Written by: Tom King
Art by: Mikel Janin
Published by: DC Comics
The War of Jokes and Riddles hits a fever pitch!
What happens when Joker and Riddler hire world’s greatest assassins? The answer is nothing good.
This issue continues to portray what happens to the town when two of the craziest individuals that ever lived take it over. Most of the story is a departure from the previous chapters as it is mostly being told by Batman and he is finally on page quite a bit in this particular issue. The way that his narration is handled though really works here and even when it feels like sometimes it could be seen as an info dump, the story takes a turn and introduces another wrench.
Tom King seems like this was a story he really wanted to tell ever since he was tapped to write Batman, as everything seems in place, there is almost no plot holes sort of speak and everything is just tied together well. Having Batman in this particular issue really serves to show us the contrast between him and Joker and Riddler but also to show us that he truly does have undying determination to save his city.
Mikel Janin’s art really fits this story-line perfectly as the creators are chosen perfectly for each one of this Batman arcs. Every artist knows what their strengths and weaknesses are and here Janin concentrates on the sheer insanity of the battlefront, and with Janin’s attention to detail everything just works and pops off the page.
There are moments when you can almost feel like you are a character in a story and it is those moments that really work here as you are feeling almost as helpless as Batman to stop it.
There are some really good moments with some of the old costumes being featured as well which are going to put a smile on the face of golden and silver age Batman readers. Tom King really knows how to use those moments and pepper them throughout his stories, without relying completely on the nostalgia factor. It is one of the reasons that his run is as good as it is, because he is willing to take risks with the characters but also understands that certain things are canon and should not be dismissed.
Trinity of the books; Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman continue to be some of the strongest books of the Rebirth line as it should be, and as always this new chapter of the Batman comes highly recommended.
