype, and Snyder absolutely nails that.

His run on Batman was part of the reason I started buying comics properly, and to this day I lend out and recommend trades to friends who have an interest in the character but aren't super into comics.

That probably means (as someone mentioned earlier) his style is a bit more popcorn-ish and catered to casual fans, but I love it. Reaching the big reveal at the end of #1 of Endgame and drunkenly gushing over Death of the Family with a mate (who'd just read the book I lent him) are two of my fan highlights when it comes to comics in general.

[failo.legendkiller]

No one of them get my vote.

Snyder got some few highs and too many lows. I've been annoyed by his forced introduction of new support characters as Duke and Harper instead of fixing the existing ones.
Tomasi should stay away from Batman from my point of view (armor batman fighting Darkseid to resurrect Damian is exactly what i don't want Batman to be). I don't like his writing on Batman brand. Love him on Superman instead.
King's run has been disappointing. Convoluted story sometimes boring. Lowest point the useless death of Alfred.
Morrison, not my cup of tea.

I can't fully appreciate batman titles since Dixon.

[Flash Gordon]

I actually like King enough, it's just that IMHO decompression works less well for him than one-shots, two-parters. Batman #23 "The Brave and the Mold" is like King doing what he does best.


And both King and Snyder have a vision of Batman that's interesting to read, but too dark, too distrustful at times. As I get older, I more appreciate the O'Neill, Wagner, Morrison, Englehart, etc vision of Batman. I'm a big Bronze Age Batman fan despite growing up more with Post-COIE Batman.

I agree. The Brave and the Mold is a fantastic issue. Cold Days was great too. I loved I Am Suicide.

King works really well in short form. Tight stories with strong craft and defined narrative goals. He can really cultivate such a strong aesthetic this way, too. The more drawn out his work gets, the more unwieldy. The later half of his BATMAN run was a mess and definitely lost sight of whatever it was trying to accomplish.

You're on the money there about his Batman being too far over the edge, too distrustful. I don't approach Batman that way at all, so it's really jarring.