Batman #74

King, Janin, Bellaire, and Cowles all do a fantastic job developing this issue, resulting in a conclusion to the arc that is one of the strongest single issues throughout the entire run. Read Full Review

This issue ties the arc together in outstanding fashion. Delivering heartrending emotion, brutal action, jaw-dropping art, and layers upon layers of storytelling. Read Full Review

This issue ties the arc together in outstanding fashion. Delivering heartrending emotion, brutal action, jaw-dropping art, and layers upon layers of storytelling. Read Full Review

We are moving into Tom King's last storyline after this. It's been a worthwhile adventure up until now. I'm dying to see where he takes us from here. I certainly can't wait. Read Full Review

City of Bane and the last big storyline of King's run on this title is right around the corner, but when talking about the high points of this run, this issue is bound to be high on the list. Read Full Review

Batman #74 is an emotionally satisfying culmination of many issues of build-up. It's filled to the brim with thoughts and ideas and is executed wonderfully by a creative dream team. This issue answers the questions that it needs to answer and leaves the others alone. It's issues like this that demonstrate why sometimes it's better to use restraint in storytelling rather that going all out on everything. It makes for a raw and real issue of a Batman comic book. Read Full Review

Because of the desert setting of this story, Mike Janin moves the camera in for more close up panels of the characters. Stripped of all the outside distractions, the art complements the personal, one on one aspect of the story. The story is about father and son and Janin's art focuses on that to great effect. Read Full Review

Balancing good psychology with roaring action is no easy task, but it is one which the team of King, Bellaire, and Janin have absolutely knocked out of the park. This issue more than redeems the somewhat weaker passages we had to slog through to get here. Read Full Review

Batman #74 puts the series back on track as it wraps up Batman's father/son reunion. Read Full Review

Next issue, we'll likely be hyperventilating again as the next story arc is called “City of Bane” and will likely be the beginning of our ultimate climax of the series. Read Full Review

A solid issue featuring a return to form for Batman that makes me excited for the next chapter as this saga enters its final chapter with City of Bane. Read Full Review

Batman battles his father in a strong, meaningful issue, though I wish there had been more build-up. Read Full Review

Batman #74 is a good read and although I'm not surprised that Bruce chose not to resurrect his mother I am shocked. I can only guess it's because he knows the dangers of the pit through his interactions with the League and Ra's, but also I'd like to think it's because of the idea of Batman. He knows that without him Gotham City would fall apart, and he would refuse to let that happen. Now Bruce begins the dangerous trek back to Gotham City–and back to Bane! Read Full Review

Despite some narrative shortcomings, BATMAN #74 has a lot to pick through on a thematic level. It's more solid work from Tom King, with excellent artwork courtesy of Mikel Janin and Jordie Bellaire. Read Full Review

Slow, but effective nonetheless, this final chapter brings a fitting end to The Fall and the Fallen and conjures a great deal of interest for issues to come. Read Full Review

The City of Bane kicks off next issue and it's a big milestone for the title. King's Batman run has 10 more issues left so it will be interesting to see if he can tie up all these loose ends and weave them together in a way to make readers reflect favorably on this final arc. Right now it could go either way, but King has done enough great work on the book to be optimistic this final string of issues could be the most exciting aspect of his run even if the road to get there has been uneven and shaky at times. Read Full Review

As we wrap this arc up and prepare for "City of Bane," I can't help but feel we've taken a step in the right direction. There's no denying that I haven't enjoyed King's Batman, but I was quite pleased with this issue. We finally get some moments that many of us have been waiting for, as well as some distinct answers to a few questions. With that said, King still has a lot of ground to cover before closing out his run. And considering Batman ruined Thomas' plan, I have no doubt that he'll become even more of a threat to Bruce in the near future. Read Full Review

King and Janin prepare Batman for the next blockbuster storylineCity of Bane.The road to get there is adequate. While the overall premise is great, Batman#74 gets bogged down by a lot of narrative flaws. The metaphors are unsubtle, the dialogue is repetitious, and the pacing is a drag. Read Full Review

Like this finale's desert setting, the "Fall and the Fallen" feels built on a foundation of sand, and while there have been several narrative oases to keep things moving, hopefully King and company will move to some more fertile storytelling ground with their next arc. Read Full Review

Even though the final issue of "The Fall and the Fallen" is hampered by a meandering script, the artwork is a visual treat and the last four pages are a perfect example of how a good creative team can bring out the best in each other. Read Full Review

This deep in, readers get it: Bruce Wayne is a mess with a whole lot of daddy issues. Do we really need to drive that point home every issue? Read Full Review

Batman #74 was a summary of all the problems that "The Fall and the Fallen" had with giving "The City of Bane" event a strong lead. All those problems center around how Flashpoint Batman's character arc went. Tom King just never made the direction he took Flashpoint Batman on something that was rewarding. Fortunately Bruce Wayne's part in this story along with Mikel Janin and Jordie Bellaire's artwork lifted the story up enough so Batman #74 didn't completely drop the ball as we enter "The City of Bane." Read Full Review

Two men walk through a desert and talk about a child's folktale. We once again leave a Batman book without any real progress on the questions that we need answered the most. I can appreciate a slow burn but this has been going at a snail's pace. Slow burns only work if there is actually a burn. This book feels like we are trying to fan the flames of a dying fire until we finally get to the finish line. Read Full Review

CHolt

Jul 09, 2019

Damn, this was good! Loving the crazy father crazy son dynamic...

