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10
This was utterly spectacular. As someone who wasn't a fan of most of King's Batman run, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised that he crafted such a genuinely enthralling Batman story here. King made Riddler into a seriously terrifying villain and this is probably my new favourite Riddler story ever. That ending was just...so good. SO good. And Mitch Gerads' art was nothing short of perfect. Tom King haters are always gonna hate, and Batman purists who can't handle the slightest alteration from their perception of what the Dark Knight should be are gonna be thoroughly triggered by this story, but as for me, this will go down as one of my favourite Batman comics ever and another absolute masterpiece from King.
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10
Fantastic- Kudos to King for a masterpiece!
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10
This is some of the best Batman Tom King has put out. This is truly incredible.
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10
Before anything, I need those reading this to know I'm not King's biggest fan. And yes it's because of Batman and Heroes in Crisis. I haven't read anything else of his aside from Rorschach and the first 3 issues of Human Target. I know he's an EXTREMELY talented writer. I still have a hard time touching his work. I even love his first two arcs on Batman. This though...
This is simply amazing. Its opening is unbelievable. It's such natural, flowing human dialogue that you'd just have this kind of conversation with anyone. So much comic book dialogue is filled with too much gravitas, emphasis or exposition that nothing ever feels grounded and real. Pair that with artwork and paneling that puts you right in the shoes of the perspective character to literally see as they do, you get lost in the first few pages engulfed in the story.
Transitioning to the camera feed and interrogation by Gordon, everything here just feels real. No Batman yet. Just a criminal and an officer doing his job. I don't think for a second, nor should anyone that Edward Nygma is telling the truth about Jack's 'One Bad Day'. He's the Ridder. He's supposed to confuse you, get you thinking, get off balance. Taking him seriously or at his direct words will likely not yield you the right answer.
The only trope that King falls into here of his that I have one of the biggest problems with is his stammering, unsure, uncomfortable dialogue. I only mean that in characters that are in a sad or uncomfortable position as was Mrs. Oates when speaking to Bruce Wayne. He tries to create a real conversation that is stuttery, broken and intentionally sad. Someone in pain trying to cope. Reaching out with words they can't find. Sometimes it translates to the page better than others and this is the only time I noticed it.
This Batman is the Batman I have wanted to see from King. This Batman is terrifying. A force. An immovable object that is undeterred from his mission to find the truth. I've not in recent memory seen such an imposing and cold Dark Knight than here and is amazing.
It wasn't until I saw Edward's teacher and the interaction with him that I realized why his father looked so much like Kurtwood Smith. King gave Edward a new origin that is a beautiful amalgamation of the studious but unsure Todd Anderson and the tragic rebellious Neil Perry from Dead Poet's Society. It's not subtle. He wasn't trying to hide it and Gerads and King even included his name in the files Edward rifles through to find his teachers'. If you haven't seen that movie, a lot of this is likely not to resonate with you as well. King is known for his love of film and it would be a disservice not to recommend everyone who reads this to watch that movie. This book like that film is a masterpiece. To say otherwise is just a flat out biased, bitter lie. Something a child would scoff at because they don't understand writing. Good writing. Great writing.
I need to sing Mitch Gerads' praises in here as well. This is honestly one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure and privilege to see. I can't really describe how perfect it is. The colors are perfect, the lines are perfect, the perspective, depth and scale of every panel giving everything weight. Simply the best. Oh and The New Batman Adventures Batmobile. That is all.
If 'ruining' the Killing Joke with one line or that it's doing an homage to that story is enough to get you to call this bad, you like Edward, are an idiot. If Batman, breaking his 'one rule' is enough to get you to call this bad, you really didn't understand the book or the point. Edward knows more than you think. He knows more than everyone thinks. If Batman thinks that his family was in real danger. He wouldn't hesitate. And he doesn't. That's what Batman does. The city is his family. Batman believes in mercy. He was giving mercy to his city. more
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10
Holy Crap! I did not expect this issue to end up the way it did.
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10
Riddle me this.
I am four numbers, yet two numbers, yet one number. I am a fraction, yet I am still a whole. I represent perfection, yet dissappintment often follows in my footsteps. I am sought by so many, yet acquired by few. Once acquired, the quest to acquire me instantly begins anew.
What am I?
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10
Tom King has done so many stories that stay too long and get lost in themselves that it's easy to forget that he can do some really excellent work if his worst tendencies are curbed. Dropping the Riddler into Dead Poets Society is a really inspired take on his backstory, and while many attempts to make the traditionally goofy Riddler a terrifying sociopath are joyless and edgy, King & Gerads really hit the bullseye here. Maybe King should stick to one shots for a bit; the format clearly brings out the best in him.
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9.5
I'm late on this.
