I don't like Tom King's Batman
I like Tom King's Batman
There was also the fact that in that scenario, Dick dies because he recklessly sought vengeance and had no one to relate to or guide him. I think Bruce's life as Batman is more nuanced when there are pluses and minuses. Not everything is black and white. As a darker character than the majority of his peers, these kind of things being confronted aren't that off putting.
Though I mostly find it interesting when it comes to examine Bruce, his psychology and motivations. Once we get into territory like "he's a rich white dude who takes out his anger on the lower class" I tend to lose interest real fast. Mostly because it's a gross oversimplification of the character and what he's actually done the majority of his fictional existence.
For better or worse though, Batman has become the mainstream character most capable of generating interest in telling deconstructive stories and coming out of the process more or less intact, and sometimes stronger. He's been that way since post-Crisis, and you can tell some creative teams would love to have him be separated from the rest of the DC universe because of it (NML stops working the instant you remember the JL exists). It's probably why he and his world have such wide appeal as they do.
This can be said for almost any Batman story.
And yeah, Batman really doesn't fit in this universe. Not since Morrison's JLA. On top of "Just call the Justice League" always being an option, there's the often brought up ridiculousness that Bruce can face constant world ending threats with the Justice League and then struggle with a killer clown.
Batman operates as his own Deus Ex Machina most of the time. I can't even think of the last time he called in the Justice League to be anything but a distraction for whomever he was fighting at the time. Even Injustice was like that for most of the way.
Every day is a gift, not a given right.
This one was especially noteworthy because it lasted a year. The majority of Batman's one and done plots can happen while the various League members are off doing whatever at the same time, but a solid year of the government shutting down Gotham City and leaving the people in there trapped in reprehensible conditions? A properly written Superman or Wonder Woman would be shutting that crap down.
We put the League out of our minds because it's a good story, but you still have to do some mental gymnastics to make it work. That problem wouldn't be present in an isolated Bat-universe, though cutting off Batman from the wider DCU for the sake of one story isn't worth it either.
Batman struggling against the Joker isn't really unique. Luthor, the Cheetah and Black Manta aren't world ending threats either, yet their super powered opponents struggle against them.
I like Tom King's writing. I don't know where to begin with his Batman run.
Nay because i hate Dick and Damian bond. Yes that's all.
I've temporarily dropped it from my pull list. Skipped the last 3 issues, and if King does 2 part stories with "How does this Justice League member feel about Bruce and Selina's upcoming nuptials", I don t see myself jumping back on anytime soon.
The editors should take most of the blame for this.
Back in the day editors used to do their jobs. They reigned in creators when they became too self-indulgent. Editors used to clarify storytelling by emphasizing story structure and purpose, and they helped to keep creators on task, focused, and helped establish cohesion to the narrative. I don't know what comic editors do nowadays. Play on their iPhones? Watch YouTube? Nod at everything that crosses their desk?
This is lazy, sloppy, incoherent, pretentious, and decompressed to the point of being insulting, and it's been so for 34 issues straight now. It shouldn't be allowed to go off to the printers. This title is ridiculous.
The first year had its problems but I feel we got a whole bunch of stories. You know things happened,The Gotham siblings, Psycho Pirate,Bane,Button, a reverse Knightfall style storyline, Batman's own Suicide Squad and finally the proposal. The second year is literally a waste of time so far. All we've gotten is an overhyped war that wasn't a war and Talia thrown under the bus because both storylines existed to facilitate the Bat/Cat romance instead of playing out on their own terms. We've got team up with Superman and Diana in the future cause we dont see them together in Trinity or JL(sarcasm). King has wasted 11 issues so far and he looks to waste atleast 4 more. The Ivy storyline also looks like its filler and that will probably last 5-6 issues and then 3-4 issues later we get to 50 where the marriage will happen most likely. Having the marriage be hang over the head of his stories like the Sword of Damocles is really making his run feel decompressed. Since he wont get them married then he should just focus on the stories he's writing. Its bad enough he never bothered addressing the origin of Gotham siblings power even though logically that's the first thing Batman should have investigated or atleast asked.
I really had to think about this, and I can't decide. On the whole, I like Tom King's Batman. I like the storytelling, I like the plotting, I really like the art. I just don't think that King has the right voice for Batman. I like the comic, but I don't really care for his characterization of Batman himself.
Last edited by Coal Tiger; 11-25-2017 at 02:34 AM.
Hard nay. I dropped the book after the sixth issue and never went back. I simply didn't see anything that made the book worth reading.
Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!
Yay.
The book is trying sometimes. It does things which would honestly annoy anyone. But it rewards sticking with it. At least that's what i feel about it.
I have complaints. I have problems with some things Tom King has done. But i find it interesting.