Comic Review: Batman (2016-) #68 Review

Batman #68

DC Comics

Writer: Tom King

Artists: Amanda Conner, Dan Panosian, & Mikel Janin

The Knightmares arc continues in this issue that seemingly takes place before the controversial wedding issue. Of course with this arc being called “Knightmares” (With a K, because Batman) every story so far has seemed very surreal and unnerving. Y’know… Like nightmares.

This issue focuses on Selina Kyle’s bachelorette party and Bruce Wayne’s bachelor… Dinner. Selina, along with Daily Planet reporter and wife of Superman, Lois Lane, drunkenly decide – after already partying at a few clubs and bars – that crashing The Fortress of Solitude would be a good idea. Supergirl lets them in, they’re greeted by Superman lookalikes who are android servants that scream silver age. They’re given access to a plethora of wine the Big Blue Boy Scout was gifted from 37,000 colleagues across the multiverse.

So, they get even drunker, skinny dip in a pool that offers “bodily bliss” and receives lap dances from those androids I mentioned earlier, all the while building a better friendship in the process.

Meanwhile, Bruce and Clark dine over soup, admire artwork and have some very awkward conversations at Wayne Manor. Tom King sort of has a thing where characters dialogue will be very repetitive. Mostly, characters will repeat each other or just respond with a single word. Usually, that takes you out of the conversation because it doesn’t feel natural. This time, it works.

Clark’s repetitive dialogue makes sense given the scenario. During the meal, Clark is complimenting the soup and you can easily tell he’s only saying all of that for the sake of not sitting in awkward silence. The writing gives you that vibe, but it’s Amanda Conner’s expressive artwork that really drives the point home.

What this really showcased to me is, outside of crime fighting, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne just can’t find common ground. Batman and Superman get along great because of their passion for justice and the safety of mankind. But outside of the capes and tights, they feel they’re nothing alike. According to them, at least. Read Batman (2016-) 36 and you’ll notice that Bruce and Clark’s lives have more similarities than they think.

Eventually, the conversation between Clark and Bruce goes from awkward to heated – just to remind us that, yes, this is the Knightmares arc and what you’re reading could have actually never happened to begin with. Or maybe it has. This arc has been confusing but I guess that’s the point, isn’t it? Dreams never really make much sense at first. I feel this arc will be better when read all together in a trade or something similar. The issues by themselves are somewhere between brilliant and sloppy and can take some rereading to try to fully understand just what’s going on.

Tom King is really experimenting with this arc. Not just with his writing but also with who he has on art duties. Because Dan Panosian and John Timms only did art on pages 18-19 and Mikel Janin on page 20, I don’t have much to say on their art. But I was very pleased with the work Amanda Conner did in the rest of the issue. She – with Paul Mount’s colors – nicely captured the fun and vibrant aesthetic of a drunken night out and the dull and mundane atmosphere of sitting around an old mansion while accompanied by a grouchy bore.