Batman Jones

Jul 09, 2019

Damn, that was good.

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Talon1load - Jul 10, 2019

Really? What was good about it? What did we learn? What actually happened? How was this good?

VicSav - Jul 10, 2019

You act like every other comic you learn something. You’re only attacking this comic because of Tom king

Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

Nope. It’s because it was another useless issue and people are saying it’s a 10/10. That means it’s a perfect book with no problems or issues and that is definitely not the case. How much time has passed since Bruce’s back was broken? He was thrown over the back of a horse right after so that’s not healing right and yet he carried a body off into the desert and buried it before getting into a huge fight with Thomas. Who we still don’t know how he’s even here. This was far from perfect.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 12, 2019

Thomas Wayne performed surgery and fixed Bruce's spine, he was full of drugs to dull the pain. They were 100 miles outside of the nain pit, walking. Walking 100 miles with no stops would take a little over two days, they took stops and slept, so it would take much longer to get there for them. I have had surgery before and it took 2 days and a lot of heavy pain killers to feel 100%.

Talon1load - Jul 12, 2019

I had back surgery last month. It takes a lot damn longer than 2 days to recover.

Batman Jones - Jul 12, 2019

You're reading this series as if it's meant to be realistic. It's not. It's a poem.

Talon1load - Jul 12, 2019

That is some pretentious shit.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 12, 2019

Well, apparently with spine surgery, patients are able to get up and move after only a couple of hours and recovery time depends on their age and physical health. Batman is like 35 or something and peak condition.

Psycamorean - Jul 12, 2019

Getting up and moving probably doesn't also account for all the things Batman does.

Talon1load - Jul 12, 2019

Getting thrown across the back of a horse isn’t going to help with recovery and he damn sure wouldn’t be up for carrying a body around the desert and then getting into a fight with a highly skilled combatant. It’s the details that make a story. This isn’t poetry, it’s a comic book.

Psycamorean - Jul 12, 2019

You can take some liberties with stuff like this in comics, but Batman is supposed to be a human being, yet he's able to do superhuman things regularly in this run.

Batman Jones - Jul 12, 2019

Just telling you that you're judging an orange for not being an tomato. As long as you think about it as a bad tomato, you'll have the same complaints and frustrations. This comic book doesn't aspire to be realistic.

Psycamorean - Jul 12, 2019

So what? It can do whatever it wants and we have to accept it because "it's a poem." That's a free pass to disregard things the writer sets up but then doesn't feel like doing anything with.

Batman Jones - Jul 12, 2019

Not saying he doesn't need to deal with what he's set up. Saying it's not meant to be taken so literally. Every piece of art should be judged according to the rules it's being made with, which are not necessarily the rules one is accustomed to. King has said his run on Batman is "experimental" and it is. He's not trying to make anyone believe this stuff could literally happen but people complain he couldn't have taken out so many guards in I Am Bane or that his back couldn't heal so quickly.

Batman Jones - Jul 12, 2019

It's a little funny to me that I have to argue for an unrealistic take on a *comic book* but it's true that King's Batman isn't like any mainstream superhero book. If people don't like that, that's fine. I'm only saying it's not trying to be good at what some say it's bad at.

Psycamorean - Jul 12, 2019

I think there are certain rules to characters that you really shouldn't break. Batman being superhuman, beyond the standard comic book logic, is breaking one of the rules of Batman. I think the word experimental is being misused here.

Batman Jones - Jul 12, 2019

@YourGreenMuse... King's said he's going to somehow answer whatever he's set up. That's a lot to believe as there are so many dangling threads but it's premature to judge him for not doing it before his run is over.

Psycamorean - Jul 12, 2019

I just don't believe him. He's dropped plot threads more than a few times across all the things he's written. And if I can't judge this run or this story until it's all out, then it shouldn't be a four year run. Regardless of Batman's superhumanity, there's plenty of things I dislike about this run.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 12, 2019

Batman is the peak human being, not just a regular human being, and we can probably assume Thomas Wayne is a peak surgeon given his family fortune added with the fact he is the Batman of that universe. If you still don't think Batman of all people can come back this quickly.... well have fun I suppose. It isn't like there is evidence of him constantly recovering from near fatal wounds in a night because of his medicine and Alfred.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 12, 2019

Also Batman is totally the kind of guy to ignore pain, considering all of the training he has had. So like it is pointless to even think he can't do this, but let's say he still is in immense pain, he would bite the bullet and fight back anyway.

