/67_medium.jpg)
Prev
Nice review. If you’d like to test drive reviewing comics on my site feel free to email me if your interested. The site is the Comicbookdispatch.com and my email is dispatchdcu@gmail.com
The "Knightmares" continue as Batman chases a new foe in an impossible race. Over rooftops, across alleyways, up and down the streets of Gotham City, this lightning-fast crook outsmarts the Dark Knight at every turn. Is that because the man under the mask is someone more familiar than he knows? Artist Lee Weeks returns to BATMAN for an all-out action issue unlike any you've seen before.
Knightmares continues, and unlike many arcs in comics, I really don't want this to stop. I could probably read a series of one-shots done by King and a rotating art team, all looking at a different aspect of Batman, forever. Read Full Review
This is part five of the "Knightmares" storyline. I love what is going on here. I can't quite figure it out, but I love it. It's got one more chapter to it, so I'm certain we will find out what this entire story means next month. Hopefully, King ends this storyline well. I have faith that he can. Read Full Review
King is winding down the nightmares arc "All the Way Down", it seems, but in the best way possible. This issue is a big hit after what's felt like a mix of short flies, punts and whiffles. Hands down, this has been my favorite of this set because of its simplicity, its humor, and its reliance on the visuals. In the future I would welcome King to draw more inspiration for Batman from fun material such as he did with this one, and leave the heavy literary ruminations to the realm of literature. Read Full Review
BATMAN #67 only strengthens the surreal nature of "Knightmares". Ironically though, it provides the arc with the most clarity thus far. Read Full Review
The art by Lee Weeks and Jorge Fornes is fantastic. With the dialogue kept to a minimum and no narration, the art has to pull double duty in telling the story and both artists deliver. The art is visually stunning and the progression of the story is told with grace and beauty through the pace and detail of the panels. Read Full Review
The art in this issue is absolutely stunning. The dialogue is next to non-existent, but the theme is remarkably complex. Even if you don't approve of King's long (and I would say extremely successful) experiment with narrative, you are going to want to have this in your collection on the strength of the visuals. Read Full Review
I don't think it's quite on the level of the brilliant originals, but it's more than worth a read for the stunning art and another piece of this increasingly complex puzzle as Batman's journey through the dreamscape approaches its end. Read Full Review
Batman #67 gives the audience the silent treatment, but in doing so, brings a new level of storytelling to an old trope, making for an engaging read that will leave you gasping at thee end. Read Full Review
Between its polarizing high concept and its undeniably terrific art, to say Batman #67 is an acquired taste might be putting it mildly, but it's the kind of narrative risk-taking that I wish more creators had the courage and skill to attempt. Read Full Review
By trusting on their artist companions to deliver a breath-taking visual narrative, Tom King delivered a powerful self-contained issue, but one that positions the plot to emerge on future entries. Read Full Review
In a story that's sold itself on being bizarre, Issue #67 may be the pinnacle of the arc. Read Full Review
I cannot let this review wander further, the comic is lean, sparse and tight. Do not go looking for spoilers, the last couple of pages promise much. Read Full Review
Obviously, as a Batman fan, I am not going anywhere but I do hope something happens soon. The last issue was fantastic so the creative choices made here make me feel like I missed an issue, or four. The pacing here, the lack of dialogue, and the overall wonkiness over the actual plot movement are hard to overlook, even if it is a Batman comic. Read Full Review
Knightmares remains a slog and a low point of Kongs run, but at least we got treated to more fantastic work from Weeks. Read Full Review
This game of cat and mouse is well-paced and somewhat entertaining, but it falls short of expectations, delivering a reading experience that is exciting and visually impressive, but pointless nonetheless. Read Full Review
BATMAN #67 offers an action-packed chase scene, with excellent artwork that may remind some readers of golden age aesthetics. Beyond that, it's basically just setup for a punchline on the last page. It's all filler in terms of storytelling. Read Full Review
Honestly I found Batman #67 quite an interesting read, but not in a good way. It builds your hopes up at the start with a promising beginning, however as the issue continues you really just want the chase to be over with. Although we know it's all in Batman's mind, I thought King would give us more substance, or at least a little more weirdness in this issue like the previous ones. The encounter with Pyg, the interrogation of Catwoman, and other sequences in previous issues were great, but this issue when compared to those just falls flat. Read Full Review
Batman Vol 3 #67 comes in to covers: the Cover A ,Regular Lee Weeks Cover; and then there is also the Cover B Variant Dave Johnson Cover. As of the writing of this article the Cover B is all sold out. Read Full Review
Decent, but only die-hard Batman fans need pick this one up. Read Full Review
Time will tell if this issue goes down as one of the better ones in Tom Kings run. The artwork by Weeks and Fornes really stands out, but theres a contrast in expectations from the content provided in the previous issues of this arc which still doesnt quite work. Read Full Review
