DC Comics reviews for 3/21/18

Batman #43

Everyone Loves Ivy ends in an unexpected way, but it shows Tom King’s evolution as a writer on Batman. This wasn’t the kind of arc that needed to be dragged out for five to six issues. Three was the ideal amount and the payoff made sense given the characters involved.

Catwoman catches up with Ivy while Batman tries to break through to her more peaceful nature by bringing in his ace in the hole.

King probably needed to explain the amount of time Batman was laid out following his run-in with a mind-controlled Superman. Batman probably shouldn’t be moving around too quickly if that beating occurred fairly recently.

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That’s a small matter in an otherwise really strong read. King connects this story to Ivy’s lingering guilt over her involvement in The War of Jokes and Riddles. The war served as the final skeleton Batman had to remove from his closet before marrying Catwoman and I dig how King uses it to give Ivy some peace and closure. In addition to showing how devious one of the principal characters in that arc was even to their allies.

Mikel Janin’s artwork is terrific with the Bat characters. His take on the Super-Man of China seems a bit off however. Janin lays out his pages beautifully, which provides him with a great challenge in incorporating Ivy’s powers and an overall green theme to the pages. It’s impressive.

With this last arc out the way, there’s nothing else to delay what might be the biggest event of 2018 in the Batman books – Batman and Catwoman’s wedding.

Rating: 9 out of 10