Psycamorean - Jul 13, 2019

It's not just a pain thing. He's done things that just aren't possible.

Batman Jones - Jul 13, 2019

"That just aren't possible?" In a comic book? Someone get me my fainting salts.

Talon1load - Jul 13, 2019

If only there had been a huge storyline already done where Batman’s back was broken and it took him a year to recover. Oh wait, it’s the one that Tom King has done a shitty job trying to emulate. Knightfall showed a more realistic take on this issue. It’s funny that guys who handwave Kings faults about how Batman does the shit he does in this run are the ones who were so tired of the BatGod. This is worse than that. How many times has he had his bake broken in this run?

Talon1load - Jul 13, 2019

This is shitty storytelling plain and simple.

Darkseid24 - Jul 13, 2019

@ Batman Jones Kings Batman is a poem? A piece of art? Please don’t insult real poets& artists. Kings writing is fanfiction made canon at best. And it’s ridiculous to excuse Kings bad writing with this is fiction. Even fiction has to follow some logic. Fact is, if you break a bone ( in this case the back) you aren’t able to move or even worse carrying heavy objects with you. Batman is a human, so no he can’t. It’s just crappy writing.

Darkseid24 - Jul 13, 2019

Arguments to defend Kings writing are getting more ridiculous every day.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 13, 2019

It isn't even just his back in Knightfall. Batman was burntout after fighting practically every villain right before being brutally beaten and broken both literally and symbolically by Bane. He was only gone 6 months and a lot of that was rehabilitation because he wasn't active anymore after having Azrael replace him.

Talon1load - Jul 13, 2019

He required rehabilitation because his back was broken. That’s not something you just recover from after a couple of days. This isn’t even up for debate, the things he’s been doing are a medical impossibility. Especially since he’s had it broken at LEAST twice in this run alone. It’s poor writing. On a side note, I do like how we pick a review every week and blow it up with discussion. .

Darkseid24 - Jul 13, 2019

It was his back in Knightfall. Alfred even said back then, that he might not be able to walk again. You don’t recover from that just in a few days. Being exhausted was only what lead to his defeat, but it wasn’t the reason for taking a break for six months. It’s just bad writing from King.

Psycamorean - Jul 13, 2019

We always allow for some heightened abilities in comics, I won't deny that. But it becomes absurd when Batman can unbreak his own back or plan his own death via a Poison Ivy controlled Superman, and subsequent revival via Harley Quinn (someone who shouldn't be able to do that).

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 13, 2019

@DC Stuff Batman has always been human, but the absolute best man he can be. He is always the smartest and most prepared man in the room. That's why Tom King is ruining Batman, right? He was sad because his chance at a happy wedding fell through. He should have prepped for the fallout or manned up. Batman is so tough and high-T, and is being ruined by showing emotion. What's that? Batman manned up? I changed my mind! Batman is supposed to be a total wimp and Tom King is getting him all wrong.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 13, 2019

Roasting aside though, I view every writer's Batman as their own take on Batman. Like sure they are all canon to one another, but each writer has their own spin on the character. Grant Morrison Batman is not going to be the same as Paul Dini, Dini isn't the same as Snyder, Snyder isn't the same as Tom King, King isn't the same as Frank Miller, etc. It is much easier to enjoy comics in general when you realize no writer will ever write a character *exactly* as another one did. Batman is 80+years

Darkseid24 - Jul 13, 2019

@ YourGreenMuse Totally agree with you. @Lapin King doesn’t have any logic in his stories, which is full of plotholes. And there are stories where Bruce is showing feelings, but they didn’t portray him out of character. So many things in Kings Batman run are just absurd.

egonnn244 - Jul 13, 2019

Can we establish once and for all, just what the hell does it mean "being out of character"? For me, it kinda seems like a really silly thing to point out. It's like Br'er Lapin said. Every writer has a different take on the character. I would add to that, that every reader has a different take on the character. Hm, so maybe that's what it means, "being out of character". Writer's take doesn't align with yours.

Batman Jones - Jul 13, 2019

Hear hear

Talon1load - Jul 13, 2019

Behavior that goes against decades of characterization. Pretty much all of Kings. It’s like he’s never read a Batman comic. He learned a few facts and then went from there. That seems to be how he writes every character in his stories. Learn a couple of things and then just write whatever whether it is in line with the characters history and established behavior or not.

Psycamorean - Jul 13, 2019

King apparently doesn't choose his characters. Editorial does. He writes a story and they fill in who it's about.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 13, 2019

DC gave him Batman though. He knew he was writing Batman. As far as I know the only time what you said has ever happened is Heroes in Crisis.

Psycamorean - Jul 13, 2019

And Mister Miracle.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 14, 2019

I think they asked him to do that one too.