This latest part of “Knightmare” is a fun, light chapter with amazing art and action staging. However, due to a confusing ending and a well-worn premise, this issue also feels very thin and ultimately unimportant. Read Full Review
While not a bad effort, its lack of solid content (in story and art) doesn't deserve the price tag. Read Full Review
Batman #67 does absolutely nothing to progress Tom King's "Knightmares" story arc. We are left standing still as King decided to write a sequel for his Batman/Elmer Fudd Special from 2017. That would've been great if this was done in a separate one-shot comic titled Batman/Road Runner Special. But with the importance "Knightmares" is supposed to have towards King's epic Batman run this is unacceptable. The saving grace for Batman #67 is that we were treated to phenomenal artwork from Lee Week and Jorge Fornes. Read Full Review
Batman #67 features characteristically strong artwork but a very barren and unsatisfying story. Read Full Review
This Knightmare is an extended chase scene that looks fantastic but has nothing past the pretty pictures on the page. Is Ashton Kutcher writing this book, because I feel like I am being Punk'd! Read Full Review
This outstanding action sequence stretches across twenty pages, and it leaves you empty. This is an issue I won't soon forget, and that is equal parts due to my frustration and my adoration. Read Full Review
Generally speaking, these Knightmares stories have largely worn out their welcome. While Tom King is trying to tell a larger story arc (he has to get to issue 100, after all), these stories feel more like filler, a way to technically complete an issue without having to expend too much story. Read Full Review
Best issue yet
I’ve been reading comics for over 30 years now and Lee Weeks has been one of my favorite artists dating back to his 90’s work on Daredevil. Seeing him on Batman was something I didn’t expect to see and was one of the highlights of my week as sad as that might sound. Weeks is credited as co-artist with Jorge Fornes. The two work extremely well together and it's hard to tell where one artist starts and the other begins.
With that out of the way, Batman #67 continues the Nightmares story arc. Batman has been trapped in a series of dreams that have been presented as One-Shots. Of all of the issues in this arc, this one is the most interesting. This is primarily due to Tom King getting out of the way and letting Weeks conduct a lesson in visual storytelling.
The story follows Batman as he chases a masked criminal from the top of the Gotham skyline to the very depths of the cities sewers. The comic is presented as an episode of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. With both characters getting the upper hand as the issue progresses.
The story is primarily presented as a silent issue with sight gags all over the book. There’s a lot of energy in the art direction and the story is very easy to follow even with the lack of dialogue. There are also a few visual queues that hint at the dreamlike nature of the issue.
There isn’t much else to say here. The random nature of these issues prevents any heavy discussion of themes or ideas and I fully expect some sort of twist when the storyline eventually wraps up to tie it all together.
The downside of these issues being presented as one-shots is that if you’re a new reader or randomly picking up Batman to see what’s going on the story may be baffling. However, I do believe that if you’re willing to take the issue at face value it's a great read and I’d recommend it to fans of the Dark Knight or Comics in general. Lee and Jorge do a great job of translating King’s script sans the lame dialogue.
In Short. If you’ve been waiting for Tom Kings Batman/Roadrunner Crossover this is the issue for you. more
Nice review. If you’d like to test drive reviewing comics on my site feel free to email me if your interested. The site is the Comicbookdispatch.com and my email is dispatchdcu@gmail.com
There may have been like no dialogue or progression, but that doesn't make it bad, story telling can be done visually and what a beautiful issue this is.
**SPOILERS** I can understand that at first glance this issue doesn't seem to have a lot of substance, but Tom King as a writer is all about symbolism and metaphor. Though it may not be everyone's cup of tea, he likes to make you think. If you dig a little deeper, especially considering this is a nightmare happening in Bruce's mind, this issue actually says a lot. Batman starts on a rooftop and slowly descends into the underground of the city until he's about as far down as he can go - the sewer. King is depicting Batman falling further and further from the noble mission he set out upon. First Selina left him and he nearly beat Freeze to death, then Nightwing got shot and he left KGBeast to die in the snow, then he punched Gordon and Gordon smashed the bat signal, etc. With every move and every loss, he's getting closer and closer to the level of the very villains he faces. And for what? Tying this to the roadrunner and coyote is brilliant because it shows how he's been involved in this seemingly endless and pointless chase. He's the coyote, who will never win. And I saw someone comment that the roadrunner is a bad analogy for the Joker because the roadrunner never hurts anyone and simply goes about his business. But if you watch the cartoon, he's constantly taunting the coyote. In fact, he's kind of a dick. Plus, he knows the coyote so well, he can anticipate his every move. How do you beat someone like that? It's a great parallel, especially if you think in terms of the larger story, in which Bane has consistently been two steps ahead of Batman. I think it's cool that King is digging deep into Batman's psyche. And all the existentialism aside, it's a freaking cool and beautiful chase sequence. more
I originally gave this an 8 but after this breakdown, I think I may bump it to a 9.
delightful
Impressive.
