Scan barcode
albertico66's review against another edition
2.0
it's hard for me to care for gotham girl... i get that it's batman's ticket to retirement, but i just can't sympathize or feel for this character. also, i don't understand the war of jokes and riddles. with that said, amazing artwork all around.
murphyc1's review against another edition
2.0
Absolute garbage. I'll start with the pacing. This series is so "decompressed" that four, five, six issues go by with barely any dialogue and no plot to speak of. Then, in a single issue, King will force a giant twist or status quo change, not through plot development, but with pages and pages of all-but-unreadable, awkwardly worded exposition. The pacing is so erratic that reading this thing at some point becomes MASOCHISTIC. King's dialogue is interminably repetitve and often meaningless. NONE of the characters' motivations track from issue to issue, much less arc to arc. The plots are hopelessly contrived, like glorified fanfic by a fan who's only ever read three comics and thinks they're an expert. Just a miserable read...
jekutree's review against another edition
4.0
Closer to 3.5 stars than a 4.
Has some amazing moments and I’m overall impressed with King, but I really can’t get into Mikel Janín. Not a fan of how his characters look like 3D video game models.
Brave and the Mold is still amazing and War of Jokes and Riddles for sure had it’s moments. I liked I Am Bane too.
Has some amazing moments and I’m overall impressed with King, but I really can’t get into Mikel Janín. Not a fan of how his characters look like 3D video game models.
Brave and the Mold is still amazing and War of Jokes and Riddles for sure had it’s moments. I liked I Am Bane too.
cleheny's review against another edition
2.0
I'd read a lot of praise for Tom King and his run on Batman before all the publicity about the wedding issue, so I looked forward to starting his run. This is probably closer to 2.5 stars than 2, but I find myself disappointed. My disappointment may be the result of disappointed expectations, and perhaps I would enjoy his work more if I hadn't heard so much about it first.
There are times that King is really effective. He gives Bane a background both parallel and dissimilar to Bruce Wayne's. One episode is devoted to contrasting their development and how they connected their choices to the love they felt for their mothers. The origin of Kite Man is poignant and powerful.
But even in those moments, I felt King could and should have done more. For example, in Bruce's conversation with his mother during I Am Bane, King makes clear that Bruce/Batman is the better man because he chose to act from empathy for others, not his own rage and vulnerability. But Bruce, as King depicts, had the much easier life. He was wealthy and had Alfred to love him, while Bane was a child alone in a hellish prison, left in a setting where he was expected to die every day. No one loved him. No one showed the slightest care for him. Why, exactly, would he develop empathy for anyone?
King is very good with the human moments. Most of Bruce and Selina's interactions are genuine and effective. And I love the lunch/dinner meeting that Bruce holds with his "sons."
But I don't like King's tendency to have something major happen off-panel, and without any explanation for how it happened. In the first volume, Gotham's and Gotham Girl's trauma occurs between issues. They went from being optimistic super-beings who want to help Gotham to terror- and despair-ridden super-powered menaces. That dramatic, off-panel change really weakened the climax of the story for me; these characters were just introduced, meaning that the reader is only just beginning to be invested in them, and then, like magic, Gotham is suddenly a (tragic) villain, and Gotham Girl is a dangerously unbalanced mess.
In this volume, most of the recruitment of Joker's and Riddler's villainous armies happens off-panel. It's not clear why these various super-criminals are willing to work in Joker's and Riddler's interests. Further, a critical development in The War of Jokes and Riddles happens between issues. It makes no sense that Batman's plan actually works, unless you buy into King's penultimate reveal, that the War was really about something else all along, and everything managed by one character to achieve an improbable result. I didn't find that twist plausible--it felt over-engineered. I do think that the final reveal, why Bruce tells Selina the story, is well-done, even if I question the internal logic behind the villain's action.
I'll continue reading the series because King is almost-always interesting, and when he's good, he's really good. But I wish the pleasure wasn't so frequently mixed with disappointment.
There are times that King is really effective. He gives Bane a background both parallel and dissimilar to Bruce Wayne's. One episode is devoted to contrasting their development and how they connected their choices to the love they felt for their mothers. The origin of Kite Man is poignant and powerful.
But even in those moments, I felt King could and should have done more. For example, in Bruce's conversation with his mother during I Am Bane, King makes clear that Bruce/Batman is the better man because he chose to act from empathy for others, not his own rage and vulnerability. But Bruce, as King depicts, had the much easier life. He was wealthy and had Alfred to love him, while Bane was a child alone in a hellish prison, left in a setting where he was expected to die every day. No one loved him. No one showed the slightest care for him. Why, exactly, would he develop empathy for anyone?
King is very good with the human moments. Most of Bruce and Selina's interactions are genuine and effective. And I love the lunch/dinner meeting that Bruce holds with his "sons."
But I don't like King's tendency to have something major happen off-panel, and without any explanation for how it happened. In the first volume, Gotham's and Gotham Girl's trauma occurs between issues. They went from being optimistic super-beings who want to help Gotham to terror- and despair-ridden super-powered menaces. That dramatic, off-panel change really weakened the climax of the story for me; these characters were just introduced, meaning that the reader is only just beginning to be invested in them, and then, like magic, Gotham is suddenly a (tragic) villain, and Gotham Girl is a dangerously unbalanced mess.
In this volume, most of the recruitment of Joker's and Riddler's villainous armies happens off-panel. It's not clear why these various super-criminals are willing to work in Joker's and Riddler's interests. Further, a critical development in The War of Jokes and Riddles
Spoiler
Batman joining the Riddler's teamI'll continue reading the series because King is almost-always interesting, and when he's good, he's really good. But I wish the pleasure wasn't so frequently mixed with disappointment.
jackphoenix's review against another edition
4.0
Though this version of Batman may be atypically chatty, King gives the character heart, soul, and direction while never forgetting to tell a thrilling story; plus never forgetting to include alter ego Bruce Wayne in the equation.
justabookholic's review against another edition
5.0
Standout. Fantastic. Will definitely read again.
This was a book filled to the brim with unconventional team-ups and I AM SO FOR IT. The War of Jokes & Riddles was a beautiful disaster dipped in chaos and doused with havoc that I fell in love with. A supervillain turf-war set in Gotham during Batman's first year of crimefighting– need I say more? Action-packed to the point of bloodiness and unpredictable in the best of ways, I throughly enjoyed this arc.
Book 2, aka volumes 3 and 4 of Batman Rebirth, was such a step up from what it followed. There was a cohesiveness between issues that I highly appreciated as a reader which I felt like Book 1 lacked.
This was a book filled to the brim with unconventional team-ups and I AM SO FOR IT. The War of Jokes & Riddles was a beautiful disaster dipped in chaos and doused with havoc that I fell in love with. A supervillain turf-war set in Gotham during Batman's first year of crimefighting– need I say more? Action-packed to the point of bloodiness and unpredictable in the best of ways, I throughly enjoyed this arc.
Book 2, aka volumes 3 and 4 of Batman Rebirth, was such a step up from what it followed. There was a cohesiveness between issues that I highly appreciated as a reader which I felt like Book 1 lacked.
etienne02's review
4.0
A little bit slow but still good and interesting! Looking forward the next one.
charliemudd's review
5.0
4.5 stars -- This volume has a little of everything: it finishes up the Bane storyline, has a pretty cool Reverse Flash chapter, reminds you why the Swamp Thing is both metaphysical and someone you don't want to mess with, adds more to the romantic Cat woman story, and describes the huge Gotham-destroying Joke vs Riddle battle (told through a flashback that Batman shares with Catwoman). I think the Rebirth has taken Batman up to a new level.
More...