Darkseid24 - Jul 14, 2019

No when he came to DC they asked him, what character he wanted to write& he said „I don’t know“ ( says already a lot), then they gave him Mr. Miracle, the same happened with HIC. He had a story in mind, editors suggested the characters. He is doing no research at all. He might read one story, then he forces his ideas on the characters. Because it’s too hard to read some comics. But that’s not only King: Morrison, Johns, Castellucci all don’t do enough research either. It’s overall just a lack of

Darkseid24 - Jul 14, 2019

quality at DC since years. There are too many wannabe Alan Moore writers these days.

Psycamorean - Jul 14, 2019

I don't know how Vision came about, but I do know that his idea for that story went against Vision's character. And that in order to justify it, another writer (I think it was Mark Waid) wrote a small story in Avengers #0 to explain the change in Vision's character.

Psycamorean - Jul 14, 2019

So I wouldn't be surprised if it came about like HiC and Mister Miracle did.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 14, 2019

As much as I hate to say so since I am a DC fan and a Tom King fan. Based on all the interviews I have read, I think he had zero plan to apply at DC. He tried at Marvel and didn't even consider DC. His talk about where he was and what inspired him were podcasts about some of his favourite writers at Marvel at the time, the big early 2000s' Marvel writers. He said that is where he learned a lot. He made his way into DC through meeting someone at a comic convention after publishing his first

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 14, 2019

book. Karen Berger then took notice at Vertigo and his success there and with future stories like Vision, Grayson, and Omega Men got DC's attention. I think that is how he landed Batman. I don't think he was necessarily a major Batman fan before he landed the gig, but I do think he likes Batman as much as a casual fan might. I personally think that is okay. There are a lot of instances of writers being assigned books of characters they have no idea about, and I don't think that is true of Tom

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 14, 2019

and Batman, but this has often lead to the writer not being limited and redefining characters. So I don't necessarily agree that every writer should be an expert on the character. Tom King just had the impossible task of pleasing every kind of Batman fan and not stepping on anyone's toes.

Psycamorean - Jul 14, 2019

But good writers do research.

Darkseid24 - Jul 14, 2019

Im also not a Flash fan, don’t know much about him except the standard things, but if I was a writer at DC I would read as many comics about him as possible& find out what makes him a special character for people. What Im also always asking myself, why would a CSI agent suddenly write comics? He’s not a writer that’s the point& he clearly doesn’t know much about DC characters. His dialogue is also often unreadable, what proves my point of him being not a writer.

Psycamorean - Jul 14, 2019

First of all, he was a CIA agent. Second, I don't think he's a great writer, but he is a writer. He even manages to write good things. I just think he's a very limited writer. He has his niche, and can't really expand from that, it seems.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 14, 2019

He said in an interview that he didn't want to be the kind of dad that was always away because of his job in the CIA, and his wife is a Lawyer, so she is always busy too. He always wanted to write comics specifically, he got into them from his mom sending him care packages while he was overseas (comics are a very common form of entertainment for soldiers too) so he decided to quit the CIA and be the father he wanted for himself, and chase his dream while doing it.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 14, 2019

Also I think it is funny that Darkseid said CSI, because that is what Flash is. I think he may have just made a typo.

Darkseid24 - Jul 14, 2019

Did I really write CSI? I meant CIA, sorry 😂 I‘ve never read a great story by King. Only mediocre at best ( I’ve read Batman, Mr Miracle, HIC, Grayson) & lately his stories were pretty bad. If he wants to be a writer he should do more research about the characters he’s writing, but this proves yet again, that not everyone can be one.

Talon1load - Jul 14, 2019

I will say that Sheriff of Babylon was good. That was a comic that played to his strengths because it was about a subject he was familiar with. I just don’t think superheroes are his thing. He wants to write dark psychological stories but he doesn’t seem to know how to do it with superheroes because he doesn’t take the time to understand the characters.

Darkseid24 - Jul 14, 2019

Haven’t read that one. I think you can write dark psychological stories about DC characters, but for that he needs to do more research about the characters.

Talon1load - Jul 14, 2019

You can but he has not done a good job of it.

Batman Jones - Jul 14, 2019

I haven't listened to this podcast in a while but I'm pretty sure it shows what a deep love of DC King has always had. http://wordballoon.blogspot.com/2018/07/tom-king-q-batman-is-heart-broken.html

Batman Jones - Jul 14, 2019

I get why some/many would hate his Batman but someone Mr. Miracle was "mediocre at best?" I don't think we're ever going to agree about anything, Darkseid24. And that's okay.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 15, 2019

I think Mister Miracle might be my favourite book of the last maybe decade... personally. Also, thanks for the podcast, I needed something to listen to.