It’s impressive how King manages to write a story without dialogues (there are 2), the fact that there aren’t dialogues doesn’t mean that King has done a “lazy job”, all that movements of the characters and their facial expressions are in the script of the issue.This issue symbolize the fall of Bruce Wayne and damn Tom King tells it in a very good and powerful way. King has also 2 GREAT artists there, Lee Weeks and Jorge Fornes both spectacular and perfect for this type of issues.
Can’t wait to see how “Knightmares” will end.
How is it the fall of Bruce Wayne, if he hasn’t even killed Joker in that story?
He had to kill him? I think not, the joker represents the madness and the pain that Batman is feeling, he can’t kill him because he can’t escape from the pain and the madness.
To be a the fall of Bruce Wayne yes. Breaking his no killing rule would be a fall. Seems a little far fetched, but at least you could see some sense in it.
If writing a story in your eyes is just someone drawing a chase scene with the words beep beep, consider me a master of American literature. Plz stop rating things
It’s not what you read but what’s behind those words and drawings. P.s. The script of an issue is long almost as the issue so...
Nearly wordless and an artistic feat with a meh final page (like the rest of this arc). Weeks and Fornes are a delight
Well, the artwork is stunning in some parts, all the issue is a chase with one final twist. I hope the "Knightmares"arc leaves us something. I can understand why people may don't like or even hate this issue and is that on the one hand it feels as if it doesn't contribute anything to the story.
The most weak chapter of "nightmares" arc, but Jorge Fornes art was fantastic!
----- UPDATE -----
I made a reflection about the issue, and now I can see the analogy with "The Road Runner"... just amazing! Changing my rate, 7.0 for 8.0
Hmmm, that was quick.
I really don't know how to feel about this one. On one hand, it was a quick fun chase with a weird ending that I kind of liked, and on the other hand, the story went nowhere, like literally, nowhere.
Since there was almost no dialogue and it was about 1-2 minutes read, I don't think it's worth the 4$.
The art was absolutely marvelous tho.
It's a beautiful issue, but goddamn, it's been months since we've had a proper Batman issue now, and this really isn't helping. On its own, it's great, but as an issue 67 of the book, it has no reason to exist.
Waiting for issue 105 so I don’t have to read anymore of Tom Kings bullshit. Too many plotless and pointless issues. This was one of them.
This was a surprisingly entertaining issue.
Still purely filler that adds nothing to the story or advances it in any way shape or form, but has more entertainment value than the past few issues.
I guess devoid of Tom King’s overly verbose nonsense there is a good comic book there.
Since King didn’t use many words, either will I.
Art is amazing but this book is a nightmare... literally. And yes, I’m sure that’s what he’s going for... so deep of him. NOT!
We haven’t moved forward one bit since the wedding issue 17 issues ago. That’s 34 weeks of stories that haven’t moved the story forward....8.5 months...
If this type of story telling continues, one could create a child in the amount of time and have said child without the story progressing.
The 5 is for the art... all 5 points. This needs to stop. Please tell a story.
You know... life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and all that. Yes egon244 I ya e been gone awhile. I’ll be in and out. I can explain all that later over virtual coffee! Thanks Weird Science Jim! Nice to hear from you too!!
What exactly happened in this issue? Don’t buy it! It’s literally a waste of an issue that doesn’t tell you anything and highly doubt it will come up later especially how this is just a nightmare.
Batman is still in dream world. This guy is dead on roof. Someones in a trenchcoat is running away. He chases the guy the whole issue through rooftops and stuff. They fall into a river. It’s revealed to be Joker. Batman asks, why he killed this guy? Joker pulls out a horn you squeeze, and he squeezes it twice. Took 45 seconds to read entire issue because there is barely any words.
The only reason to buy this if you just want to have a complete collection. The story is like a looney tunes episode, which is good, if it was meant to be a looney tunes episode. It takes the plot of “Knigntmares” literally no where and seems to be treading water until Tom king is able to come up with an actual story
This issue was a huge waste of money, most of the pages had NO words on them, just artwork. This issue caused me to drop the series because lately Batman has had too many bad issues. How the mighty have fallen.
