Batman #34: OMG, this issue is the best issue ever. I’m almost loathe to review it, because it feels like ruining it’s magic (the second time, I believe, I’ve said that about one of King’s issues). It just has all sorts of amazing moments between Bruce and Selena, where her personality in particular shines like a diamond. It reminds you why he’s attracted to her, why she’s a challenge for him. She seems to treat Talia as simply a rival for Bruce's affection in her banter, but King makes it clear she understands the threat Talia poses perfectly well. Moreover, Bruce’s detective work is spectacular as he deduces the gunless, tongueless ninjas Talia sent after them were just there to tire them. We're also treated to more excellent Dick and Damian interactions, with Damian actually thanking “Richard” for coming with him, and Dick telling him he’s with him all the way to the end. (I think I have some sand in my eye.) King's Damian is just a damn treat: he tells Superman (who prevents him and Dick from entering Khadym) he’d simply sell his soul to a demon (“blah blah blah”) and use magic to kill him instead of kryptonite like everyone else tries. Supes wisely tells him he believes him, but also that Jon probably wouldn’t want to go adventuring with him anymore. In other words, this issue is a tour de force of characterization and everyone should read it right now. #issueoftheyear
Batman: The Devastator #1: These tie-in issues have really been much, much better than I expected them to be, and this one is no different. Like the other authors, Tieri makes this Batman’s pain palpable, and he had a rougher road than pretty much all the others: he had to turn himself into Doomsday to take out a crazed Superman. He talks about the moment as building a wall of bone around his heart so he could do what he never thought he would have to do, and Tieri does a great job of reminding us how hard it is for Bruce to trust someone in the first place. Unlike the other issues, though, this one is also directly related to the main plot, as Barbatos has this Batman steal the tuning fork from the Fortress of Solitude and place it on the mountain in Gotham. It seems pretty clear it’s going to interact with the battery Superman is powering in the Dark Dimension (per "Dark Nights: Metal" #3), and that doesn’t seem to bode well for our gang.
Batman: White Knight #2: Murphy really is telling a sprawling (in the best way) story here, as Jack tries to stay on track in his push to save Gotham. Hilariously, we learn cheerleader Harley replaced original Harley at some point without Joker noticing. This revelation comes as cheerleader Harley refuses his proposal (because she loved him for the chaos), and original Harley knocks her on her ass and accepts the proposal (because she loved him for him, but left him after she realized he loved Batman more than anyone or anything.) It’s remarkably clever, not just as a joke but as a sign of how completely demented Joker had become. Original Harley (or Harleen) also serves the role of psychiatrist for us, explaining the pills are working because Jack has a chemical imbalance that exacerbates the personality traits that made him the Joker in the first place. It means all those traits are still there, and Murphy makes it clear Joker is stalking Jack every step of the way. All that said, perhaps the most intriguing part is the revelation that the fate of Jason Todd is unclear. In the past, Harleen fled to Batman as Joker was beating Jason to death, but, when they arrived on the scene, Jason was gone. If I had to guess, Jason will return, revealing he left because he couldn’t stand the violence any more. That would strike a blow to Bruce. Murphy also does a great job of showing Bruce rattled as one of his peers admits he (and pretty much everyone else) has used Batman’s war on crime to rake in profits (in this guy's case, flipping real estate in the poor neighborhoods where Batman is active). Murphy showing Jack/Joker as a hero of the 99% is particularly topical, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see the themes he develops here appear in the mainstream Bat-books soon.
Also Read: Justice League #32; Nightwing #32
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