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Now features art by Jorge Fornes and Mike Norton and a new story: What's it like to be Batman from day to day? What are the challenges that the Dark Knight Detective faces? From thieves to marauding monsters, writer Tom King takes us across the gamut of experience to show the vast scope of what it takes to fill the Batman's boots...and then what it means when he goes back home.
Without the restrictions of a long-form story, King was able to reach deep into his bag and take us back into Batman's psyche, which has historically been what his best writing on this series has showcased. And the insane backdrops gave all of the artists something to play with as they'd go from drawing a horde of mummies on one page to Batman crossing the street with an elderly woman on the next. Talk about variety. Read Full Review
Batman Annual #4 is a perfect standalone Batman book that is a joy to read, visually stunning, and a reminder of why comics are such a brilliant medium. Read Full Review
This might be the best Batman book of the year. Read Full Review
Tom King gives an astounding tale that lives up to the cover's claim that it's “A Batman tale like no other!” No other tale has quite captured the totality of Batman's multi-faceted essence or so clearly demonstrated that Batman's fight against evil and injustice is truly never-ending. Read Full Review
Even if you hate Tom King's Batman, you need to read this book. This comic is the shows the perfect understanding of Batman as a character. Batman fans would be remiss to miss out on this comic. Read Full Review
For some, "Batman Annual" #4 will be another great Batromp. For others, "Batman Annual" #4 will be the summer fireworks atop Batman's legacy. For DC Comics and Batman, "Batman Annual" #4 is just another day in the book. Maybe after his prolonged suffering, Bruce can catch a break, but given his nature as a constant, Batman's work never ends. Read Full Review
A masterful standalone experience that conveys the everyday existence of Batman as a character. Read Full Review
As King's run winds down, there's been a lot of debate over some of his story decisions. But this issue is not only King's run at its absolute best, it's one of the best single issues he's ever written. Read Full Review
Batman Annual #4 is the Batman comic every fan should read. Even if you've been burned on King's run on the main Batman book, give this annual a chance. It's fun, heartwarming and engaging throughout and has absolutely incredible art. The narrative all being told through Alfred's diary is great and makes for an outstanding issue. Don't skip it. Read Full Review
King has written a very simple story that actually is very complex when you stop and think about it. Each story and picture is much deeper than a normal comic. It is a really nice and well done annual. It also has some of the best art that Batman has ever seen. Read Full Review
With a humorous yet heartfelt adventure, Batman Annual #4 is easily one of the best DC Comics releases of 2019. Read Full Review
Jorge Fornes and Mike Norton do an excellent job with the art in this annual. The characters look great, the details and action are fantastic and the sequencing of the panels allows for both the big and small moments to carry equal weight on the page. Read Full Review
Tom King weaves a tale from the journal of Alfred Pennyworth, and in doing so creates one of the most memorable Batman stories in recent memory. Read Full Review
This book is a love letter to all things Batman and I had a lot of fun reading it. Also, Batman rides a dinosaur and thats awesome. Read Full Review
Tom King delivers an excellent Annual, and while it might not be for everyone, for me, it is spectacular. There's no deep dive into characterization here. No attempt to try and make Batman different. This is merely a presentation of who and what Batman has always been and always will be. A hero in every facet. Every. Single. Day. Read Full Review
While the issue starts slow and there is a MOUNTAIN of text for the reader to get through, this has to be one of the most entertaining and fun Batman stories that we've gotten in years. It still has that Tom King feel to it but it manages to borrow from the past to really add color and excitement to this annual. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it highly. Read Full Review
Beautiful art is forced to work in concert with a mediocre script in Batman Annual #4 (King, Fornes, Norton, Steward, Cowles). Read Full Review
While this isn't the most sweeping of statements about the World's Greatest Detective, Batman Annual #4 will likely appeal to diehard fans of both King and Fornes' work. Read Full Review
Overall, this issue really was a waste of an opportunity by King to really hammer out something great for the last time before his work on Batman is over. Read Full Review
Absolute perfection for a Batman story, especially an annual. Art mostly by Jorge Fornes and Dave Stewart (a few just as excellent pages by Mike Norton and Stewart) is clearly the main attraction here. But this is Tom King's writing at its best also. There's a gimmick (again, this is an annual), but it has a narrative purpose, is fully fleshed out, and is highly satisfying. We get no plodding dialogue or self referential narration. It's perfect. Jorge Fornes channels his best Alex Toth/David Mazzuchelli/Francesco Francavilla influences for the fine balance of realism and cartooning. The relatively flat colors from Dave Stewart provide a bold saturation to the art, which shines on the matte paper of the comic book. By only slight complaint a more
What a wonderful amuse-bouche!
The art is spectacular! The story might have some hiccups, with horses on rooftops and Gotham missile defense systems. But I appreciate the writers whimsy and playfulness with the material and Fornes just takes the script and runs with it. Each page is a masterpiece!
