Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Tony S. Daniel
Published by DC Comics
Tom King continues his run on Batman with this awesome issue.
Why is it so awesome?
Well, King is bringing in one of my favorite characters in this story.
Who is it?
Why, it’s none other than the villainous KGBeast. And its looking like King has a great take on the character too.
The issue opens with the Beast at the airport heading into America. His final destination is, of course, Gotham City.
King intercuts the Beast’s travels with that of Batman and Nightwing taking down a new villain. It’s a pretty harrowing experience to be honest.
The Beast starts setting up. We see him get off the plane. We see him check into a hotel. And then we see him go to a gun store and place an order for some specific gun that makes the shop owner tremble. There is a huge sense of foreboding which is used to great effect.
Meanwhile, we get to see Batman and Nightwing beat up the aforementioned new villain. It’s great to see that King picked right up where he left off in the last issue as their storyline felt a bit incomplete. King keeps the dialogue between them fun and it’s pretty damn awesome. At one point, Nightwing’s puns are so bad that Batman just says “please stop.” It’s hilarious and above all, quite human.
While the Beast gets ready for his moment, we see Batman and Nightwing talk.
We find out why Batman used to call him “chum” when he was Robin. We see them even have a friendly competition. Then, Commissioner Gordon calls them. They appear and apparently, it’s the anniversary of The War Of Jokes and Riddles. And then, the Beast makes his move. It’s pretty damn shocking what happens.
Without giving it away, King does an amazing job giving a big surprise at the end. It’s a hell of a story choice. The art by Daniel is his best and I think he’s only getting better. This is an incredible first issue of the new storyline.
It’s as good as the first time when the Beast appeared in the 80’s. And that’s some high praise indeed.
RATING: A
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