Batman #27

Writer: Tom King Artist: Davide Gianfelice Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: July 19, 2017 Cover Price: $2.99 Critic Reviews: 28 User Reviews: 73
8.2Critic Rating
7.9User Rating

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"THE WAR OF THE JOKES AND RIDDLES" part three! The war has spread to every corner of Gotham City, and while Batman battles back the forces of Joker and Riddler, an unlikely criminal becomes the pivotal key to its potential resolution... but it could cost him everything.

  • 10
    Big Comic Page - Dave MacPhail Jul 24, 2017

    This is a strong contender for my favourite DC book this year and definitely gave me pause after I read the final panel. To be clear, this book isnt really about the final page but how we arrive at that point. King has proven time and again that he can write a fantastic Batman book, but even I wasnt expecting this. Read Full Review

  • 10
    Lyles Movie Files - Jeffrey Lyles Jul 19, 2017

    Continuing the theme of the arc, Batman has a limited role this issue. Im enjoying how King is making Batman a supporting character to tell more of a villain focused arc. Besides, when Kite-Man gets the spotlight, even Batman can take a back seat. Read Full Review

  • 9.6
    Monkeys Fighting Robots - Manny Gomez Jul 19, 2017

    A perfectly written issue that works as a single story but also gives the ongoing story higher stakes. This an intimate, powerful, tragic and at times darkly funny tale. Read Full Review

  • 9.6
    You Don't Read Comics - Ben McElveen Jul 28, 2017

    Although it strayed from the main ongoing story, it didn't feel like a step down. I'm really hoping to see more of Kite-man in the future. Read Full Review

  • 9.5
    AIPT - Russ Whiting Jul 19, 2017

    Batman #27 is The Killing Joke for Kite Man. Which is every bit as ridiculous, impressive and thoroughly enjoyable as it sounds. Hell yeah, Tom King. Read Full Review

  • 9.4
    We The Nerdy - Aron Pohara Jul 19, 2017

    Tom King manages to bring us a new perception on some of the most iconic Batman villains and the fear anyone had what exactly he could have done with them, especially Joker should be put aside as King has given us a most human, but also most terrifying Joker of all. Rest easy and pick up this series, it is clearly in a pantheon of must read arcs for Batman fans! Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    The Batman Universe - Matthew Mahar Jul 19, 2017

    I want to start off by saying that this story is far better than it has any right to be. Kite Man is a joke of a character from the early 1960's whose resurgence this past year, complete with "Hell Yeah!" tag line, has delicately walked the line between being humorous and overplayed. Giving the character back story seemed absurd at first, but giving the character this degree of backstory is just crazy enough to work. And I want to be extremely clear, this is an absolutely heartbreaking backstory peppered with Tom King's signature, dry tongue-in-cheek humor. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Comic Book Bin - Herv St-Louis Jul 25, 2017

    Clay Mann is not the usual artist for this storyline. That affects the story as the visual style changes a bit too much. While the panels layout appears superficially the same, the characters idiosyncratic faces which are so important in this story are off regardless of Manns effort to mimic Mikel Jann. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Black Nerd Problems - Keith Reid-Cleveland Jul 20, 2017

    The Joker and Riddler are currently on the fringe of the story, but I'm sure things will come to a head where they'll be at the complete center of the action soon enough. For now, King got away with advancing the story while also developing a character almost no one thought they'd care about. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Batman-News - Brandon Mulholand Jul 19, 2017

    Hell yeah, HELL YEAH, HELL YEAH!!! What? It's a Kite Man review. That catchphrase is practically mandatory at this point. In any case, as King manages to make one really care about and root for the character, he ends up fulfilling my dream for the perfect Kite Man story. So that's definitely a thumbs up in my book. When I first opened the book and wasn't greeted by Janin's familiar pencils, I was slightly disappointed. But that disappointment quickly turned to joy when I laid my eyes on Mann's Batman. Clay Mann delivers some really beautiful images, but none more so than his shots of Batman. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Henchman-4-Hire - Sean Ian Mills Jul 22, 2017

    If you want an epic, tragic and surprising origin for a Z-list nobody Batman villain, then this issue is for you! If you want the actual War of Jokes and Riddles, then I think you're getting played by a master storyteller. Read Full Review

  • 8.7
    Comicsverse - Aaron Berkowitz Jul 19, 2017

    BATMAN #27 tells the origin story of a lesser-known Batman villain named Kite Man. Writer Tom King's addition of intense, emotional drama into Kite Man's life makes this a compelling must-read rather than an obscure story about an obscure villain. Read Full Review

  • 8.5
    Superbromovies - Marcos Melendez Jul 21, 2017

    Overall, it's a great villain origin story. Doesn't give us too much incite on how Kite-Man will affect the story later on so we'll have to wait and see. Batman is surely a series to keep up with if you haven't. Read Full Review

