You would definitely need to read #18 first before immediately reading this issue, as this is nothing but pure action throughout. Here we have Bane unleashing all of his anger and hate towards the inmates and it was something to definitely see. King even leaves us on a cliffhanger where Bane does finally find Batman" fully suited up and ready fora fight! Great cliffhanger and I can't wait to see how this ends! Read Full Review

Batman #19 was one of the most intense and expertly plotted comics I have read in a while. The pacing was relentless and the structure of the issue was fantastic. A sort of tour of Arkham and its inmates, it was the best use of Batmans Rogues Gallery I have read since both The Long Halloween and Hush. And the art was pretty much untouchable. With all of that in mind, here are 11 things to love about Batman #19. Read Full Review

If "I Am Bane" accomplishes anything, it'll be cementing Bane's spot in Batman's top three villains in any list that's worth a damn. Not only is he capable of destroying 90% of his rogue's gallery on his own, but he has the single requirement of any good villain " justification. Read Full Review

Is It Good?Batman #19 comes roaring through the gates of Arkham a violence-fueled locomotive that steams along and never once abates. Stocked with interesting villain vs. villain character exchanges, further parallels between Bane and Batman and an ending whose air of unpredictability should leave even the most ardent Bat-fans wondering what will happen next, the issue is one of King's greatest successes in the series yet and perfectly complemented by Finch's delightfully hyperbolic art. Read Full Review

Batman #19 is a great example of the work that King and his art teams have done with Batman post-Rebirth. It takes familiar themes and concepts and approaches them in novel ways, and never misses an opportunity to elevate the subject matter and give the reader something to think about. Read Full Review

I would rank this as one of my favorite issues of not only this arc, but this entire run of Batman so far. The entire creative team along with the editors put out something really special here and I won't soon be forgetting it. Read Full Review

As much as I have struggled in the past with enjoying some of King's run on Batman, there was nothing standing in my way from fully enjoying this issue. From every little subtly crafted nuance to all the bombastic over-the-top fanfare, this was hairs away from being a perfect issue. A lot of what made it so wonderful for me were all the indirect stuff that so perfectly mimicked the beats of past stories. Even though they were presented in a new way, they were simultaneously complementary to that which had come before. It's also full of villains, references, amazing art, humor, action, and quotes from other thought provoking works of fiction that quite perfectly married with the subtext of the story at hand. Bravo, Mister King. Bravo. Read Full Review

A Bane-centric issue is what we needed to really add more dimensions to the character, as well as fleshing out his perspective of this story. I can't help but understand where he's coming from based on his story. Finch's art was beyond excellent, but King continues to add little details with his dialogue that I didn't feel mattered in the end, and somewhat detracted from the overall story presented here. I shouldn't be giggling when Bane is very seriously crushing bones. Read Full Review

Comic books have a habit of repeating themselves if you stick around long enough. Batman and Bane have engaged in battles of wit and strength before. Both have been broken by the other. We’re about to be at the point of physical conflict again, but not in the same way that it’s played out before, because this isn’t about saving a city. King’s Batman already did that at the beginning of his run, and now what’s at stake instead is the personification of the city in Gotham Girl. It’s an intently personal confrontation that’s on the horizon. It’s two longtime foes headed on a collision course, not to save the world, but to save just one life. It’s an unstoppable force headed to an immovable object. With this information in mind, the question that remains is… which one will break first? Read Full Review

Get this book and you won't be disappointed! Read Full Review

Batman #19 is yet another awesome chapter in the current 'I Am Bane' storyline, that while not being as deep as its predecessor, is still a brilliant work. Both Tom King and David Finch shine here. Batman #19 is a must-read for Bane fans. Read Full Review

The more we get into the "I am Bane" story arc the more I love what Tom King is doing here. Sure there are issues that are lulls in the action department, but they all have substance in their own ways. This being the fourth issue into the story we still haven't seen the full Batman vs Bane fight. However, King is laying out an epic tale in the mythos of Batman and Bane. Read Full Review

A lot of single comic issues are just bridges to the good stuff. The best part about this run lately is that each of them are bridges to the good stuff, but not before being superb themselves. Read Full Review

BATMAN #19 successfully sets up a promising finale to the "I am Bane" story arc. As Bane encounters some of Arkham's infamous inmates, we're treated to some entertaining violence and a better understanding of what distinguishes the character from the other Bat-villains. Read Full Review

"I Am Bane" doesn't give the impression that it really needs five issues to be told. But that slow, methodical pace serves its own uses. This issue allows Tom King and David Finch to get into Bane's head in a more subtle way, exploring the tragedy of his return even as the villain mops the floor with every enemy Batman can throw at him. This issue looks and feels as unique as any of the others that have preceded it. Read Full Review

