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njdarkish's review
3.0
There are problems with this collection.
First, a lot of this has been collected in a bunch of other volumes-- The Wedding Gallery, Preludes to the Wedding, even bits in volume 6, Bride or Burglar. But that set aside, it just wasn't a great arc, for the most part.
First, the Booster Gold mini-arc that makes up the beginning was bad. For starters, I felt like it was a weirdly watered-down version of Flashpoint, but in a way that was much less interesting and worn-out. Look, we've seen alternate histories where the Waynes live, or Bruce is the one who dies, or whatever. We don't need it for the fiftieth time. Plus, Booster is supposed to be the greatest hero you've never heard of, which means that for many readers, this might be the first time coming across him. Maybe show him in a way that makes him seem less sloppy and useless, eh?
Then we have the Joker in the cathedral section. That was pretty solid, I liked it a lot.
And then we get to the wedding itself. First, it's something that's been built up to for a good bit, and they obviously went all-in, with a ton of guest artists and the like, which is cool. Except, [SPOILERS] they don't actually have the wedding. Screw that. I was ready for the wedding. I was ready for a little growth and character change in Batman and Catwoman. Frankly, the changes and developments that led to this were refreshing and interesting and a lot of fun, and it fit the characters and the arc of Batman in some of the other books (like Detective Comics) as well. I feel like everybody was set for this, but then they wimped out on actually pulling the trigger on something that would change Batman as a person on a permanent basis. Also, just a little bit ago we had a flash-forward to right after Bruce's death and Selina was there as his widow, so let the even be what it promises to be, instead of pulling back so you can have a future volume titled The ACTUAL Wedding. [/SPOILERS]
First, a lot of this has been collected in a bunch of other volumes-- The Wedding Gallery, Preludes to the Wedding, even bits in volume 6, Bride or Burglar. But that set aside, it just wasn't a great arc, for the most part.
First, the Booster Gold mini-arc that makes up the beginning was bad. For starters, I felt like it was a weirdly watered-down version of Flashpoint, but in a way that was much less interesting and worn-out. Look, we've seen alternate histories where the Waynes live, or Bruce is the one who dies, or whatever. We don't need it for the fiftieth time. Plus, Booster is supposed to be the greatest hero you've never heard of, which means that for many readers, this might be the first time coming across him. Maybe show him in a way that makes him seem less sloppy and useless, eh?
Then we have the Joker in the cathedral section. That was pretty solid, I liked it a lot.
And then we get to the wedding itself. First, it's something that's been built up to for a good bit, and they obviously went all-in, with a ton of guest artists and the like, which is cool. Except, [SPOILERS] they don't actually have the wedding. Screw that. I was ready for the wedding. I was ready for a little growth and character change in Batman and Catwoman. Frankly, the changes and developments that led to this were refreshing and interesting and a lot of fun, and it fit the characters and the arc of Batman in some of the other books (like Detective Comics) as well. I feel like everybody was set for this, but then they wimped out on actually pulling the trigger on something that would change Batman as a person on a permanent basis. Also, just a little bit ago we had a flash-forward to right after Bruce's death and Selina was there as his widow, so let the even be what it promises to be, instead of pulling back so you can have a future volume titled The ACTUAL Wedding. [/SPOILERS]
georgesc's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aceinit's review
4.0
Read as single issues. Spoilery stuff to follow.
Okay. So. Everyone obviously has their opinions about Issue 50 (and it being spoiled in advance). And, yeah, I have my opinions, too, and most of them aren't favorable. But, honestly, I really don't see how people didn't *know* that the wedding wouldn't happen. It's comics. They're not particularly known for happily ever after.
Now, that being said, I would have really, really liked to have seen a plot device other than "Selina chooses to leave Bruce at the altar (rooftop) to further his man-pain." Because, let's face it, that's what happened here. And after all the lead-up with the Joker in the preceding issues and the Preludes to the Wedding events, I would have loved to see that storyline play out other than how it did. The lead-up issues with Joker trying to insert himself into the wedding were some top-notch storytelling. To have it abandoned so abruptly without actually playing into the big day was a huge disappointment.
