Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Batman #39 Review and *SPOILERS*



Everlasting


Written By: Tom King
Art By: Joelle Jones, Jordie Bellaire, Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: January 17, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Let's jump back into the Super Friends arc, where previously we explored Bruce and Clark's friendship and the budding friendship of their spouses, but now it's Diana's turn, but instead of double dates, it looks like Batman and Wonder Woman are going to be spending a lot of time together in a war without end....... and without the people closest to them.  Now, before I proceed, it's been brought to my attention that this issue is very similar to Action Comics #761 from 2000, but instead of Superman and Wonder Woman battling hordes of monsters, it's Batman in the Man of Steel's position and while I'd like to review this issue on its own merits, it's going to be hard now that I read that Action Comics issue....... which as of right now, was done way better.  Hopefully, I can keep my mind on this issue as we jump into it, but man it's going to be hard for how similar they are.

Explain It!:

Our issue begins with Commissioner Gordon flipping out because someone other than him has turned on the Bat Signal, but when he goes to investigate, he finds that Wonder Woman is the one who lit the signal........... and what are you going to say to Wonder Woman?  Anyway, Batman quickly arrives and Diana informs him that they have an obligation to fulfill, which involves a warrior the two of them met years prior, who's at battle with the sins of man manifested in another dimension and the reason that they owe this "Gentle Man" is because they offered to take his place in his endless battle if he should ever need a respite.  Well, he's finally taken them up on their offer and our heroes are off to fight this endless war, where time moves in a way that thousands of years take place within a single year of our own time.


While Batman and Wonder Woman fight horde after horde of monsters, Selina is making sure that the Gentle Man has everything that he needs on his time off...... like Bat Burger, but what he really seems to be after is his wife, who we never get to see here, but he promises to call.  


In the end, Catwoman figures out the time difference of these two worlds and worries about the amount of time that Bruce has spent there with Diana, which by the end of this issue it looks like she should worry because the years have piled up for our two heroes who only have one another and it seems that their time while not fighting may have become romantic.  


That's it for this issue of Batman and for as similar to Action Comics #761 as it was, there was definitely some stuff that was all its own.... like the Catwoman and Gentle Man bits and it's those bits that were the least interesting in this issue because we didn't do anything to really make them important, besides for Selina finding out how much time Bruce has actually been away.  So obviously, I liked the Batman/Wonder Woman stuff more, but even with that Wonder Woman's dialog felt so clunky and stiff it was cringe worthy at times and it's apparent that Tom King doesn't really know the character very well.  That being said though, I loved the art in this issue and thought that the depictions of Wonder Woman really shined here, I just wish that there was more to this story for this issue because it was a really fast read that didn't really seem to do anything until the final pages.

Bits and Pieces:

While the idea for the story was fun, it was something that was done previously and in my mind better.  Even with that though, we got a decent cliffhanger that seems like it will bring a new dynamic to the Bat/Cat engagement and what it means to be the person who would marry the Batman.  The art in this issue is amazing, but there's barely anything in this story and it moves at a breakneck pace, not to mention that Wonder Woman's dialog felt extremely off.

6/10

12 comments:

  1. 4 points too high. utter and complete garbage. WW written completely out of character and drawn just about as badly.

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  2. Honestly I've given up on Tom King ever doing anything even resembling human dialog, let alone being able to hit actual individual character's voices accurately.

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    1. yep...don't think he ever checks out any of the characters he puts in his books

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  3. still better than smww crap in new52

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    1. Actually not really. As this paints both as cheap desperate floozies since both characters are in committed relationships with other characters, whereas both Superman and Wonder Woman were single in the N52

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    2. yep!!!! Plus, I really think that most people who love this keep leaving wonder woman out of the equation...it's all about "why is bruce doing this to selina?" Tom King writes Wonder Woman like it doesn't matter about Steve.

      Plus, I have to point out...this is a bad ripoff of Action Comics #761, an issue that most Wonder Woman fans want to forget!

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    3. I agree jim. What a cheap rip off this issue is. Im feeling heart broken for steve. Wonder woman is way too much out of character. Tom king really screwed it all up for steve trevor. Here's to hoping tom king gets off batman. Ive been putting it up for king's bland writing ever since this rebirth. Its time he step down.

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  4. Just read it . Lol , it's not bad at all . What would happen if Wonder Woman and Batman are stuck in hell for 10 years and don't think we will be going back . Inventive , fun stuff for me . Something different than the usual .

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    1. go read Action Comics #761...this "inventive" story was pretty much stolen from it.

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  5. Not really a fan of the art, unless everyone is 87 years old or older, and that explains all those lines on their face getting clearer (the past is gone).
    And when did Wonder Woman start going to the Tarzan & Frankenstein School Of Speech? She sounds like a complete brain-damaged moron. So horrible.
    I can't even bring myself to give this a score. It's almost as bad as a New 52 Harper Row filler issue. Almost.

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    1. Wonder Woman shouldn't be speaking perfect English . Tom King's got it right . For me , the Gal Gadot way is perfect also . The way she is done in most comics , there is just no personality there . Tom King is giving her a personality .

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    2. i completely disagree...she is in 3 other books right now, you have to go with how she is in those. Personality??? He wrote her as a wooden character that was only there to tempt Bruce!!!!! What about their friendship, what about her thoughts of Steve Trevor, who she is currently in a relationship with????? This felt like a story about work buddies who had to go to a convention.

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