For many months I looked forward to this book. The last dozen or so issues have just not been what I’m looking for. Without the end reveal, this would’ve been nothing.
Tom King has written mostly poor issues since issue 49 (except KGBeast and Tyrant Wing)
Imagine writing and publishing this thing. The "Knightmares" title is a reference to the fact I'm literally falling asleep reading this run?
I've been a big defender of King's run up until now but.... I really feel this issue was a waste of money.
Tom King's Batman is the ilusion of meaningful storytelling. It acts like it's something big, something important, but it's not. It's all sound and fury, with nothing behind it. There's better things out there for you. Don't waste your time with this. God knows I wish I did, but I'm too far gone for that.
"Beep"
Filler, part 5... oh crap, I meant Knightmares, part 5. By the way, who is having these knightmares? Batman... or the reader.
So, in this issue, Batman chases some murderer and...hmm...well... Yeah, that's about it. NOTHING. HAPPENS. IN. THIS. ISSUE. The story is, for like two months now, still in the same place and Batman totally broke his neck with that landing on the bar, just saying. But a good thing to know, that one serious stare from The Dark Knight can fix your stuttering problem. So, if the crime-fighting won't work, there are options.
Even Lee Weeks couldn't save this issue for me. Is it me or does his Batman looks a bit chubby in here? Now it makes sense he couldn't catch up to the guy, he let himself go a little.
I think this is the first time I actually feel a bit angry after reading Batman. Before there was an annoyance, confusion and some dumbfoundedness, but never anger.
Holy Bat-nipples, what the heck are you doing Tom!!! more
I think King listened to my complains that he become another Frank Miller or Chris Claremont, on the other hand, Nothing happened.
Lee Weeks with support from Fornes.
Tom King is like JAZZ; its the words he doesnt write, maaaaan.
In fact, if TK stopped writing Batman altogether, it would also be the best Batman story ever told.
Now I know how the Spiderman fans felt about Slott :(
I'll say this again..... DC please get Tom King off of Batman and ALL of your major characters.
Shoot I really don’t like giving negative reviews. I mean obviously I want to like it but I really don’t like silent books. The only way a silent book is even decent to me is if it has fantastic art but the art in this was mediocre in my opinion. There really wasn’t much of a story here either. Batman is one of my favorites I read and collect every issue of every volume they all can’t be winners I understand that and unfortunately this is a complete dud to me
... well at least it was a quick read?
So, the art was nice.
And that about it. Why was this necessary again?
This felt even more pointless than usual. AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING.
Forgettable, wanna-deep comic. King please, don't do heavy-dialogue issues one week and no-dialogue issues next week.
There is nothing genius or deep about this. Nothing in Knightmares is. King wants it to be so genius, so deep, breathtaking. It's not.
I would be usually fine with this, but again, nothing in Knightmares feels like it's an event. Just 5 random comics that are put together that doesn't amount to anything.
This is getting very old. Cannot wait the next issue where art is good, nothing happens and this event feels even more pointless then before. more
decompressed
pointless
filler
"beep" "beep"
For those who are curious - this review has more or less as many words as the actual comic. The difference is, it's not stretched to fill 30 pages.
I’m convinced King has just made a bunch of dummy accounts and is hyping himself.
Probably lol But people are already getting angry, if you point out, that it was bad.
i wouldn't exactly say they get angry. they become more of an irritable butthurt.
That’s true. Like the person on twitter said he doesn’t have the time to explain the plot to me, but he sure had time to write butthurt comments lol
hahahaha! they should start a group for all his twitter Zealots. call it the Cult of Butthurt. ......Beep! Beep! :D
It's like DCEU's apologists at this point. They'll efend anything, doesn't matter if that's an empty comic with no plot, or face tattoos on Joker and Harley. Zealots, that's what they are indeed.
We get it... Bats is stuck in a nightmare. But we got it a couple issues ago.
It was clear to see from the first issue of the arc. Oh look, fear gas nonsense, such a novel concept. It’s worse than anime filler.
I think it had potential, if the nightmares were cooler. If it’s really the fear gas ( what seems like quite a random explanation) it could have been a lot better. There are many stories with interesting Fear gas illusions.
this story is probably meta? Tom King is trying to give the readers actual nightmares. ....nightmares about bad story-telling.
They already stated like 6 or so issues ago, who can tell when they have all been pointless, that it's a fear gas induced experience.
Bruce suspected that in one of his dreams. The people he me there are himself, since it’s his dream. So it could be something completely else in the end.
i very much doubt this will be spun into some big surprise. this series has been phoned in for quite a long while now, and it ain't getting any prettier.