Psycamorean - Jul 15, 2019

I do think Mister Miracle is overrated, simply because Tom King has already written that type of story before Mister Miracle. Like I said earlier, he has his niche. He hasn't really evolved as a writer. And I'm kind of over the type of stories he writes. I had my first exposure to it with Vision, I liked Vision a lot, and then I wanted something new. But I got more of the same instead.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 15, 2019

I don't think they are anything alike. The only thing they have in common is they are literary.

Darkseid24 - Jul 15, 2019

@ Batman Jones surely we can, but I’ve read every New Gods story& that’s why I think Mister Miracle is bad. King did a bad job with portraying the characters & he turned Darkseid into a joke once again. Not to mention the dumb finale& god awful dialogue.

Psycamorean - Jul 15, 2019

They're both hammering home on that depressing feeling. They're both about trying to be and have a family, no matter the consequences.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 16, 2019

Vision is about trying to be human and live a normal life in the suburbs, Mister Miracle is Silent Hill but with positives.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 16, 2019

There is a Mister Miracle that is close to Vision, but it wasn't written by Tom King. Check out Volume 3 of Mister Miracle. Where Scott and Barda move into the suburbs and do their best to fit in and be normal.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 16, 2019

Err volume 2, 3 was the one where Mister Miracle becomes Highfather and is pretty much not worth reading.

Psycamorean - Jul 16, 2019

Vision is not about being human. Vision had mastered being human pretty soon after being created. Vision is about Vision trying to have a family in the suburbs and how that goes horribly wrong to the point that that family gets ripped to shreds through murder and suicide, and the Avengers come. Yet Vision is willing to give up everything to have that family.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 16, 2019

According to Tom King himself, Vision built his own family in order to feel more human.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 16, 2019

Like a cat sitting at the table. He didn't actually say this part.

Psycamorean - Jul 16, 2019

Well, that's where the Mark Waid fix comes in.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln

Jul 10, 2019

"...I'm still here" Damn, that last line gave me chills. So we see the often criticized use of a folktale from an earlier issue used as double allegory for the events of the run, and more parallels to Bane, with the climbing out of the pit. There is something really satisfying about Batman breaking out of his funk of the past like 20 issues and denying that Bane or Thomas Wayne managed to break him. Is this the start of the redemption act? It is also interesting how rooftops were where Bruce feels most at home, but almost everything terrible that has happened to him was atop a rooftop, and now while deep inside a pit, basically the furthest thing possible from a rooftop... he finds his motivation and strength to fight back. This r un better have a happy ending where Batman returns to the rooftops with Catwoman. The art was really nice again, especially Thomas' bright crimson symbol while descending into the pit. more

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Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

Other than Selina dumping him, what other terrible thing from his past happened on a rooftop?

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 11, 2019

Nightwing got shot in the head atop a rooftop, Bruce lost control on some thug on a rooftop, a nightmare had him start on a rooftop and the chase led him further and further down (✳symbolism✴), and recently he couldn't make heads or tails of reality on a rooftop and socked Tim Drake in the face. This all happened on a rooftop.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 11, 2019

I don't think I said rooftop quite enough.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 11, 2019

Oh... and also if you think I am making this up and some crazy fan. There is literally an arc that establishes it called Rooftops. And a scene in the reality scrambled issue where Jim Gordon literally says "You don't belong here! Get off my ROOF!" A lot of people claim Tom King is a hack, and that is fine, but nobody should ever say he doesn't have depth.

Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

Bruce losing control and the dream are reaching. He frequently works on rooftops so neither of those are terrible or even unexpected. Gordon telling him to get off his roof and the Rooftops storyline aren’t really life altering terrible events either.

Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

Like most King fans, you assign depth where none exists.

Psycamorean - Jul 11, 2019

It's a recurring enough element that I'd say it's probably purposefully done.

Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

It’s Batman. Most of his time is spent on rooftops.

Darkseid24 - Jul 11, 2019

Nightwing getting shot didn’t devestate Bruce that much though. He’s crying more over Catwoman than over Dick.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 11, 2019

Didn't he Christopher Nolan KGBeast over it?

Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

I’ve never heard that phrase. I like it.

Darkseid24 - Jul 13, 2019

Yes, but since then you never heard anything about it anymore& all he’s doing is whining over Catwoman.

leoleol_m

Jul 12, 2019

The last issue before City of Bane was spectacular. The father/son moments between Thomas and Bruce are very emotional and good written. Mikel Janín's art is beautiful. One of my favorite comics on King's Batman run.

Linkush

Jul 10, 2019

"The Fall and the Fallen" arc ends with a bang. In the finale of this arc, Bruce and Thomas make their way to the pit in order to resurrect Martha. With some twists and turns, amazing art that created a very atmospheric issue and served the more personal story well, we get a very interesting and intense issue that left me super excited for the next arc.

Tony

Jul 10, 2019

The whole art justify to read the book, I mean, Janín and Bellaire did an excellent job in this one, the desert and the pit panels looks just incredible. That is 10/10, but like I said before, We know that the art has never been an issue to this book. Most of the complains about this run have one name "Tom King". This run is perfect, of course no, but at least for me, it has some level of quality and it is good to see how King relates one story to another. Now it is time to see how all of this concludes and finally we will know if there are some answers for some plot points, if you didn't like this Batman it wil be very difficult that you will like this conclusion.

