Written By: Tom King
Art By: Mikel Janin, Joëlle Jones
Published By: DC
I don’t know why I’ve turned into the whackhole that keeps reviewing Batman, but someone has to do it. It’s Batman. What kind of comic book website would we be if we ignored The Man Who Bats! The thing with Batman is that it’s awesome to review when it’s good and awful to review when it’s bad, which is a mixed bag because reasons. Tom King, I love you, but sometimes I just don’t know what you’re on about.
The big problem with Batman #44 is the artwork. We have two artists on display, and one is amazing while the other is not. Joelle Jones can do no wrong. She draws an exceptional scene and an exceptional Catwoman and I love everything about the pages she works on. She takes the A-storyline, where Catwoman is trying to find a wedding dress. It’s charming, but we’ll get back to that later. Mikel Janin takes our B-storyline, which is less a storyline and more a collage of stuff. The drawings are bad. Faces are flat, colors are muted and boring, and there’s no personality to be found. I think it’s going for an older-school style, but if that’s the case, then old-school comic books were ugly.
It wouldn’t be so bad but the issue goes back and forth rapidly, and the disparity in quality is huge.
As to the narratives, the first one is fun but a missed opportunity. Catwoman is off to steal herself a wedding dress. Neat. I like the hyper-focus on her facial features and body language, but I’d have also preferred a “Say yes to the dress” affair with her, Lois, Wonder Woman, and whatever else Tom King might cook up. How funny would that be? Instead we get a short romp without dialogue, and it works but I feel like we could have had better.
The other story is a cacophony of Batman fighting Catwoman in what might be different universes. I think it’s just a series of fever dreams from Bruce, if I’m being honest. He’s nervous and afraid he’s making a mistake. I get it, but it’s not all that interesting given the way it’s presented. It comes off as noise.
All in all, Batman #44 feels like an odd filler issue between big moments. We’re done with Ivy (thank god), and now we’re stuck waiting for the wedding. I’d like it to just show up though, because other than some silent character work with Catwoman, there’s no reason to read this one.
