Comic Review: Batman (2016-) #79

Batman #79

DC Comics

Writer: Tom King

Artist: Clay Mann

A new chapter of Bat and Cat talking about their relationship is here! Did they meet on the street, or was it on the boat? Or did they, by any chance, actually meet somewhere else entirely? Tom King is hell-bent on setting things straight once and for all!

The issue picks up where the last one (kinda) ended, with Bat and Cat hanging out at the beach (and some other places), working out, making plans and talking about their relationship. It’s kinda meta right now, where their relationship can easily be boiled down to them talking about their relationship. But I digress.

There isn’t much to go on about the story, really, because it’s mostly what I said in the paragraph above – a quieter, character-driven issue that King always excels at. The two characters haven’t been together for over a year now, since Selina ran away back at the end of #50 and it finally, FINALLY closes that chapter in a rather satisfying way. And we also learn some interesting things. For example, Bruce can do one-hand pushups while Selina is balancing her complete bodyweight on his back. Talk about physical abilities!

Some people have grown a bit tired of King’s dialogue in Batman, especially between Bat and Cat and… I mean yeah, I can understand where they’re coming from, it can get a bit absurd at times. But it’s also great fun and their interactions have grown on me. Hell, I’ve even grown fond of them calling each other Bat and Cat! And, as I mentioned earlier, the introspective stuff is definitely King’s strong suit.  Oh, and he does manage to squeeze in some minor development for the bigger picture. All things seem to point to him having a concrete plan against Bane. It’s kinda exciting to think that Bat might end up outsmarting him instead of overpowering him. This would be the perfect ending to the story, honestly.

Now all of this is good and all, but it’s done on the backdrop of some superb Clay Mann art and Tomeu Morey colours, so it gets even better. The book is gorgeous. Bat and Cat look gorgeous. The splash pages are… well, they are freakin’ gorgeous, is what they are! Reading a Bat(man) book that is all colourful and vibrant and sunny and on the beach might seem weird, but damn does it look good. I kinda hope the upcoming Bat(man) and Cat(woman) book by Tom King and Clay Mann is at the very least fifty percent just the two of them hanging on the beach. And by ‘the two of them’ I mean Bat and Cat. Although to be fair, I wouldn’t mind a meta-story about King and Mann hanging out on the beach. Just an idea.

I do, however, have one major complaint. In typical King fashion, he just has to ruin the best things he does in his Bat series. He has a great idea, it looks like it might be a fantastic execution, and then just goes 180 degrees on it. Yes, I’m talking about Bat’s Selleck moustache. It’s fake. The wonderful Selleck look is just a ruse, DC trying to win over some Magnum P.I. fans. Just your regular, corporate bait and switch. I will not tolerate this. 0/10