Anotherfan

Jul 10, 2019

Another day with a Batman release, another day with claims that King is the worst writer we've ever seen. So who is in the wrong ? The fans who can't see the flaws and incoherence of King or the haters who are not able to see past the name on the cover ? Don't know. Dont really care. Personnaly, i think that this was a good issue. I love the way Thomas Wayne is characterize : he really is mad and Bruce quickly realize it. His motivations are clear and not incoherent with wath we know of the character. There is also the return of the pit tale from issue 57 that is used to explain the relation between Bruce and his father. Typical King writing and i thought it was great to see it use again even if it wasn't necessary to have all of it r etold. Again, not a lot of things happen, like last issue we almost only see the conversation between the two dark nights and yes it is a little frustating to not see the story move at the pace we want. Like always Janin and Belaire are a great combo and the art is really good with beautif slash pages. To conclude, the issue was interesting and beautiful and i think next issue will have more story progression with the debut of the City of Bane arc for wich i'm hyped. The cliffhanger was kind of cool but not that incredible. more

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Big Brother - Jul 10, 2019

If you don't care, then why even bother with that first paragraph?

Anotherfan - Jul 10, 2019

I love trolling

Anotherfan - Jul 10, 2019

More seriously, i just wanted to say that i think people are distorted on the book because of who wrote it ( me included )

LunaMoody

Jul 10, 2019

I think this was a fairly good issue for the most part. I would have liked more dialogue between the characters but I'm pretty much always wanting that. I don't think that daddy Bat really thinks all that much of his "son". He says he is proud of him but at the same time he is constantly getting these little digs in that hint otherwise. I am beginning to believe what daddy bat really wants is to be Batman. I think it's all about getting Bruce to turn away from being Batman so that he can be Batman instead. Daddy Bat's knows that Bane can break Bruce's back but it wouldn't be enough to truly break him. However if Bruce finds true love with Cat and the chance to be happy. Plus on top of that he gets his mother back as well as his sort of "dad " that it would be enough to make Bruce want to turn away from being Batman leaving daddy Bat's the only Batman. I think somehow Thomas got stuck here and that is all he knows how to be and that's whats behind all he's done. It's a theory anyway. I'm probably way off but??? Now for this issue... I had problems believing that Bruce was able to sneak away and bury his mother somewhere without waking daddy Bat's. I mean if ninja's can't sneak up on him without him noticing how could Bruce remove a body, bury it and then refill the box with rocks all the while not waking daddy Bat's. And that's not taking into account that Bruce is recovering from what should have been a serious injury to his back. I don't know maybe he was somehow channeling Superman?? That's about as believable as the rest of it. LOL Also he shouldn't be able to fight or carry someone so soon after his injury. Another thing that bothered me was how daddy Bat kept saying how disgusting that book was. If you felt that way about it why did you even buy it to read to Bruce in the first place??? I really wish there had been more talking between them instead of telling the story from the book twice. It would have been nice to know how Thomas ended up there and for sure which Martha it was in the box. more

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Talon1load - Jul 11, 2019

I agree with all of this except the score. All of the problems you noted drove it way down for me.

Comics instrucciones de uso

Jul 17, 2019

Nice fight, nice art

allenquanobi

Jul 10, 2019

Ok issue to end this arc. At this point, I'm just waiting to see how the run will end before I judge it as a whole, but at least this arc was better than Knightmares. The art as always is fantastic and is one of the main reasons I'm still reading this book.

Federico Liguori

May 02, 2023

Convoluted as hell. I can feel King thinking "I am a genius" while reading this. 6 is for the art.

Psycamorean

Jul 10, 2019

In a shock to no one, this plan Thomas Wayne had didn't work. We get a return of the folklore from Batman #57. It serves as the focal point of the entire issue, and then we even have the story narrated to us again. Because we needed the point hammered home after it had just been made. This is supposed to be cathartic, but it's not because this story hasn't been well constructed. I'm glad Bruce has finally decided not to be depressed, at least. He never really gave up, though, he just got a little more violent. He was always on the money with Bane and was never going to stop. But I'm glad he overcame that so he can go beat up Bane.

egonnn244

Jul 13, 2019

"I'm still here" Yeah, you are. And so are we, but I don't know what for, really. This comic book is sooo empty. The issue took the repetition thing to a whole new level. We get the same damn story about animals in the pit and we get it twice, just for the fun of it. Animals, book, screaming. Book, animals, screaming. Screaming, book, animals. Ah, hell no! Just. Stop. Phlease.

Spacey Medicine

Aug 16, 2019

The nice thing about this comic is that I could read it quickly because I just skipped over the redundant story.

