The latest issue of Batman gives us a lot of closure – the end of THE WAR OF JOKES AND RIDDLES, Catwoman’s answer to Batman’s proposal and maybe the last issue of Batman I pick up…
Batman 32
Written by Tom King
Art by Mikel Janin, Hugo Petrus and June Chung
After proposing to Selena Kyle – Catwoman – way back in issue 24, Bruce Wayne went into a long story about a war between the Joker and the Riddler from early in his career, telling his would-be bride that she needed to know what happened before she made a decision. That story culminates here and… honestly, if it weren’t for the big moment of Catwoman’s answer, I may have given up a long time ago.
Since issue 24, writer Tom King’s story has built up Kite Man as a starring player only to reveal that he was being used to infiltrate the Joker’s army (because he’s a joke, you see), Batman siding with the Riddler and presented maybe the dullest gang war ever portrayed in a comic book. So if you’ve been reading up until now wondering, “So, why is this so important for Catwoman to know?” I don’t think you’d be alone.
Batman gets to the point this issue. After siding with Riddler to end the war, and then double crossing Riddler, his former partner got a little upset and started smack talking Batman while expressing his desire to kill the Joker. Apparently, Batman, at this point in his career, is a lot less well-adjusted (HA!) and decided to stab Riddler for saying that Batman was insignificant.
And yes, The Joker stops Batman from killing Riddler. This apparently means that Batman is not the “noble knight” he portrays himself to be. Gee… a guy who watched his parents get murdered as a kid, and dresses up as a bat to put the fear of God into criminals isn’t well-adjusted. You don’t say…
With the new shocking information that Batman is a bit crazy, Selena makes her decision, agreeing to marry Bruce Wayne. Of course… the man is a multi-billionaire. Why WOULDN’T she marry him? SHE’S A CAT BURGLAR! Can you imagine all the artifacts she would have access to that she could fence?
Before she answers Bruce, though, Selena sums up my thoughts about the whole storyline…
I think I’ll be passing on Batman for a bit. I really enjoyed Tom King on Omega Men. And I thought his first couple of arcs on Batman were well done. But with I AM BANE and now this story, the last few months have been nothing but stories that could be told in 2-3 issues being dragged out to 6. And, honestly, I haven’t been enjoying it as much as I’ve enjoyed Detective Comics. So I’ll be taking a break for a bit.