Scan barcode
A review by kevinowenkelly
Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding by Tom King
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.