TSwan98

Jul 09, 2019

I would like to give this a 1 just to even out all the King Cult members wbo will give it a 10 but I wont do that. This issue is the epitome of what we have gotten the whole series which is nothing. You get Tom King using the majority of the issue just using a folk tale for dialogue (which he does more than write his own anymore) a story that goes nowhere, and a zero questions answered. I can not wait for King to be off this book so maybe we can get Batman back instead of whatever god awful character this. The art was alright.

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Batman Jones - Jul 10, 2019

Don't worry too much. There are plenty of King haters here who will give it a 1. Maniax is never late with their 1 star review.

Darkseid24 - Jul 10, 2019

Wouldn’t call them King haters, just disappointed fans, who finally want to read a good Batman story.

KFuqua - Jul 10, 2019

I don't hate Tom King. He has written some books that I've enjoyed, but his take on Batman is horrible. I have enjoyed nothing about his run on Batman.

Batman Jones - Jul 10, 2019

Fair enough. Do you guys feel it’s fair to call people that like the run a cult?

Darkseid24 - Jul 10, 2019

It’s as fair as calling people, who don’t like it haters.

Batman Jones - Jul 10, 2019

Yeah, that's why I said "haters." I was responding to being called a cult member

TSwan98 - Jul 17, 2019

Theres a difference between people who enjoy it and people who give every single King issue a 10/10 say every issue is perfect and act like a holes to anyone who doesnt like it. While back DC posted a batman thing and I commented saying I didnt like the run and was going to drop it. I had at least 7 people tell me I should kill myself for not liking it. Thats the difference Batman Jones. Those are what I refer to as the King Cult. If your just a person who enjoys the story and batman thats good

Batman Jones - Jul 17, 2019

Yeah, that's all I am, someone that loves Batman and loves King's run. I'd never tell anyone to kill themselves, especially over not liking a thing I like. That's absurd and awful. I'm sorry that happened to you.

Batman Jones - Jul 17, 2019

I do give King's Batman 10's but I'm genuine in doing that. And I don't give him 10's across the board. Maniax posts a 1 star review to every issue of King's Batman at midnight each Tuesday night. I'm not like that. I don't have an agenda to drag anything up or down. I just love this run. Reasonable people can/will disagree about pretty much anything. That's what makes the world go 'round.

myconius - Aug 14, 2019

TSwan98 - are you serious?? people actually told you to kill yourself for not liking a dang silly comic book??!!! what a bunch of mentally unstable, fart huffing A-holes!!!

Nihilist

Jul 10, 2019

Last issue was, I thought aat least, a moment of twist, which will, finally, resuscitate the series and add some, any, story to it, especially since DC editorial decided to pull the plug to his run earlier (and thank goodness for that). This week all I can do is admit my failure. I was wrong, the comic leads absolutely nowhere, it's devoid of any substance, and King, despite having only half of year to conclude his story, still decides to add even more filler to it. The story of this issue could be summarized in barely one sentence. You ready? Bruce buries his mother somewhere on the desert so she can't be resurrected, which pisses of Thomas and they fight. The end. The rest of this issue is dedicated to meaningless conversations regard ing the old public domain story about animals in the pit eating each other. It's boring, and once more makes an empty circle referencing something King said a while ago with no actual purpose. He's known for these recycled loops. On top of that, the story doesn't even add up. Think about it - if Martha Wayne is buried somewhere under the sand, Bruce had to take her body after Thomas fell asleep, and return before he woke. So, if we assume he's slept for ~8 hours, which is the healthy standard for adults, Bruce's "trip"couldn't be longer than 4 hours at average in one direction. Average walking speed of a human is 5km/h in perfect conditions, and I'll use it as a reference, since Bruce is in peak form, and I will also ignore harsh ground conditions slowing him down, weigth of his mother's corpse, as well as time required to bury her properly, so animals don't dig her up and eat. So we're left with a circle around their camp, with ~20km radius. In practice I'd expect it to be way smaller. With Thomas sleeping for 6 hours, Bruce walking 3km/h and spending 1 hour to bury Martha, it would have ~7.5km radius at most. Thomas should be able to find the camp's location, more or less, since he knows which direction he and Bruce came from, and how long did it take them. With that knowledge, finding the body would be a matter of using some high caliber radar able to detect anything with density other than sand's. Since duh, it's comics. more

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Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 12, 2019

This is a lot of math for something Thomas can't do while in a pit and getting punched out.

Br'er Lapin AKA 20-Ish Ceiln - Jul 12, 2019

Also the walk was 100 miles from issue #73. So the body could be around any of the camps that they previously destroyed probably.

myconius - Jul 13, 2019

Nihilist, excellent points as always! ....and that public domain story wasn't very entertaining the first time we'd read it. this time it was just embarrassingly painful.