I hope it’s more than that, since I don’t want Scarecrow to get involved in this stupid plot.
What a load of garbage. Maybe I'm too dumb to recognize the genius of this comic, but I don't think I want to be smart if that means reading this load of shit and being satisfied. This is right there with the Professor Pyg issue. Completely pointless. And don't tell me, "wait and see." What am I supposed to do? Get through 40 more issues before I judge this? Ignore how much it sucks? Why does this get a free pass? I'm so tired of this run. What a horrible way to start the day.
(Before I get comments, I'm aware it's like a continuation of Batman/Elmer Fudd. It's just that, hey, maybe don't give a whole issue to referencing a Looney Tunes crossover that wasn't actually in the story you're currently trying to tell.)
I'm sick of King apologists deflecting any criticism by believing all this trash is leading somewhere as well. It's here and now, and what we get is beyond terrible.
Even if it does lead somewhere, the journey has to be enjoyable on its own.
It got 9,5 on Batman News. So maybe we missed the deeper story behind it lol
Nope. There was no deeper story. I do see people on the CBR forums talking about how symbolic it is and it drives me nuts. It’s always leading somewhere without ever actually being anywhere.
Same on Twitter. Even so the one praising it couldn’t explain to me, why it is so awesome. He was just butthurt.
the King apologists will throw undeserved praise and swallow up any bile he pukes out.
I don’t get that. If a writer writes a bad story I point it out, even so it is my favorite writer. I consider Dan Jurgens a great writer, but he disappointed me with Batman Beyond.
It's a pretty bad analogue between Batman and Joker's relationship and Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner's relationship. That's literally it.
It's tribalism, fanboyism at its purest. "Me likes Batman, so me must likes this comic", and then, once someone has that mindset, they look for confirmation of their beliefs anywhere they can. "Oh, sales didn't drop so it must be good", "oh, critics gave it a good rating and you didn't - guess who's right?", etc.
Some of the people I've dealt with love to cherry pick things that make them "right" so those bad critic ratings will be waved away as "They're always negative" or "more critics liked it". If the ratings were reversed, these types would just say you can't trust critics. They'll always be "right" in their mind.
I tend to think I'm always right insofar as it's my opinion. But I can recognize that people may dislike things I like. And I don't try to justify my opinions through other people.
i totally agree about the fanboys being the same as tribalism. or perhaps even cultism? a bunch of brainwashed, kool-aid swallowing cultists. they wear blinders to any and all criticisms. ...they are allowed to have their opinions, but anyone who disagrees with them is not allowed to have an opinion.
I am sure there are some 6-piece puzzles that can entertain you, though.
@Br'er Lapin Oh cry me a river. What a classic display of castrated ad hominem attack. "You dislike what I like, so I must discredit you". Hell outta here with this.
(I wasnt serious.) I wanted the troll to go longer, but I was actually making a callback to a Discord chat I had with Greenmuse when we were arguing about Tom King Batman or something.
Actually, I think it was Inception. Idk. Way too many arguments, I lose track.
The context was that I said I was too dumb to enjoy Inception. Br'er Lapin said I was the reason six piece puzzles exist. I responded with "Any piece fits with a hammer."
Also, I would like to point out that Nihilist basically said the exact same thing about Tom King Batman fans as he thought I was saying about those who do not like it. People like Batman by Tom King, so it must be because people just love anything with Batman on it. Kind of hypocritical, yes? It might be possible someone just, y'know... likes Tom King Batman. I could be wrong of course, I mean, I like the book. So, apparently I am wrong by default. #KingGate
Fact. Anyone who like Kings Batman is automatically wrong. Admitting it is the first step. Also, I wish there was an edit button too.
I stopped reading it at issue 15. Like what TK did with Vision, guess he did a great job with Mr. Miracle (not my cup o' tea) but cannot stand the world's greatest detective in this form. Wish Tomasi was writing it.....or even Tom Taylor since he did a great job on the Annual......Oh well. At least it saves me money.
@Br'er Lapin That's false equivalency. While I stated there are blind tribalist fanboys defending King's writing no matter what, that try to silence or discredit anyone they disagree with, I never called anyone specifically that. You did. There are fanboys in every demographic, every fanbase. They do exist - stating they do isn't an attack, it's a fact. And yes, they also lookfor validation at all cost, using sale numbers or critics' opinions to prove something is OBJECTIVELY good or bad.
