DC Comics reviews for 9/11/19 – Batman #78, Event Leviathan #4

Batman #78

Tom King has always written the Batman and Catwoman sequences…weird. In all of the recent decades with various iconic writers, Batman has never struck me as the type of character who’d use a nickname. He’d just say Selina instead of Cat. Pet nicknames are what I’d expect to hear from Dick Grayson or maybe even Jason Todd. Not Batman.

I’m forced to ponder this as nothing of any importance occurs this issue beyond the same tired and stilted Bat and Cat dialogue. Regular Batman readers are probably used to King’s dramatic veering off the road when the story all but dictates him going straight.

Considering King killed off a major member of the Bat Family this interlude of Bruce and Selina on vacation is easily the most frustrating detour yet.

For most of the issue Bruce and Selina dance around who was responsible for her standing him up at the altar. Since we know King is moving on after issue 85 to write a Batman/Catwoman series this extended conversation felt such a needless waste of time. On some pages, Bruce mentions prepping to take on Bane again, but there’s nowhere near enough progress on that front.

Think of all the times when Batman was in his right mindset and left Gotham unattended. When his back was broken, he left it in Azrael’s care and had his extended Bat Family watching over things during his break following Infinite Crisis.  But with Gotham literally under the grip of Bane, would Batman ever sit back sipping on pina coladas?  As the issue ends with Bruce and Selina still at odds over who’s to blame it feels like nothing was accomplished.

In another weird bit for the issue, Bruce wears his Matches Malone disguise in some scenes while in others he’s in full Batman gear. There’s no purpose here for Bruce to be in costume beyond simply looking cool, which again feels amazingly out of character for The Dark Knight.

Clay Mann returns to handle the art and find as many subtle ways possible to show off Catwoman’s physique. Mann adds a certain cheesecake element whenever he draws women, but at least a bikini clad Selina doesn’t make it too ridiculous a stretch.

Last issue really felt like it was escalating the City of Bane to another level. Issue 78 just finds King waxing poetic about Bat and Cat again with hardly a care in the world. There’s more than enough Batman offerings this week that you can easily skip this issue and not miss anything.

Rating: 2 out of 10