Were there some phenomenal moments with Batman and the Joker? Yes. And, ultimately, the book gets 4 stars from me for the scene where the Joker asks Batman to pray with him in the church. I had to stop and screenshot those pages and send them to friends with a "LOOK AT THIS OMG!"
(And, to a lesser extent, the fourth star is also for Superman, Nightwing and Batman "cosplaying" themselves at the Batman-themed burger joint.)
I'm disappointed with how the volume turned out, and would have loved to been wrong about my fears that the wedding wouldn't happen, but there's still some pretty solid stuff here, and it's one of my more-liked volumes from King's Batman.
Okay. So. Everyone obviously has their opinions about Issue 50 (and it being spoiled in advance). And, yeah, I have my opinions, too, and most of them aren't favorable. But, honestly, I really don't see how people didn't *know* that the wedding wouldn't happen. It's comics. They're not particularly known for happily ever after.
Now, that being said, I would have really, really liked to have seen a plot device other than "Selina chooses to leave Bruce at the altar (rooftop) to further his man-pain." Because, let's face it, that's what happened here. And after all the lead-up with the Joker in the preceding issues and the Preludes to the Wedding events, I would have loved to see that storyline play out other than how it did. The lead-up issues with Joker trying to insert himself into the wedding were some top-notch storytelling. To have it abandoned so abruptly without actually playing into the big day was a huge disappointment.
Were there some phenomenal moments with Batman and the Joker? Yes. And, ultimately, the book gets 4 stars from me for the scene where the Joker asks Batman to pray with him in the church. I had to stop and screenshot those pages and send them to friends with a "LOOK AT THIS OMG!"
(And, to a lesser extent, the fourth star is also for Superman, Nightwing and Batman "cosplaying" themselves at the Batman-themed burger joint.)
I'm disappointed with how the volume turned out, and would have loved to been wrong about my fears that the wedding wouldn't happen, but there's still some pretty solid stuff here, and it's one of my more-liked volumes from King's Batman.
eileenthecrow's review
1.0
me, half falling asleep, trying to write this review: if i see a blue-eyed selina kyle say "meoww" instead of constructing sentences one more time i'm going to have to blow my brains out
geekwayne's review
3.0
'Batman, Vol. 7: The Wedding' by Tom King with art by Tony S. Daniel and Mikel Janin seemed like it was going to be a grand story in the long tradition of comics. I felt weirdly let down by all the hype. Let me explain why.
Two words: Booster Gold. The first half of this volume is a story of Booster Gold trying, and failing, to deliver the appropriate gift to Batman for his wedding. The problem is that Booster is in the wrong timeline and he keeps getting stuck. Worse still, he keeps screwing things up in prime Booster fashion. Which has little to do with the upcoming wedding.
The back half of the volume is a bit better and features things I'd read in the deluxe wedding album like the Joker showing up at some random soul's house because he's convinced his wedding invite will show up there. And there's the big issue leading up to the wedding with lots of big art panels by artists past and present.
Overall, I liked it, but I guess I was looking for more actual wedding story. The art is solid enough. I just wanted more epic and less mundane.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Two words: Booster Gold. The first half of this volume is a story of Booster Gold trying, and failing, to deliver the appropriate gift to Batman for his wedding. The problem is that Booster is in the wrong timeline and he keeps getting stuck. Worse still, he keeps screwing things up in prime Booster fashion. Which has little to do with the upcoming wedding.
The back half of the volume is a bit better and features things I'd read in the deluxe wedding album like the Joker showing up at some random soul's house because he's convinced his wedding invite will show up there. And there's the big issue leading up to the wedding with lots of big art panels by artists past and present.
Overall, I liked it, but I guess I was looking for more actual wedding story. The art is solid enough. I just wanted more epic and less mundane.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
unladylike's review
5.0
The Best Man and The Wedding are as close to poetry as superhero comic books ever get.
It's true that the first, What If?-type story in this volume is a rather jarring shift away from the tone and direction Tom King has established thus far in the series, but I found it to be an appropriate preamble. The Gift offers perspective, even if it's one we'd rather not see.