I didn't though, I just made a joke. Also people liking things you don't doesn't mean they are a fanboy. Maybe you would know this if you didn't only stay within your echo chamber. So are you saying every critic is a fanboy? If people are pointing to critics, it is probably because you are falsely claiming nobody likes it. That logic fails on multiple accounts. There are Batman fanboys who both love and hate this book. Liking or hating any book is merely an opinion.
Read my previous two posts again, Br'er. The first contains a statement, the other answer to questions you now ask after reading it. Tl;dr - I didn't attack anyone for liking or disliking something. I addressed blind fanboyism and tribalistic tendencies of those who can't accept other people may have different opinions. Something you now are trying to twist around.
Nihilist does have a lot of good points. ...all fan bases have their die hard zealots. but i do tend to notice a good percentage of TK fanbois that really get out of hand with those that disagree with them. ...now this is not to say that absolutely ALL TK fans are like this. but the ones that do go to the extreme usually are pretty unstable about it.
If I am twisting your words, my bad. It was just how I read your quote meant to represent Batman fans. Also tribalism is a guarantee for a book as big as Batman, especially one as divisive as Tom King Batman. Both sides fuel the hate or love of the other side I feel like. Many runs have gone through this like Dan Slott's Spider-man, and I actually dig quite a lot of that run as well (even though it was hit and miss overall for me).
So, even though I may be on the opposing side of whether this run is good or bad, no, I get it. I have hated plenty of runs and their fanbase has annoyed me. *cough*Hunt for Wolverine*cough*Death of the Inhumans*cough*
Absolutely, I fully agree - the larger the subject, the more extremes on both side it'll attract. Same with Bendis' Superman right now. Possibly Heroes in Crisis as well, albeit I guess the general consensus about it is, it's trash, and I don't see many people actually oppossing to that with proper arguments. King has become a truly divisive, if not openly hated writer these days. Shame, firt 3 arcs of his run were amazing.
Nihilist and Br'er Lapin, it's good to see you both come to a mutual understanding. it's all too easy for things to get out of hand when discussing comics. .....with that being said, i do have to agree with Talon1laod. i can't think of but two issues that i fully enjoyed. i've despised a good most of it. 😆😆😆😆
If there were a better thing to be found, maybe. Marvel is no better than DC, in fact they have arguably more offensive business practices and money grabs.
Even indie publishers can't be claimed to be any better. Everyone publishes trash.
Marvel just publishes the most. 80-90 books a month and only a handful of them are legit great.
even though there are (or rather were) Marvel characters that i absolutely loved, i refuse to buy them due to how many time Marvel has burned me in the past. DC has been starting to follow the same dark path for a few years now. ...quantity over quality. and more variant covers that you could shake a Bat-a-rang at. ...or forcing a LONG run from a writer that has no clear idea of what story they are trying to tell.
Absolutely. Marvel also constantly reboots their books due to low sales. When you look at their charts, it's for the most part #1s. DC needs to get their act together again, and put some effort into their books. Been a long while since I was satified with more than 1-2 comics per week, usually it's 0-1 tops.
I currently like Marvel better. At the moment they have the most books per week I'm looking forward to picking up and often deliver on being good. Ever since CB Cebulski became editor in chief and they began their Fresh Start relaunch, they've kinda been on a roll, for me at least, even if at first I was too much of a DC fanboy to admit it. I would just like to say there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking one publisher over the other, however.
Marvel definitely improved since the change, mostly thanks to the purge of writers who had no right writing anything outside of a Twitter post. When you read every book though you realize the quantity of lackluster books far outweighs the good. That is why I have dropped like all but Venom, Immortal Hulk, ASM, Iron Man, and Conan. DC basically repeated Marvel's mistake by filling the market with subpar New Age ot Heroes books (although there are a few exceptions... or maybe just 1)
Vertigo is also a shitshow, like aside from the Sandman Universe. The Dreaming has a lot to live up to with Sandman and somehow it doesn't feel gross or misplaced.
Marvel didn't purge many writers. The biggest creative shakeup was losing Bendis. Arguably a good thing. Writers were just put on new things. It was an actual creative refresh, not just another relaunch. And I really don't care about their publishing practices or their relaunches to begin with. All I care about is the quality of the stories being told and they are definitely on a roll right now, as Ohhaimark has said.
ASM, FNSM, Venom, Thor, Avengers, Captain America, Punisher, Runaways, Immortal Hulk, Conan, Jessica Jones, Guardians of the Galaxy, Daredevil, Invaders, Uncanny X-Men, Tony Stark: Iron Man, Age of X-Man etc. All those ongoing titles are ones that I look forward to reading each and every time they're out. DC has Justice League Dark, that Batman series Kurt Busiek was working on, which isn't an ongoing, and Detective Comics.
