Review: Batman #80

The “Tom King Farewell Tour” continues this week as City of Bane rumbles on with part 6.Â But with pacing always an issue with King are we any nearer to the end of this story?

The time has come; preparations have been made; a key piece moved into play. Now Batman has re-entered Gotham City.Â As with Damien’s entry a couple of issues back, there is the risk of deadly ramifications.Â But that has never stopped Bruce and his compulsion to remove crime from his city before.

After weeks of recuperating in the sun with Selina, King finally starts Bruce’s final arc of this story.Â With Bruce back in Gotham, we get to see the sort of Batman action that this book has been missing for a while.Â In part, especially with the inclusion of Kite Man, King is setting up a feeling of closure.Â There is a sense of finality to proceedings.Â The writing of the set pieces are well crafted, as is the fact that Claire is finally starting to feel the pain of using her powers.Â There is a minor flaw in the ointment however, in the shape of Bruce’s monologue about his father’s actions; apart from the brief trip through the multiverse in The Button and a conversation on the ride through the desert, there is no indication that Bruce would know what his fathers actions would be.Â Granted, Thomas’ actions are driven by Bane, who Bruce knows all too well.Â I just hope that in the final confrontation, Thomas doesn’t turn on Bane, in the same way Catwoman did early in the Rebirth run; that trope has already been used and surely Bane isn’t that daft to fall for it again?

Whilst Bruce has been on his sojurn with Selina, we have enjoyed the clean lines of Clay Mann.Â Now that we are set for a knuckle bruiser of a fight, in the dark steel canyons of Gotham, we turn to the artistic styling of John Romita JR.Â When it comes to gritty art, this is a perfect choice.Â Romita Jr, who has spent time with that other grim vigilante over at the House of Mouse encapsulates how Gotham, under the tyranny of Bane and his personal Bat-enforcer should feel.Â Â Romita JR.Â is more than ably supported by longtime collaborator Klaus Janson, who himself has spent time in the dark recesses of Gotham and Batman on more than a number of occasions.Â Tomeu Morey adds a different color scheme toÂ his already impressive schemes.Â Finally, Clayton Cowles delivers a more standard font than his recent House/Powers of X lettering, making this a much easier book to read.

By this time, no matter how many fans, and in that group I include myself , complain about King’s pacing or overindulgence at times,Â nothing is going to change.Â With King you know what you are going to get, which mayÂ explain the books slip down theÂ top ten sales list.Â You may want more direct story tellingÂ over the meanderings of character’s dialogue.Â The knock on King’s method is that the payoff has to surpass the setup; this is a failing that affects a number of DC’s writers.Â Still, as this hit and miss run of Kings nears its climax, I can’t help but hope, just one more time that King manages to hit this one, this last one, out of the park.

Writing – 4 Stars

Art – 5 Stars

Colors – 5 Stars

Overall Score – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Tom King
Art by; John Romita Jr.
Inks by; Klaus Janson
Colors by; Tomeu Morey
Letters by; Clayton Cowles
Published by; DC Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network