Batman/Catwoman #11 – Tom King, Writer; Clay Mann, Artist; Tomeu Morey, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Tom King’s books are always very deliberately paced, parceling out pieces of the mystery until the finale. But few have had that pace as clear as Batman/Catwoman, which slowly unraveled a tale involving the two title characters, Joker, and Phantasm a bit at a time in three timelines. That’s made it one of his weaker works in my opinions, with the storytelling often being a little unclear. Finally, this issue, a lot of pieces fall into place as the last people standing face off. In the present day, we’ve got the first and last children of Bruce Wayne—Dick Grayson and Helena Wayne—facing off as Dick tries to track down the fugitive Selina Kyle. While it’s clear these two have a complex relationship, it also feels like this issue plays them up rather strongly—hinting that Dick might resent that Helena was ultimately Bruce’s successor rather than him. Or maybe that’s just a card she plays to hurt him.
However, the biggest mysteries are lurking in the past. What is the horrifying secret that Joker and Andrea shared, and how does it tie to Andrea’s late son? The reveal finally comes this issue in full, and it doesn’t disappoint—it’s definitely disturbing. But at the same time, it emphasizes that Andrea has ultimately been a bit of a minor player in this story—despite all the hype over her first appearance in the mainstream comics after her movie debuted almost thirty years ago. It also doesn’t look like she’s being set up for future stories anywhere else, unfortunately. The final issue, coming out in a few months, will reportedly feature the real Bat/Cat wedding after the aborted first attempt. King and Mann’s take on the core couple’s relationship has been strong, but this feels like it would have been a stronger series if it had been allowed to be the final arc in King’s Bat-run rather than a stand-alone series. It doesn’t quite live up to his other maxiseries.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