Darkseid24

Jul 10, 2019

This is the final issue of the „Fall& the Fallen“arc& compared to the Knightmare arc we at least get some story progression: Bruce& Flashpoint Batman are fighting in the desert. In the end someone climbs out of the hole, but we don’t know yet, who it will be. However there are many plotholes, unanswered questions& missed opportunities, that make it impossible for me to enjoy it. Minor SPOILER WARNING: The entire plot here is a retelling of the fairy tale from issue 57& it’s a missed opportunity, that King rather retells an already known story instead of concentrating of one of his more interesting ideas: the reviving of Martha. This is kept way too short& just shortly mentioned. Out of nowhere it’s stated, that Bruce sneaked away while Thomas was sleeping& burried Martha somewhere in the desert. It would have been by far more interesting& more exiting, if Thomas actually went through with it& we would get a Pet Cemetery like story. Or if Bruce at least had to fight for stopping him. It sure would have been more dramatic. It’s also without any emotion. You could think, that it’s a terrible experience for Bruce being forced to take the rotten corpse ( or more likely a handful of dust) of his mother& bury her somewhere at a place, where he can’t visit her grave anymore. Nothing of this inner conflict of the characters is adressed by King. His characters are pale& bland. It’s also not only a missed opportunity, it’s also unbelievable. King wants the reader to believe, that Bruce, whose back was just broken would be able to lift a corpse& coffin& bring it to a place somewhere in the desert. His writing is just without any logic. Instead of that King is trying to focus on the relationship between Bruce& Flashpoint Batman. SPOILER Ending This never goes deep& a reason for that is, that King never cared to show us any scenes about what Bruce actually thinks about his father from a different timeline. We still don’t get any explanations for why& howThomas is even here & his motivations still are illogical. At the end Bruce seems to realize, that this isn’t his father, but since Bruce isn’t a fool this realization feels way too late. Since the portrayal of Banes plan was a big mess in earlier issues, it’s also unbelievable, when Thomas tells Bruce, that he was broken. Overall nothing of Kings story is fitting together& I fear this won’t change in the last 11 ( I think) issues. As for the art, it feels rushed for me& drawing Thomas with Ben Afflecks Nightmare Batman outfit is an odd choice in my opinion. It also makes no sense drawing Bruce half naked, since in the desert he either gets a sunburn during the day or is in danger to freeze at night. more

Quinn

Jul 10, 2019

What to say. Basically “oh brother” covers it. The two bats get to the pit. While walking they do some talking. Dad says Bruce was a whiner who always cried when dad would read him Russian folk tales from issue 57. He said he wanted Bruce to be his own man, and once mom is restored that will happen for reasons. Bruce says he always wanted to hear the stories because he hoped they would change so he was stubborn like mom, oh he buried her body in the desert so putting it in the extra special pit won’t work. They fight. Dad is wearing heavy gear and a duster while Bruce is just wearin his cowl from the waist up. I guess he is not afraid of severe sun burn and sun poisoning. They fight in the pit. Cut to top, and we see a gloved hand. Is it dad’s, is it Bruce’s? (It will be bruce’s). Once again we get a writer adding backstory to a very old character. This back story explains all. I do not like this because instead of forging ahead, it just reworking the same old past. And the results are always dismissing returns. Again, story unfolds so slowly. The art does not provide compelling action that tells its own story. Just single shots of men throwing punches. Dad’s statement of now that you are broken down you can rise is so on the nose, That I guess King really hates subtext. This run isn’t exciting. It’s just long and drawn out. It seems like the trek through the desert - never ending and dreary. Or I could be wrong. more

Talon1load

Jul 10, 2019

Lets see, King uses a folk tale he’s already used previously and then repeats it in the same story. Still no resolution on how Thomas is in this world. Bruce gets into a straight up fight while still healing from a broken back and then being sling across the back of a horse. This is just more bullshit. People seem to think it’s some sort of genius writing but it’s mostly just pretentious bullshit that tells the reader nothing. It’s one nonsense filler issue after another and I can’t wait till it’s over. King seems to have big ideas so hopefully he does better writing movies where a more competent writer can fill in the details. As for this issue, if you haven’t bought it already, don’t bother.

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SnakeWilson - Jul 10, 2019

i think the only kind of people who think this is genius writing are the ones who feel like they need to prove that comics are mature "see? it's dark! this isn't for kids! comics are valid! the story sucks and makes no sense but it's not for kids!"

Talon1load - Jul 10, 2019

Completely agree.

Darkseid24 - Jul 13, 2019

I rather think new readers might like it, since they don’t know old great stories.

myconius - Jul 13, 2019

after these "comic fans" that enjoy this type of story-telling get over the comic fad, they just go back to watching prank videos on youtube.

Branden Murray

Jul 13, 2019

Tom King is awful part #74 ... #11ToGo

myconius

Jul 13, 2019

another complete waste of an issue.

KFuqua

Jul 10, 2019

Yay! More useless garbage by Tom King. Again, please remove him from any of DC's main books!