It's true that the first, What If?-type story in this volume is a rather jarring shift away from the tone and direction Tom King has established thus far in the series, but I found it to be an appropriate preamble. The Gift offers perspective, even if it's one we'd rather not see.
blairconrad's review
3.0
Pretty good. I coulda done without the Booster Gold section, but I enjoyed the rest. The Bruce/Alfred moments actually brought a tear to my eye.
rbreade's review
The titular wedding doesn't actually happen in this collection of stories. In fact, that story is one of King's least successful because the event--the marriage of Bat and Cat--was so significant that a host of guest artists, huge names such as Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Neal Adams, and so forth, were commissioned to illustrate single-panel pages and these pages, while fantastic in the way they highlight different iterations of the two characters through the years, have the effect of repeatedly stalling the story. Much better is the middle story, "The Best Man," which for most of its length consists of the Joker and Catwoman, both bleeding heavily from their battle, having fallen prone in the ruins of a church and unable to rise, trying to figure out their relationship to each other and to Bats, each completely in character and with art by Mikel Janin that makes this feel far more kinetic than it actually is.
luna_rondo's review
4.0
My only problem with this is that I've read a few issues in this comic before, from other volumes. I know that does happen, but I just wanted more new Bat and Cat.
kevinowenkelly's review
3.0
I'm conflicted about this one, and probably not for the reasons most fans are.
For me, my problem with this book is the book itself: it's two separate 3-issue stories, which, in general, OK, cool, but for something that's been built up to for 50 issues, it comes across as a little... underwhelming. King's overall run has been criticized for running too long, being too stretched out, and while there has been plenty of groundwork for this moment throughout the run itself, for it to just be three issues... eh.
The first story is OK, and does play into the calculus of what happens in the Wedding arc proper, but the way it goes about establishing its point just seems so... heavy handed. Blunt in a really bland way, to contrast to the almost poetic bluntness of King's usual call/repetitions. This one could have easily been a quick and clean two issues.
Meanwhile, unlike a lot of the fandom, I LIKED the wedding issues. I think they, and the run leading up to it, do a good job of introducing the issues that play into each character's calculus and motivating those characters to the points they're at.
There are some really great moments, like Catwoman and (of all people) Joker reminiscing about the good 'old days, in a way only they can. Bruce and Alfred have a page that brought me to the verge of tears. And the extra-sized wedding issue proper does some really cool things, like including pages from a huge list of great Batman albums, and pairing them with some of King's now-patented mirrored letter narratives the characters write to each other. You really get to see why they work together, and some of the pains and sacrifices that come with the relationship.
The book ends up being a must-read more for circumstance than actual merit, though that isn't to say that parts aren't great. But this is definitely something that could have used at least one more issue to breathe a bit more.
For me, my problem with this book is the book itself: it's two separate 3-issue stories, which, in general, OK, cool, but for something that's been built up to for 50 issues, it comes across as a little... underwhelming. King's overall run has been criticized for running too long, being too stretched out, and while there has been plenty of groundwork for this moment throughout the run itself, for it to just be three issues... eh.
The first story is OK, and does play into the calculus of what happens in the Wedding arc proper, but the way it goes about establishing its point just seems so... heavy handed. Blunt in a really bland way, to contrast to the almost poetic bluntness of King's usual call/repetitions. This one could have easily been a quick and clean two issues.
Meanwhile, unlike a lot of the fandom, I LIKED the wedding issues. I think they, and the run leading up to it, do a good job of introducing the issues that play into each character's calculus and motivating those characters to the points they're at.
There are some really great moments, like Catwoman and (of all people) Joker reminiscing about the good 'old days, in a way only they can. Bruce and Alfred have a page that brought me to the verge of tears. And the extra-sized wedding issue proper does some really cool things, like including pages from a huge list of great Batman albums, and pairing them with some of King's now-patented mirrored letter narratives the characters write to each other. You really get to see why they work together, and some of the pains and sacrifices that come with the relationship.
The book ends up being a must-read more for circumstance than actual merit, though that isn't to say that parts aren't great. But this is definitely something that could have used at least one more issue to breathe a bit more.