  • 8.3
    IGN - Jesse Schedeen Jul 19, 2017

    Batman #27 doesn't do much to add greater momentum to "The War of Jokes and Riddles," but ti does serve to greatly enrich a character who, until now, was treated merely as a recurring joke in the series. This issue chronicles the tragic rise of Kite-Man and further cements the idea that the war itself is less important than the terrible toll it's taking on Gotham's citizens. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Newsarama - Justin Partridge Jul 19, 2017

    Tom King’s Batman has taken some strange turns, but #27 may be the strangest one yet. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing! With heavy pathos and a willingness to break out of the mold of everyday, run-of-the-mill superhero storytelling Batman #27 pulls a Smiths, showing that this joke isn’t funny anymore because it hits too close to home and too close to the bone. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Razorfine - Alan Rapp Jul 24, 2017

    Although I'm still conflicted about this storyline, it does allow Rebirth to bring in several old and new characters as part of the growing factions between the Joker and Riddler. If Kite Man earns this treatment I'm curious to see what else may be in store for other villains. Worth a look. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Newsarama - Matthew Sibley Jul 24, 2017

    A story of casualties, of the ones who suffered as chaos reigned, makes Chuck a ripe subject to study under this lens, that miraculously reaches an ending that'll make you want to say, "hell yeah." Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    DC Comics News - Steven Brown Jul 20, 2017

    Batman #27 is a great read and I look forward to the next issue. This war between Joker and Riddler is only going to get worse before it gets better. Even the citizens of Gotham are forced to choose a side in the chaos of it all. As this series continues I'm really going to wonder just exactly how Batman will stop all of this? Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    On Comics Ground - Luis Cruz Jul 19, 2017

    Tom King does it again. This time he brings the war right into a normal man's life. Not a super villain or even a regular villain, but a normal civilian like you or I who is down on his luck. He takes us into the life of Charlie Brown" no, not the one from The Peanuts Gang. This new take strikes closer to home as we realize how impactful this War of Jokes and Riddles has become. Batman fights to keep Gotham City safe, but does he understand the outcome of the war to its residence? Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    We Got This Covered - Sergio Pereira Jul 19, 2017

    You might need a box of tissues after Batman #27, because this issue will break your heart. Who knew that the Riddler could be so vicious?! Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    The Beat - Alexander Lu Jul 19, 2017

    This is the Batman comic I've been dreaming of since the start of this run last year: it's "the Ballad of Kite-Man." Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    NerdEnt.Net - Flame Hawk Jul 20, 2017

    How good can a comic that focuses on Kite Man be? We finally find that out in Batman#27 and the answer is a resounding meh! Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    SnapPow.com - John McCubbin Jul 21, 2017

    Batman #27 is an thoroughly enjoyable read, being an intriguing interlude to “The War of Jokes and Riddles.” Giving us a surprisingly compelling origin story for Kite-Man, the creative team fashion a narrative that shows the effect of this war, with the emotional depth and character driven nature of the story making it easy to recommend this comic. Read Full Review

  • 6.5
    Weird Science - Eric Shea Jul 19, 2017

    While you miss out on all the interesting stuff going on throughout Gotham City in this issue, what you get instead is the origin of Kite-Man and if knowing why the villain says "Hell Yeah" over and over again is your idea of a good time....... Well, this issue just might be for you.  The art is amazing though, but the characters in this story continue to feel strange and we're missing out on the majority of the story it seems, while Batman continues to create his own villains......... even if they are ridiculous.   Read Full Review

  • 6.5
    Comic Book Corps - Jeff Daily Jul 19, 2017

    The next Bat-chapter in the "The War of Jokes and Riddles" has arrived and it's an INTERLUDE??!?! Writer Tom King's Bat-opus is divisive with fans, to say the least, and this side story, "The Ballad of Kite Man, Part One" is unlikely to convert the disgruntled. I'm hanging on because for whatever twisted reason, I'm not hating this civil war...yet. Read Full Review

  • 6.5
    Comicosity - Jay Barrett Jul 19, 2017

    This issue is expertly written and drawn, and on its own is a resounding success. It fully fleshes out the ongoing war between The Riddler and The Joker and it breathes new life into a footnote character from the Batman mythos. However, it is saddled with being an unimportant middle chapter in a story arc that has still somehow failed to leave its own first act. Youll enjoy it while reading it, but may be quickly frustrated by the fact this story will be viewed as inconsequential when the arc is viewed as a whole and at the realization that nothing has really happened in three issues. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Comics: The Gathering - Batmanaruto Jul 19, 2017

    In conclusion, it does feel with this issue as if Tom King wasn’t too sure what to do. There is not even a time frame with this issue as Joker and Riddler seem to have assembled their teams already. Maybe this issue would be better if it focused on all the villains’ motivations to join either side as it just seems random, other than Poison Ivy. Hopefully this does really improve. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    GWW - Casey Walsh Jul 19, 2017

    Batman #27's main purpose ultimately is to serve as a joke for readers, and it does ultimately succeed at that, but its scripting throughout feels more like a riddle to me. Read Full Review

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