Batman #29

Writer: Tom King

Artist: Mikel Janin

Inkers: Mikel Janin and Hugo Petrus

Colourist: June Chung

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

I'm sorry to report that this issue is sort of nonsense.

The premise of this issue is genuinely interesting, as Tom King presents us with a fun structure to the issue that I thought was going to be a blast throughout. However, these snippets King portrays are too short and I felt very distant from the events of the story. I don't understand why he can't tell a story with a nice, traditional structure, where a series of events feels excellently plotted and the story makes sense. That isn't what this issue is.

A lot of it is just ridiculous. For the sake of it, I'll explain the premise. Bruce Wayne invites the Joker and the Riddler over to Wayne Manor for dinner. He wants to set things right and put an end to the war they're raging against each other. Bruce explains over inner monologue that this is something his mother taught him, that he can settle things over a classic, French dinner with multiple courses throughout. Hence here is the structure I mentioned, with each course acting as a snippet of the whole dinner. It works initially but it ends up feeling so very rushed. Not to mention the absurdity of Bruce Wayne inviting two known serial killers over for dinner at his estate. What would Gotham make of this? He's sacrificing his image for this weird plan.

Isn't he Batman? This is the problem I've had with this arc ever since it began. Joker and Riddler should never have gotten to the point they are currently at, as Batman would have stopped them, no question. Sure, Batman has had a hard time with conspiracies in the past, but here most of the crimes these villains commit are out in the open. Deadshot and Deathstroke had a ridiculous five-day battle last issue, and Batman only decided to stop it on the fifth day. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and this also applies to this dinner. It's his fault that he's stooped to this position.

That being said, the art was tremendous. Mikel Janin's art is something to behold, and a certain splash page just made me awe. A lot of dialogue scenes had characters perform small movements which is something Mitch Gerads does very well, and it seems Janin is also proficient at this technique. He made the characters feel alive.

In what could be the worse issue of the arc so far, King gives us an extended dinner scene which was riddled, no pun intended, with problems. The pacing was off and Batman's plan didn't make much sense to me, especially since he should have been able to stop this war the moment in began. The art was excellent though, and that has always been the best part about King's run on the book.