As someone who sometimes truly dislikes King's work, I loved this. It was amazing. Simply put amazing. The amount of misdirection Edward gives here is just wonderful. Was the Killing Joke truly his idea? Or did he just make Gordon more angry, because he knew it would work?
I really liked this.
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9.5
incredible
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9.5
King and Gerads together are a magical team and they do a killer job kicking off a new line dedicated to paying homage to Batman's greatest villains through the lens of The Killing Joke.
This spin on the Riddler is a bone chilling one; he's angry, meticulous and untethered from the usual rules. King spends a lot of time exploring the nature of the game between Bruce and Eddie, and then delves into potential implications of what would happen if the rules of the game changed. The final scene alone was brilliant and absolutely worth the build up.
But Gerads is the real star here, delivering on all of his signature techniques. He's a master of subtle movement and facial expression, which imparts a lot of humanity into each of his characters. The scenes from Edward's youth are a great example. The teacher exudes a warm familiarity which contrasts perfectly from the cold, calculating nature of the younger Eddie. Gerads also hits readers with shades of green and red throughout, with flashbacks bathed in warmer red tones to contrast with colder green tones on every other page to further evoke the feelings mentioned above. The result is something harmonious, that builds to a perfect crescendo when they finally collide near the book's climax.
more
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9.0
Perhaps overly dark and arguably out of character with some hard-to-believe elements, but this was a truly amazing and memorable read. Enough so that I felt compelled to create this account to review it and tell someone, "Wow, that was really great!" I don't know if I'll be collecting many of these, but this has me thinking I should.
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9.0
Conflicted because this was such an effective, engrossing, macabre story of crime, trauma, and senseless violence.
The artwork is stellar, the writing is fantastic, the tone is consistent and engaging. There are moments here that are so horrifying it's essentially a horror book.
It just doesn't feel like Batman, Riddler, or Gordon.
It would be perfect if it wasn't Batman and I wish this would have been reworked as a separate crime thriller or something.
Just the rules of a comicbook universe don't allow this to work as well. What came before it and what comes after it, this book won't matter.
So I'll take it as a stand-alone elsewhere story, and like that this is one mighty, fine thriller.
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9.0
I recently reviewed Killing Joke and didn't like it. If you're interested in why, go look at that review. This book is very similar in construction as that one. I spent a lot of the middle of this book not really loving it. The big difference is that while Killing Joke's ending is great and it is fairly definitive for the Joker, it doesn't make what came before it worth it. It doesn't tie together properly at all, in my opinion. This book also has a great, definitive ending for the Riddler and it actually manages to tie the entire story together in a satisfying way. Are there a few moments that I think don't work? Yeah. But the whole thing together works very well. I am shocked that Tom King produced a good Batman comic.
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9.0
Tom King and Mitch Gerads have another hit on their hands. It’s a very unique spin on Riddler, a character I have always loved but hasn’t had a definitive story. It’s too early to say if that’s the case for this one shot but I’d definitely recommend this. I truly believe that Tom King and Mitch Gerads will both go down as some of the best from this era of comics and this is just more proof positive of that.
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9.0
We can argue all day long over whether or not this is the Riddler's "Killing Joke", a definitive story, or "not my Riddler", but at the end of the day, what is here is a cat-and-mouse thriller that offers an interesting possibility for the Riddler's backstory. There are times when the exposition is a tad too much, but when it comes to Batman and Riddler confronting one another, it's just pure tension. It's a story about self-imposed restraints, and asks how far can we go once those restraints are removed.
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9.0
Riddler's Killing Joke!
I loved how terrifying King and Gerads were able to make the emerald enigma in this book. The flashbacks were great, and addressing the cyclical nature of Batman and his rogues was done extremely well.
I'm a big fan of Batman when a writer is willing to evolve the character or take him in new directions that stay true to his portrayal across his entire history. This evolution of the Riddler was very fascinating, although this story does the most possible to elevate his threat level compared to all the other rogues.
Killing Joke was about two broken men taking trauma in polar directions; a study on the limits of sanity and the breaking points of good men. Dreadful Reins is all about the game; the rules of engagement when two geniuses decide to use the world as their chess-board. The last page was brilliant, and the ambiguous nature of if Batman broke and killed the Riddler vs if he just put him away once more to continue the game is thematically perfect for the overall Killing Joke parallel. I also loved Batman's final riddle, which reminded me a lot of one of Morrison's best Batman stories: "Time & The Batman". The mystery always comes knocking! It's for you to decide to get up and answer the door! more
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8.0
the issue isnt bad, its good and tom king's Batman content is slowly getting better. just not a fan of the 9 panel issues and it may be a bit wordy and this is too similar to The Killing Joke. But its a good issue nonetheless. Just might not be for everyone
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8.0
Continuing his characterization of Riddler from his Batman run (going so far as to blatantly copy a scene from War of Jokes and Riddles,)this out-of-continuity one-shot goes from a semi-realistic if a tad cliche take on Edward’s origins to full on Looney Tunes near the end.
Seriously, I was laughing so hard when I saw the Mary Sue-levels of ridiculousness that went into trying to make Riddler the scariest bad guy who beats everyone and doesn’t afraid of anything. I’m not sure if this was the intended effect Mr. King wanted to inflict, but regardless, this easily remains the funniest work of his so far. After about the eight thousandth over-the-top showcase of Riddler’s big brain intellect you kinda just have to smile to yourself, go with the flow and ask “Okay, what CAN’T this villain do?”
If you go into this with a certain mindset, I highly recommend reading it if you could do with some harmless, unserious fun, as is the case with most Tom King books. I had a great time once I realized what this was. As always, Mitch Gerards killed it with the art.
Sadly, there was no appearance of Punchline which naturally detracts from the score. more
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7.0
Everything King does with Batman is so hit or miss. I guess OBD Riddler actually succeeds in what it aims to do, but is that necessarily a good thing?
First, I am huge Alan Moore fan. By far my favorite writer of all time. That said, Killing Joke is one of my least favorites of his works. The whole idea of Killing Joke being the flip-side of Batman's origin sounds poetic but it's really corny and trite. My biggest issue was that it took this maniacal, unreasonable monster and made him sympathetic (like Rob Zombie's Halloween did for Michael Myers). You walk away going, "jeez, no wonder he's so messed up." Plus, there's the sadistic torture porn part with Batgirl.
OBD Riddler was just Tom King emulating Alan Moore at his worst. You have a Riddler who is beaten by his father and later finds out that his mother is a prostitute that his own henchmen are banging. He also kills a completely innocent person as a "warning" to Batman that he can do that anytime he wants if Batman pisses him off. It is also complete with a not-as-vague ending where Batman kills him (similar to the Killing Joke).
It's really amazing that in 2022, writers can still only barely scratch the surface of what an amazing writer Alan Moore was and all his potential. The most they come away with is dark, brooding neurotic heroes/villains. I guess none of them read his America's Best Comics stuff or even Supreme. more
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4.0
Only the art has value -- because the writing is just TK using Alan Moore as a springboard while writing some edgelord crap on par with Mark Millar's Nemesis.
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1.0
Way to ruin a classic character just to make a name for yourself King. That seems to be all today's comic writers care about. I'm frankly surprised how many 10s this pile of crap got. I figured most old fans would be mad at King for trying to ruin a 34 year old classic, and so badly as well. All so this would be a modern day killing Joke. 30 years from now no one will remember this, except those of us it makes sick.
The whole story just kills almost 75 years of great villainy, not to mention one of Batman's biggest foes. This is not the same guy I used to read about. And I mean he's literally NOTHING like the Riddler was created to be. This book is just an insult by a glory-hungry usually poor comic writer who doesn't deserve the acclaim he already has as it is.
Not to mention King obviously hasn't done his homework. Hey Tommy boy, Riddler learned Batman's secret in Hush, but eventually forgot it. He was just taking another writer's idea and reshaping it into total crap. The worst part of all is all King wanted out of this were 2 things, 1) To make a name for himself as the guy who "revealed the truth" about the Killing Joke and 2) to transform the Riddler into what HE thinks he should be.
It's only too bad Covid hysteria and lockdown are over, because the pages of this book could have be used as a substitute for toilet paper and actually had a real meaning to its otherwise pointless existence. The review you see next to this review may be a 1, but that's only because it's the lowest mark they let us give. But my real review is actually a big fat well-deserved ZERO!!!!
One Bad Day? One Bad Book is more like it. more
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1.0
More suicide fetish trash from Tom King.
....and he humps Alan Moore's leg on this one. HARD!
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1.0
That was quite possibly the worst comic book I have read, it's definitely the worst Batman story I have ever read.
Tom king should never be allowed to write a Batman comic again after that.
Don't try and ruin the killing joke because your a hack writer.
No spoilers but everyone who gave this a 8/19-10/10 is on glue. Your all dumb for saying this is a perfect story.
It try's to say the riddler came up with the plan for the killing g joke and also has Batman break his only rule it seems. Such an aweful book.
Do not read this book save your money or just light it on fire or give it to a homeless person.
Worst Batman comic ever.
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1.0
Great art, awful writing
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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10
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9.5
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9.5
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9.5
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9.5
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9.5
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9.5
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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8.5
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8.5
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8.0
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8.0
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8.0
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8.0
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8.0
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7.5
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7.5
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7.5
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7.5
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7.0
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7.0
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6.5
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6.0
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5.0
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4.5
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4.5
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4.0