Bamtan #33

Writer: Tom KingArtist: Joelle Jones

Before Reading:

In issue #24 Batman shocked the world when he dropped down on one knee and proposed to Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. After this issue the series delved into a huge arc entitled "The War of Jokes and Riddles" which you should be able to tell from the title was an epic story line about The Riddler and The Joker going to war in Gotham. While I feel that their were some questionable moves made on Batman's end in that story, I still thoroughly enjoyed the arc. Jokes and Riddles was a story told after Batman proposed to Catwoman as a Flashback from his early days. Here we finally catch up to current day Bat and Cat (as they love to call each other) and learn what they are up to.

During Reading:

We catch up to Batman and Catwoman in the desert riding some horses on what you can expect to be an epic journey. The book does a nice job of not showing its hand right away and building a little bit of mystery in this one. There is a nice call back to the "Grayson" run which has Batman and Catwoman meet up with the Tiger King of Kandahar and he acts as their inside man. While this is taking place, the book decides to cut back to the Wayne family (Dick, Damian, Jason, and Alfred) who are sitting around just being, well, a family. One of the strongest issues of "The War of Jokes and Riddles" showed the Bat family (including Bruce) hanging out and eating at a diner. The banter here between the characters is just as good.

King does a great job of understanding how people reacted to Batman's issue #24 proposal to Catwoman. He knows that readers were shocked and he also knows that readers were asking themselves"What is going to happen when they boys find out?" so he wisely has them all find out together and this makes for some solid storytelling. By the end of the issue we get the reveal we've been waiting for since page 1 and it is not disappointing.

After Reading:

This title has been one of the most consistent books to come out of the Rebirth initiative and this issue is no different. It was nice to catch up to current day events after the flashback stories from "The War of Jokes and Riddles" and it really nice to see the Wayne family hanging out again. The art this issue is handled by Joelle Jones and it is some really good stuff. Between David Finch, Mikel Janin, Clay Mann, and now Joelle Jones I can't think of a title that has a better and more consistent rotation of artists. A version of the dream like suit from the Batman vs. Superman film is used here and it makes perfect sense. I hope Jones is drawing this whole arc.

One of the strongest reasons that this book works is because it is subtle. Tom King is an excellent writer for many reasons, but his ability to be subtle and yet make such an impact is one of the reasons that this book has flourished and will continue to do so. I mean, I know it is Batman and it will sell regardless, but King is taking Bruce in a very different direction and he is doing some things with the Batman mythos that have never been done before in this run.

8.5/10

As a longtime reader, the last panel is hilarious!