I'm not trying to be a fanboy, but how can I call the shit DC piles on regularly gold?
I agree for the most part. I liked New Age of Heroes conceptually. It was a good idea to add some new characters, diversify the roster. I didn't expect many of these new books to last long, though. Silencer and The Terrifics were the entire line's highlights, so I'm glad they're still being published. The rest... Well, not many people misses them, I suppose. I'm okay with such experiments - at least DC didn't ruin characters by incompetent reinventions again, like they did with New-52.
The worst of the New Age of Heroes were the Immortal Men, New Challengers, The Unexpected and Sideways.
I like Terrifics, Silencer, and Sideways. I liked the idea too, unfortunately they treated it as an after thought. Most of the big writers got second credit for writing, and you could tell they didn't have very much to do with them.
I think that's just an excuse for the writers putting out bad shit. The writers getting second credit was a publicity move by DC after Marvel got flack for saying artists don't move units. And given that the New Age of Heroes are all ended or ending besides Terrifics, maybe they were right.
They had writing credits though. Open up any New Age of Heroes and it will have two writers. Too many cooks and all that.
Scratch that. It actually varies issue to issue, but clearly they had some duty on the story, Sideways was wildly different when Dan DiDio went all in (for the worse)
When the first actual dialogue appears on the 16th page, you know you're not reading a comic. No - you just browse an illustrated flyer, page by page, realizing there's nothing in it. Not substancial, that is. If you thought the last issue of Heroes in Crisis was devoid of any plot, just wait til you see this one. You just wait. An Ikea catalogue has more story to tell than this.
And I think I get what King tries to pull off here. Have you seen Once Upon a Time in America, by any chance? If not - it's definitely worth a try, especially if you're into crime movies, like The Bronx Tale, Casino, Goodfellas, and of course The Godfather and Scarface. Its opening, however, is pretty painful to go through, with a phone ringing endlessly for about 5 minutes. Beep beep may as well be its spiritual successor, except contrary to the original, not being an actually artistic element.
Terrible comic - definitely skip this trash. I've seen flyers behind my car's wipers having more substance. more
This issue is a joke. King teased this issue on Twitter& I didn’t realize, that I basically already knew the entire story, when I saw the screenshots.
I find the entire arc to be a joke at this point. Heck, basically anything that King writes these days. But this... Whoa, my friend, this is truly one pathetic comic.
You still could excuse the arc, even so it could have been done in a way cooler way, but this issue is pathetic indeed.
I think the one with Pyg was ok or the last one with Catwoman, but they are definitely not Comics I would read a second time. If this really is a fear gas illusion as claimed issues ago I know so many stories, which are by far better.
Honestly it was better than the past issues because it had none of King’s drivel present.
I’d rather have bad dialogue than none at all. If the writer doesn’t provide a story, what’s the point in having a writer?
THE GOOD:
-Nice art. Also, good lettering. That isn't something I would typically notice, but in a comic that's essentially JUST lettering, I kind of have to.
THE BAD:
-I'm tempted just to leave my review at "no," but I suppose I'll try to write an actual review.
-DC, can we please never get an issue like this again? I would feel ripped off if this was a FCBD issue.
-One of this issue's main problem is that it is centered entirely around an idea that thinks it's really clever, but actually isn't. Okay, yes, Batman and the Joker and kind of like Wil.E Coyote and the Road Runner. That's not some deep and phenomenal metaphor.
-This issue just further cements my idea that these Knightmares should just be a single issue. This issue could take about two pages to tell, the others about three or four. They're just stretching singular ideas that don't warrant a full issue into exactly that.
-I've never hated this series. For the most part, I enjoy Tom King's writing on other projects, and this is subpar for him, but not exactly unreadable to me. Maybe I'm not a big enough Batman fan. Who knows? But this issue felt downright insulting. I could feel Tom King laughing at my anger when I paid four dollars for a glorified picture book. That's legitimately what I think this was. I feel like a five year old would have a better time reading this than I did.
-Yet another issue I could wait for to be over. Sigh.
-I mean, what can I say? I really found this issue terribly shitty, so I'm just filling the bad column with as much as I can.
-Beep, beep off, Tom King. Never write an issue like this again. more
I said I was done after the bullshit DC let Tom King get away with pump faking us with the wedding. I came back after a couple months (This IS THEE Batman canonized title after all, this will be the last fucking dollar I spend on a Batman book until Tom King is officially off the title. Ppl can pretend all they want with covering for King’s untalented ass, but if u want to pay $5 for a Batman book with 4 pages of dialogue your a fucking idiot
Sucks...'nuff said
All tom king stories from rebirth should be deleted. Batman continuity should be continued from new 52. This is complete trash
I hope everybody, who read this issue also borrowed it from a friend like I did, because you should rather give 4$ to a homeless person than buying this issue.
