Batman by Tom King Book One

by Tom King, David Finch (illustrator)

Genres: Batman, Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels

600 pages, Paperback

Published November 26, 2024

Reviews

[Caleb Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. It would have been an easy 5 for me, if the awful "Night of the Monster Men" story didn't take up so much of the book. Everything else is artfully written and drawn. Tom King's take on Batman is all at once familiar and wholly unique. That said, it's not King's absolute best work, and it definitely won't change your mind if you dislike his writing on other books.

[Langston Lardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been keen to read Kings run on Batman for a while now, originally collected the single issues as they were coming out back at the beginning of rebirth and collected a fair amount of them, but I’ve just found it much easier to wait till the paperbacks or hardcovers and even omnibuses release so I know I have the whole story in hand (most of the time). Heard a lot of criticism with Kings run on Batman, which I was always puzzled by as I’ve read just about all of the rest of his work with DC (mister miracle, Strange, Superman, etc) and it was always great stuff. Now after finally reading book one of Kings Batman run I gotta say I enjoyed it a lot just as I always figured I would. Do I think it’s the absolute pinnacle of Batman? Not necessarily. But, I do find it very engaging and interesting, each page easier to read than the last, it didn’t take long to knock these 600 pages out and that’s how I gauge if a book is good or not, how invested I am in the page to page. The artwork here is amazing, and the writing is about as TK as it gets, with the extra Batman flare. I really enjoyed that we are using more of characters than just the traditional set. Using Bane as the centerpiece here just felt right, I feel ever since Knightfall Bane has been missing his intimidating presence and here it is back and working. We also see a lot of more of the lesser used villains, which is always appreciated. Of course we have the Bat/Cat present here as well. I’m genuinely excited to read Book 2 and see where this all goes. If I had any critique at all, it would be that the Monster Men arc was a bit weak, but even then I enjoyed the main villain of that arc as I don’t see him used as often if hardly these days.
Also, Kite-man, Hell Yeah.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may not see 100% eye-to-eye with King on his interpretation of Batman, but once you accept that interpretation this book ends up pretty great.

The great thing about Batman being DC’s premiere book is that, even when the writing isn’t the strongest (which, from what I understand of the popular opinion, has been true for a while), the book always looks stellar. That stands true here: I don’t think there’s an artistic weak link in the book. Finch, Janin, Weeks, Antônio, and Reis number among my favourites here but by no means are any of the other pencillers weak. There’s also a ton of fantastic colour work throughout, especially pairing with the cartoonier styles during the Monster Men arc.

I enjoyed basically every arc collected in this volume. Even Night of the Monster Men’s schlockiness was buoyed by great creature design and entertainment value, even if the storyline feels a bit too decompressed. I would point to I Am Suicide as perhaps being the highlight arc—the sequence in Bane’s drowny-cell was particularly neat. In spite of my merely surface level understanding of Looney Tunes, the Elmer Fudd crossover was a beautifully illustrated fun little bonus that seemed (to my meager knowledge) quite the love letter to the Looney Tunes franchise.

Overall, I was definitely not expecting to like this quite as much as I ended up doing. Across-the-board fantastic illustration pairs with King’s panache for storytelling to overcome a questionable (though valid) interpretation of the title character. I look forward to reading more of King’s run.

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

La verdad que está muy bien, sobre todo al lado de lo que vino después. Sí, repite lo mismo que todos desde Rebirth en adelante, que Batman está trastornadito y no quiere que nadie lo ayude, pero por lo menos acá le dan un par de giros y, lo principal, introduce el subplot con Selina que funciona extremadamente bien.

Sacando la saguita de los Monster Men que es un evento obligatorio de la editorial armado por Steve Orlando (y se nota), lo de King es muy digno, por más que tiene un estilo repetitivo. Pero bueno, si te gusta, va.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews for this run but I’d say I liked it. It has a couple corny moments but I like a little corny in my comics. I really enjoyed the art and I particularly liked Batman’s suit design. I personally don’t have preferences on Batmans best romantic partner but I think his relationship with Catwoman in this is pretty good. It’s not the best Batman story ever written but if you can find it a decent price I’d say go for it.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the I am Bane arc, but the Monster Men was dumb. I always liked best when Batman was more detective and less super hero. But I enjoy Tom King. And Finch’s Art was great

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics r confusing. Why is Elmer Fudd here

[Louis Yank · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first half is 3.5, but once the Cat/Bat dynamic is introduced it’s an easy 5

[Wsmbat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anything above 2?