Gotham City is safe - the villains are in charge. Having weaponised Psycho Pirate, Bane controls the villains, as well as Gotham Girl, with Flashpoint Batman at his side. With the Bat broken and the Cat nursing him back to health on their honeymoon-that-never-was, it’s up to Robin to bring the fight to Bane. Should he fail, there is a terrible price to pay. Gotham City is safe - but at what cost?
I really enjoyed City of Bane Part 1! I’m so glad to see the quality of the series return after a shaky couple books and it’s a welcome surprise as I expected the downhill turn to continue.
It’s interesting to see the new status quo: Hugo Strange as Commissioner Gordon, Ventriloquist as Alfred, Joker and Scarecrow as cops, even if some of it went on a bit too much (Gotham Girl sticking it to Captain Atom? I agree he’s the suck but that’s just filler - NOBODY was wondering what that dude was up to during all of this). I like how Bane is largely kept off stage, only occasionally appearing to wreak havoc - his absence makes him seem more menacing.
Damian going toe-to-toe with Flashpoint Batman was fun and I didn’t expect THAT character death even though I know it’s never going to stick. Flashpoint Batman in general was always compelling to see - out of all of the books that came from that event, Brian Azzarello/Eduardo Risso’s Batman story was easily the standout so I’m happy to see more of this viciously villainous alternate Batman.
I really didn’t expect but appreciated Tom King picking up the wedding storyline again. I thought it was done but I liked that he revisited Bruce and Selina’s relationship to give readers a more satisfying conclusion than what we got a few books ago. I do think they make a great couple, their banter is cute and it makes Batman’s recovery to health all the more convincing - love heals just as much as medicine.
Far and away what impressed me the most was the artist line-up. Tony S. Daniel, Mikel Janin AND Clay Mann all drawing pages? Just one of these guys would’ve made for a stunning book but all three - I mean, just, wow. Beautiful, beautiful pages. They’re all super-talented artists who’ve done amazing work before but this book contains some of the best art I’ve seen from them.
Daniel’s pages were the best, drawing nearly all the Gotham stuff, but Janin’s Damian/Flashpoint Batman fight sequence and Mann’s honeymoon pages were all incredible. Even if King’s script had completely sucked (and it didn’t), I’d still be recommending Batman fans check this book out for the art alone. Bellissimo!
The flaw for me was Bane’s motivation - really, all this power and he just wants to rule Gotham? It seems such a small goal. And controlling just the villains too? So I guess it’s all to do with giving an almighty fuck you to Batman - Bane broke him (again), took his city and put his rogues gallery in mock positions of power. But that still… yeah, it still seems really small and pathetic of Bane. Superhero comics, eh?
Regardless of that, Batman, Volume 12: City of Bane, Part 1 is an entertaining and gorgeous book - a return to form for the series with Tom King and co. looking to bow out of their largely excellent Batman run triumphantly and in style.
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