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Batman by Tom King Book Two
510 pages, Paperback
Published August 12, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 28, 2025
It’s unfortunate that The War of Jokes and Riddles is my least favourite thing here, given that it takes up so much of the book. Everything surrounding it, though, is pretty fantastic.
The Button is a fun story, giving us some gorgeous Fabok artwork and energetic Howard Porter pencils with a neat little narrative. The Brave and the Mold is a grungy, off-beat one-off that lets King’s Batman play off of Swamp Thing for some engaging interactions. Gerad’s art suits the tone here very well.
Every Epilogue is a Prelude is the first issue (partially) pencilled by Seth Mann, who may be a new favourite of mine; Finch also delivers as usual. Even knowing where it goes (or, really, doesn’t), it’s still cool to see Bruce propose to Selina. The short annual story is cute.
War of Jokes and Riddles is the first time in the run King has at all lost me. The events depicted in this story arc are just too stupidly bombastic and over-the-top, it’s overly long; and I don’t know if it’s the colours or what, but Janín’s art did not quite hit for me here. It might simply be that I finally got a bit over seeing the exact same expression on Bruce’s face 95% of the time. Even then, the arc has some moments, especially nearer the end, and the interlude Ballad of Kite Man issues were total home runs.
The Rules of Engagement arc introduced me to yet another new favourite Batman artist: Joëlle Jones. This arc also had some fun interplay between the cast, especially Dick and Damien.
The Superman Superfriends two-parter is brilliant. This is such a fun character study of Clark, Bruce, Lois, and Selina as King understands them to be, and an especially good breather story with stellar Seth Mann pencils. The Origin of Bruce Wayne is a creepy, intriguing detective story that goes a little bit overly goofy for its conclusion. The moments that hit here, though, hit hard, and Moore’s illustration is great (especially his depiction of Batman).
Finally, Jones knocks it out of the park on art for the Wonder Woman Superfriends two-parter. As with the Superman one, King delivers an interesting study of Bruce, Diana, their dynamic, and again of Selina. Seeing King’s interpretation of Batman interacting with other heroes is especially engrossing to me, and I hope to see more of it as his run goes on.
In short, in spite of the mediocre dip of War of Jokes and Riddles, King has still not lost me with his run, even 40 issues in.
There’s something about his take on the character that balances so many factors in a way I feel I haven’t seen before, and seeing it foiled against other prominent characters makes it all the more intriguing. It helps that so many great artists are bringing the vision to life, and there’s no shortage of those here.
The Button is a fun story, giving us some gorgeous Fabok artwork and energetic Howard Porter pencils with a neat little narrative. The Brave and the Mold is a grungy, off-beat one-off that lets King’s Batman play off of Swamp Thing for some engaging interactions. Gerad’s art suits the tone here very well.
Every Epilogue is a Prelude is the first issue (partially) pencilled by Seth Mann, who may be a new favourite of mine; Finch also delivers as usual. Even knowing where it goes (or, really, doesn’t), it’s still cool to see Bruce propose to Selina. The short annual story is cute.
War of Jokes and Riddles is the first time in the run King has at all lost me. The events depicted in this story arc are just too stupidly bombastic and over-the-top, it’s overly long; and I don’t know if it’s the colours or what, but Janín’s art did not quite hit for me here. It might simply be that I finally got a bit over seeing the exact same expression on Bruce’s face 95% of the time. Even then, the arc has some moments, especially nearer the end, and the interlude Ballad of Kite Man issues were total home runs.
The Rules of Engagement arc introduced me to yet another new favourite Batman artist: Joëlle Jones. This arc also had some fun interplay between the cast, especially Dick and Damien.
The Superman Superfriends two-parter is brilliant. This is such a fun character study of Clark, Bruce, Lois, and Selina as King understands them to be, and an especially good breather story with stellar Seth Mann pencils. The Origin of Bruce Wayne is a creepy, intriguing detective story that goes a little bit overly goofy for its conclusion. The moments that hit here, though, hit hard, and Moore’s illustration is great (especially his depiction of Batman).
Finally, Jones knocks it out of the park on art for the Wonder Woman Superfriends two-parter. As with the Superman one, King delivers an interesting study of Bruce, Diana, their dynamic, and again of Selina. Seeing King’s interpretation of Batman interacting with other heroes is especially engrossing to me, and I hope to see more of it as his run goes on.
In short, in spite of the mediocre dip of War of Jokes and Riddles, King has still not lost me with his run, even 40 issues in.
There’s something about his take on the character that balances so many factors in a way I feel I haven’t seen before, and seeing it foiled against other prominent characters makes it all the more intriguing. It helps that so many great artists are bringing the vision to life, and there’s no shortage of those here.
November 16, 2025
Another great Tom King Batman book. I will say I think this book is just ever so slightly below the first book for me. The War of Jokes and Riddles was my least favorite part here. But the Kite Man stuff was absolutely excellent, the Bat/Cat stuff was really good, seeing that Damian and Grayson bond is always a treat, and the double date with Clark and Lois was also very fun. I just felt the first book had a tighter narrative and felt like it culminated in a big showdown (and the whole book led to something) where as this books stories are still great, and we technically are leading to something, it just doesn’t seem as grand in scale. However, that aside this is another great book and Tom Kings unique however fun take on Batman is still something I cheer on and I can’t wait for book 3!
November 16, 2025
This volume contains the very best of Tom King's run on Batman. War of Jokes and Riddles, in particular, is a highlight. For a run that has plenty of ups and downs, this volume just happens to collect only the ups. The Cat and Bat engagement won't work for everyone, but I found out to be a ton of fun and easy to root for them as a couple.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews