‘Batman #56’ (review)

Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Tony S. Daniel
Published by DC Comics

The last issue had a pretty shocking ending and this picks right up from that. The KGBeast is in town and he isn’t messing around.

Tom King has taken this villain and has made him even more scary and ruthless than before. I have no idea where this is going but I’m enjoying the ride.

Following last month’s surprise ending where Dick Grayson was shot in the head, Batman tries to track down the Beast.

King structures the issue of Batman’s search with another storyline of the Beast talking to his father.

It’s surprisingly poignant and makes this an emotional tale about fathers and sons.

Batman figures out pretty quickly that it’s the Beast behind things. Alfred asks if he can find him. Batman assures Alfred that he can. Now he just has to track him down.

The rest of the issue is Batman trying to find out just where the Beast is. And that is proving to be a little more trickier than he thought.

Batman makes the rounds. He fights some ninjas and some villains. He asks a lot of questions. Through it all, we get to see Batman put the pieces together that lead him to the Beast. There are some great dialogue and as well as some great scenes. The Batman/Catwoman romance is mentioned by a character and it reminds us that Bruce is still mourning that. It layers the story even more and makes it real.

I thought at first that it did get a little repetitive.  I thought that I had figured out the story structure by the third page and that it was a little obvious. King flipped the switch at the end and it’s amazing how he did it.

He brings it home in a beautiful last page that pays off.

The scenes individually are great. The Beast scenes are especially strong and they allow him to grow as a character. He has more of a backstory now and it gives him motivation. He never really had one that was compelling enough for me before and now he does.

This is another solid issue by King and the art by Daniel is the best he has done in his career, hands down. The scenes are fluid and the figure drawings are all excellent. He’s come a long way and he’s doing amazing.

RATING: A