Nothing half baked here! Seeing lots of reviews giving very low ratings. I thought this was a wonderful issue that breaks up all the heavy courses readers have been served over the course of 80+ issues.
Well done
Why this little stories couldn’t be full issues instead of BatCat: The Saga?
What a beatiful and well written love letter to Batman !
A celebration of the versatility of Batman, from the darkest stories to the fun. This is basically Tom King's Batman Universe and a good aside to his run which features less traditional Batman.
Batman Annual #4 is a collection of short stories - told by Alfred - that perfectly captures the everyday life of Batman. There is no dialogue between characters, only Alfred explaining what we see on paper. And what we see on paper is beautiful art by Jorge Fornes and Mike Norton that makes this issue even better.
Prelude:
King has usually been better at the annuals then the main series so let's see how he goes for Annual #4 (even if he has only written three).
The Good:
It's a look into the life of Batman and it works well. We usually see the big plots, jumping from arc to arc. This is what happens in between those and it's just great.
Both Jorge Fornes and Mike Norton's art is great. I didn't even notice the switch.
The Bad:
Nothing
Conclusion:
It's a very simple premise but King delivers on it. This is why King can be such a great writer, with an issue limit and the right editors King can deliver on some amazing work. This Annual is one of them.
So much fun. While I do get that this is definitely not for everyone (I, for one, do not really enjoy reading about Batman fighting the Batman Who Laughs for the 18th time this year, but I'm respecting everyone's opinion). This was a nice throwback to the episodic Batman stories from Golden/Silver age, with Alfred delivering the narrative. The artwork really suited this story as well.
What, a good King Batman comic? Novelty.
At least the annuals are still very solid, emotional, and entertaining. Art was good, but I was sad to see Lee weeks replaced.
Tender and cool, absurd and intimate, Tom King's swan song here provides a reminder of what made his run so good at its best as his final issues on the monthly drag on endlessly into his worst excesses. A solid farewell, and frankly the best thing King has written all year.
This annual was more enjoyable than the monthly offerings, but that's not really saying much.
The art was fine insofar as it attempted to emulate the Golden Age but I never found my eye lingering on any one panel for too long.
The content, plot-wise, was sprightly but completely unmemorable. When I flip through my collection at various points in the future and see this, I highly doubt I'll be able to recall a single element of this book - it just didn't make me think or feel anything.
A bearable Tom King Batman comic. It's not good, not terrible, but readable.
I like the art.
The one thing that prevents it from being shit is the fact that it is just a compilation of Batman doing wacky silver age stuff like fighting dragons and aliens, riding horses, and competing in boxing matches for charity.
Very stale, but it accomplishes its function.
So like did Batman kidnap that kid or what?
This was a useless issue filled with nonsense. Riding horses across horseback? Seriously? Why would Gotham have a missile defense system? What city in the US, other than DC, has a missile defense system? This issue didn’t provide any new insight to Batman or anything else. It was a complete waste of an issue. This could have been used to explain a lot of stuff that STILL hasn’t been explained in the main comic but instead we get a notebook that shows Batman stays busy I guess? Such a waste.
This sure does exist. I wish some of this stuff was in the actual run because that'd be more interesting than what we got. So much reading for so little reward. A microcosm of the entire run.
This Annual issue did absolutely nothing to make me feel... anything. It exists, and that's all I can say about it. Maybe I grew so tired of Tom King, I simply can't force myself to experience any emotions reading his work. Not satisfaction and joy, not disappointment and anger. No - it's just nothingness, absolute black void.
It's not as bad as Snyder's annual from New-52, which to date i the worst Batman annual comic I've got displeasure to read in my life, but I can't find anything redeeming about it, either. Oh, yeah, look, Batman's fighting a dragon, how random and goofy, and look, now he's riding a horse, tee hee, because comic books!
Amazing how King's run was cut by 15 issues, yet he still finds so many ways to inject fill more
If you suffer from ADHD then this is the Annual for you. Instead of a stand alone story about ANYTHING, we get 3-4 page stories about nothing. Ohhhh look how different Batman has been over the years. That's not a story it's a comic version of a clip show. Annuals are intended to be special yearly events that are to be celebrated by loyal readers...This, I don't know what this was intended to be but it wasn't that.
it's sad to see what passes for a Batman comics these days.
for a comic that was twice the length, it sure was a whole lot of nothing.
this comic tried to be trippy, adventurous, and i'm guessing poignant,
but it just came off as - "who gives a crap?"
Tom King feebly trudges his way to the finish line.
even the art was nothing i enjoyed looking at. a waste of paper and printer ink.
Tynion may not be my favorite writer, but i sure as hell can't wait for him to save this series from a dullard that has absolutely no clue how to write a proper Batman story.
It was one of those read once and hopefully never think about again issues. Total waste of time and money. Art was good enough for the issue.
More garbage from Tom King in an even bigger format.
How was he ever given the chance to write Batman?
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