Written by Tom King
Art by John Romita Jr.
Published by DC Comics
We are nearing the home stretch of Tom King’s run on Batman.
The City of Bane storyline has been one of the best stories that he has written for this title. It is definitely a very different Batman story and that is what I like about it. It’s unique, dramatic, and very engaging. You can’t ask for more than that. And this issue even has a special guest artist to boot!
That’s right! John Romita Jr. stops in to draw this issue. It’s the perfect issue for him to illustrate, too.
We see what looks like Matches Malone heading into Gotham on a rainy night. He is stopped by Two Face and Pyg who ask if he knows who’s city it is.
After he beats them both down, Matches replies “it’s mine.”
We now know that Batman is back in Gotham and he is ready to take his city back!
This is a great beginning and the issue gets even better as this goes along. Thomas Wayne is on a roof staring out. He knows that his son is back and that something must be done. We then get to see the Mad Hatter taken off the chess board. Batman also has an encounter with Kite Man. It’s a pretty funny and quick scene that is extremely well done and cool.
We get to see a little more set up for the story. Gotham Girl makes an appearance as well.
The Thomas Wayne Batman is given an order by Bane. He is to kill his son and display the body publicly. It’s a pretty brutal setup. And the tension runs high right until the end.
It seems again like a lot of setup and that’s okay. But it also felt like this issue was a bit incomplete. I know that we are nearing the end of the storyline, but we end the cliffhanger for this issue on a weird note. It was a little disjointed.
It’s a small complaint however. The writing is so strong otherwise and the art is so cool, that I got past that. This is another fine issue in this book overall.
At this point, I just want to see Batman beat the living hell out of Bane. And that is because the story itself has been so involving with a lot of build up to the main event.
RATING: A-
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