There’s no dialogue before page 16, what makes this issue boring as hell. There’s also no story at all than Batman chasing a guy over the rooftops. So if you have sleeping troubles maybe it’s the right comic for you.
SPOILER
I think just like Joker is mocking Batman at the end ( I assume it is Joker, correct me if Im wrong), he’s also mocking the reader for buying this issue
SPOILER ENDING
Stories like these work as backup stories like for example the story with the plant, who eat Gotham in Detective Comics in 2004, but never as the real story.
And no there‘s not some hidden genius behind it as some people claim, it’s just bad& in this case lazy writing. Just like it is cashing in on the customers.
I guess I spend more time writing this review than King writing this issue.
I wouldn’t buy this issue. more
If I could have given this a negative number, I would have. The art was the best, and really only, part of this story and I didn't care for it. Every week appears to consist of Tom King seeing how he can suck more than the week before and yet still somehow get praised for it. In that, he's succeeded because there are still people giving him 9's and 10's somehow. At this point, I'm left believing that they are just trolls because nothing about this issue could ever be construed as praiseworthy because nothing happened. It was mostly just a reference to King's Elmer Fudd story that I couldn't give two shits about. This issue is an insult and really just a way to prove that no matter how much King sucks, his sycophantic fans will gladly cough up $4 for absolutely no return. I award him no points, we are all now dumber for having read this, and may God have mercy on his soul. more
1/10 for enjoyment when im reading..But it's a stupid story.
I would really rather rate this issue an "?" because maybe I am just too dumb to get it.
Basically there's no dialog (King's favorite "Elmer Fudd" tells Batman where the person Bats was chasing went, that's all the dialog).
This is one big chase that starts at the top of a skyscraper and descends into the sewers. Bats is chasing someone who looks like the Question, only with eyes and mouth drawn on the mask.
Bats finally catches the guy he is chasing in the sewer, under water, and it's the Joker.
We then get some dialog boxes. They read "William Ernest Coyote. That was the name of the dead man on the roof. I asked him why. He smiled and said 'beep, beep." (Joker is holding a little horn that you squeeze and it goes beep.)
That's the whole issue. Like I said, I don't get it. Is King saying the Batman/Joker dynamic is a futile riff of the Road Runner Coyote dynamic?
That makes no sense because the Coyote is obsessed with catching the Road Runner. The Road Runner is just running down the road because that's what road runners do. The Road Runner is no threat to anyone.
But by having the Joker go beep, beep, King is saying the Joker is the Road Runner. And the Joker is a threat to everyone. Batman's desire to chase the Joker is based on the proven fact that the Joker kills a lot of people. Not chasing the Joker means more people die.
Like I said, I don't get this. I say this issue is convoluted, a lot less clever than King thinksit is, and is filler that merely pads King's Batman run without adding anything to the character of Batman. Plus it takes like 30 seconds to read, so we're talking about actually getting much story for the money.
This issue leaves me more sad and disappointed than anything. The art was OK. Not terrible, but it didn't do much for me, but that's more of opinion. If others liked it, I won't disagree with them.
Or I could be wrong. more
I can second that. If anything's stupid in that equation, it'd be this comic.
Some guy on Twitter just told me, that it is like a silent movie, but a silent movie actually has a plot, while this issue is a joke.
Thanks. I read a review that liked the story. The author said this story shows how Bruce will go to understand the insanity of Gotham. Um, OK. Still do not get, but I am glad someone gets joy from this issue.
Someone really compared this comic to a silent movie? I'm shaking my head in disbelief right now, thinking of Nosferatu or Metropolis, and how much story they contain.
Yeah he did, but that’s before he blocked me on Twitter lol. He could never explain to me, what’s so fantastic about this issue,
hold this issue next to actual WELL DONE silent issues like Tomasi's Batman and Robin #18. ...Batman&Robin#18 was a masterpiece. ...this issue here was a lot of pretentious mumbo jumbo.
Overall I think comics should have dialogues. I hate total silence issues.
i've only ever read 3 silent comics that i absolutely loved. this was not one of them.
Kings of Fear relied a lot on the art& I loved that, but I’ve never „read“ a silent comic, I loved.
A 10 would mean this was the absolutely best comic that could have been produced. How could you possibly believe that? Or are you just trying to raise the score because you like King?
I blame people like you for Tom King still writing Batman. Stop rating things please and thank you :)
© 2025