Ill give Rebirth this, the story arcs wrap up quick. It feels like just yesterday we were introducing the I Am Bane story and now were one issue removed from the close of Tom Kings third major Batman story. As long as they stick the landing, this could go down as one of the better stories in recent memory, despite how rushed it all seems to feel. Read Full Review

On the surface, this issue is just a simple lead up to the big finale, but there's enough here to like.  We see that Batman and Tom King know their history and David Finch can make it all look great.  The overall story not moving forward much does subtract a bit from the score, but the fun factor just about makes up for it. Read Full Review

Batman #19 features cameos from quite a few Bat-villains. Some get multiple panels such as Two-Face, the Riddler, and Calender Man, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, (and for some reason Maxie Zeus) while others Bane dispatches in a single page (Black Spider, Solomon Grundy, Firefly, and others). The comic continues to build-up Bane as an unstoppable force which can be slowed but never stopped. Now, once again, he's Batman's problem. Worth a look. Read Full Review

While not as memorable as the previous issue, Batman #19 provides enough thrills and action to set-up one last battle between the Bat and Bane. Read Full Review

Batman's faulty logic and that feeling like this won't play a major role in the overall story make this a tough sell. The artwork and Rogue cameos balance it out for the most part, but this chapter of I Am Bane was overall disappointing. Read Full Review

After several strong issues, “I Am Bane” stumbles due to a nonsensical plot and decompressed storytelling. Read Full Review

This might be my favorite mental breakdown from any Batman villain ever. The rage-fueled Bane vs. the goal-driven Batman creates a great dynamic that contributes a what I hope will be a very powerful ending.

I love everything Tom King writes in this series. Bane is still the most complex, psychological and interesting character of the series and I've never seen him like this. Before reading this arc, I knew that it would be masterful, but it's even better than I expected!

Very solid issue, great to see King writing the other villains in this issue, all with suiting personalities. Particularly enjoyed the Two-Face and Riddler moments. Bane remains a terrifying presence with Batman trying to buy as much time as he can keeping him out of the way. I've never been as wowed before by Finch's art but here he is killing it even with deadline pressures.

"I Am Bane", like the arcs before it, has a very simple premise, which one would not expect to work out for five issues. But the King/Finch team has found a peculiar way of making each single issue feel like they stand on their own as an essential piece of the bigger picture: here we have Bane fighting his way through Arkham Asylum and confronting many of the A-tier Bat-villains, and making us wonder what would King take out of each of them should he build a story around them. What this issue really accomplishes is the marvellous experience of actually being able to empathize with the "bad guy": Bane was done, his life had gone on and he doesn't feel connection with all these crazy monsters that reside in the Asylum. Finch manages to be versatile both by drawing all the villains Bane encounters during his road to the Pirate and by framing each encounter in a different and meaningful way.
While "I Am Bane" could've been told in a couple of issues, King and Finch show us why they're taking their sweet time: each new iteration serves more than a simple purpose of storytelling, but also a different experience every time. more

Art and cameos make it satisfying.
Feels very "middle of the story" and doesn't quite stand out like the others in the arc.

Not exactly a brilliant issue like the previous few but I guess we see Bane angry? We literally run through the rogue's gallery only to arrive to Batman with his fists clenched. Why is King so inconsistent with this title? He's usually brilliant, I mean I was someone who said Grayson as a spy was absolutely stupid to my local comic shop, only to come in a few weeks later telling them to add Grayson to my pull list. And then Vision and Omega Men dropped and I was in nirvana without picking up an Image title. The funny thing is, I don't want King to be replaced because I know he can write, I just don't understand why there are so many chapters that seem insignificant to the overall progression of his stories. Between Tynion on Detective, King on Batman, and Snyder on All Star, I feel like King's Batman feels most out of touch with the character. more

Solid, perfectly enjoyable story

Some of the rogues' gallery cameos worked well but others were too brief to really amount to anything at all. And why was Bane bloodied after we see no one do any damage to him?

The dialogues of both Bane and Batman are cringe. And the villains getting kicked in their face in loop is ridiculous.

not good.I think show begin and end in the #5 issue.

Better than last issue but still not good. There are no fight scenes, just Bane like tank taking out Batman rouges. I still don't know why Batman just didn't called supes or something.

yet another boring unnecessary filler issue. 4 issues into this arc and King still is trying to build tension which was already there from the end of part 2. This entire issue was to tell us that Bane was angry because he gave up venom and was trying to live a peaceful life... yea we all have been reading this title we know what has lead up to this. No need to take an entire issue to explain something that was already clear as day. Also why does King keep having Batman come up with these elaborate plans to use all his rogues to trick the villians into what Batman wants. It was ok in I am Suicide but here he's at it again. The art is phenomenal and that's why I'm giving it a 6. Maybe I'm just not a fan of King's style of writing or his take on Batman but this is yet another disappointing read... more

Too many apparent plot holes were created in the crafting of this story

Fucking filler. Nothing happens. It's just a giant intro to the next ish. The art's not even that good.