Comic Review: Batman #80 (2016-)

Batman #80

DC Comics

Writer: Tom King

Artists: Tony S Daniel, Mikel Janin, John Romita Jr.

Tom King’s City of Bane returns to the present with issue #80, and this time he brings superstar artist John Romita Jr. along with him. With the talent of this creative team, as well as the end of the run drawing ever closer, this issue’s quality was almost a guarantee. Luckily, the team doesn’t fail to deliver.

After a few issues of mind and body rehabilitation, Batman and Catwoman return to Bane’s Gotham. Damian’s in captivity, Alfred is “dead(?)”, and villains officer the streets. This arc has, if nothing else, established its stakes very effectively. It holds actual weight to see Batman and Catwoman beating the snot out of Bane’s forces and doesn’t feel like punching and kicking for the sake of it. Rather, it feels like a satisfying and earned turning point in the story. Nearly the entire run has been Batman being beaten down physically and mentally, and to see him finally turn the tides is intensely satisfying. He hasn’t won, but things seem a hell of a lot more hopeful now.

Thomas Wayne, who’s inclusion in this book has always been a headscratcher, actually has a couple of great moments this time around. The symmetry between him and Bruce grows deeper when we see Thomas as something of a father figure to Gotham Girl; his Robin. He shows what I assume is a genuine fondness for her, and it humanizes a character who’s so clearly psychopathic and irredeemable. It does come a bit out of nowhere, but it’s a welcome change to the character that serves to make him more interesting.

John Romita Jr. is on art duties this time around. While style-wise he may be a bit of a departure from the others on this arc, he’s just too good for me to care. The guy’s a legend, and he is in absolute top form. Almost every page includes at least one storytelling beat that feels inventive and interesting. My favorite comes towards the beginning when Harvey Dent whips his gun from the ground and aims it at Bruce. It’s raining heavily, and rather than using a motion line or a blur effect to indicate the movement, he uses the water. He seamlessly integrates the environment into the language of the comic itself, and it works so well.

Additionally, the double-page face-off between Batman and Hush is an absolute jaw-dropper. On top of Romita’s excellent framing and panel flow, Tomeu Morey adds so much atmosphere with this orange hue that is present throughout the issue.  This book never fails to deliver stellar art, but this issue’s only close artistic rival is perhaps the Lee Weeks and Jorge Fornes issues.

This isn’t an issue with much plot resolution, but it’s a hell of an emotional payoff. Tom King delivers on the return that we all knew was coming, while John Romita Jr, Klaus Janson, and Tomeu Morey display an incredibly tight grasp on comics pacing and storytelling. This is an incredible issue full of things I’ve been waiting to see for a long time now, and it’s just as sweet as I hoped.

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