Batman: Killing Time #4 – Tom King, Writer; David Marquez, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This series has been keeping us at arm’s length since the start in a very interesting way, as both Batman and a motley crew of villains chase a mysterious quarry—maybe the most valuable theft of Catwoman’s career. But what does it have to do with a medieval boy’s attempt to cure death, and a Greek woman’s tragic descent into madness that inspired a legendary play? And why is it so important that Penguin, Ra’s, and the U.S. government all want it? We don’t know, but the book is doing a good job of making us want the answers. The action picks up this issue as Batman—in pursuit of his quarry—winds up tracking it to an animal sanctuary as he is forced to fight a group of thirty tigers. At the same time, the Help—on his own mission for Penguin—deals out some brutal punishment to a rude gas station clerk before deciding that Batman may possibly be the ally he needs to solve this case.
The Help is definitely the best player in this series, a businesslike and ruthless henchman who is much more competent than any of the people who hire him and seems almost morally neutral. However, he’s rivaled this issue with the arrival of Nuri Espinioza, a profane government agent revealed to be the secret contact Riddler and Catwoman plan to sell the quarry to. She was supposed to deliver a massive amount of money to them—but it never arrived due to the Help’s appearance. Now she’s commandeered a diner for a sit-down that turns incredibly violent and occasionally hilarious. This series seems to be all about unusual alliances, and there are multiple team-ups this issue where the partners can’t stand each other and are looking to backstab or kill each other as soon as the mission is done. Batman is always noir-inspired, but it’s rarely this much in the groove of the crime thriller/farce, and it’s a tone that works perfectly.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
