At last, Tom King returns to the rocky, romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman with his Heroes in Crisis collaborator, superstar artist Clay Mann! Echoing plot points from King’s epic Batman run, this sweeping tale is told across three timelines: the past, when the Bat and the Cat first fell in love; the present, where their union is threatened by one of Batman’s lost loves; At last, Tom King returns to the rocky, romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman with his Heroes in Crisis collaborator, superstar artist Clay Mann! Echoing plot points from King’s epic Batman run, this sweeping tale is told across three timelines: the past, when the Bat and the Cat first fell in love; the present, where their union is threatened by one of Batman’s lost loves; and the future, where the couple have a happy life and legacy-including their daughter Helena, the Batwoman. And as the story begins, after a long marriage, Bruce Wayne passes away-which frees Selina Kyle to settle an old score. At every stage of their relationship, Bruce and Selina have an unwelcome chaperone: The Joker! Oh, and that lost love of Bruce’s? It’s Andrea Beaumont-a.k.a. Phantasm. Just thought you’d want to know.
Batman/Catwoman (2020-) #1
At last, Tom King returns to the rocky, romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman with his Heroes in Crisis collaborator, superstar artist Clay Mann! Echoing plot points from King’s epic Batman run, this sweeping tale is told across three timelines: the past, when the Bat and the Cat first fell in love; the present, where their union is threatened by one of Batman’s lost loves; At last, Tom King returns to the rocky, romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman with his Heroes in Crisis collaborator, superstar artist Clay Mann! Echoing plot points from King’s epic Batman run, this sweeping tale is told across three timelines: the past, when the Bat and the Cat first fell in love; the present, where their union is threatened by one of Batman’s lost loves; and the future, where the couple have a happy life and legacy-including their daughter Helena, the Batwoman. And as the story begins, after a long marriage, Bruce Wayne passes away-which frees Selina Kyle to settle an old score. At every stage of their relationship, Bruce and Selina have an unwelcome chaperone: The Joker! Oh, and that lost love of Bruce’s? It’s Andrea Beaumont-a.k.a. Phantasm. Just thought you’d want to know.
Compare
Sam Quixote –
An old flame of Bruce’s asks for his help in finding her runaway son - but will the Bat and the Cat find the kid before the shadows of Gotham claim him? Also, in the future, old lady Selina, recently widowed, visits an elderly man - but why and who is he? I thought Tom King’s Batman run was meant to be 100 issues long but it ended instead after issue #85. Maybe DC thought closing on the City of Bane storyline was a better finale? At any rate, what was probably the final arc of those 100 issues i An old flame of Bruce’s asks for his help in finding her runaway son - but will the Bat and the Cat find the kid before the shadows of Gotham claim him? Also, in the future, old lady Selina, recently widowed, visits an elderly man - but why and who is he? I thought Tom King’s Batman run was meant to be 100 issues long but it ended instead after issue #85. Maybe DC thought closing on the City of Bane storyline was a better finale? At any rate, what was probably the final arc of those 100 issues is being released as this 12 issue series, Batman/Catwoman (the remainder would’ve been stuff like annuals and shorts). And this first issue isn’t bad but there’s not a whole lot here that’ll blow your hair back. Bat and Cat are doing generic superhero-y stuff, the missing child case ain’t exactly gripping, and the future storyline is mostly banal old people dialogue. King picks up where he left off with Bat and Cat continuing to smooch on rooftops while Cat and Joker chat some more. Too many first issues tend to be essentially sizzle reels for what’s to come so I’m glad there’s a somewhat self-contained story here, as well as table-setting for later issues. The reveal of the old man’s identity at the end is interesting and a possibly new villain for this story is teased as someone unseen digging in the Wayne graveyard unearths a metal skull mask and shroud. It’s not clear why there’s this massive time jump between the present and the future, or why the missing kid should impact Selina so much that she’d carry that with her for decades, but it’s a first issue so I’m sure we’ll find out later. And it’s not a badly written issue either - I don’t think King can write badly when it comes to Batman. Clay Mann has produced career-best artwork in his previous collabs with King, both on Batman and Heroes in Crisis, and his art looks great here, though it’s not among his most stunning pages. Joker looks dapper in his Dick Tracy-esque getup, and the comic looks as polished and cool and you’d expect for a tentpole title like this. The title page has a cute advent calendar-type design: Wayne Manor with 12 windows, for 12 issues, with the first window lit up and each issue lighting up a different window as we go along. It matches the Christmas framing, as well as the release date, and maybe hints at the villain’s background - a kind of Ghost of Christmas Past, returning to haunt Bruce and Selina? Batman/Catwoman #1 isn’t the most impressive beginning but, as a huge fan of his Batman run, I’m glad that we’re getting another Tom King/Batman book, and I’m hoping it’ll develop into something more memorable over the course of this series.
James DeSantis –
Art = 11/10 Story - 6/10 I enjoyed a lot of King's Batman run but this one jumps around SO much it is jarring. I do love moments, especially a big reveal that worked great, and the overall creepiness in the background of all this, but some of it is so confusing in terms of following the story I can't help but ask "Why?" Art = 11/10 Story - 6/10 I enjoyed a lot of King's Batman run but this one jumps around SO much it is jarring. I do love moments, especially a big reveal that worked great, and the overall creepiness in the background of all this, but some of it is so confusing in terms of following the story I can't help but ask "Why?"
Logan –
Great art but like most Tom King books, the story telling is a bit non linear and some of the dialogue wording characters say doesn't make sense. Still might continue reading. Great art but like most Tom King books, the story telling is a bit non linear and some of the dialogue wording characters say doesn't make sense. Still might continue reading.
Laura –
Meh The time jumps in the story are not smooth at all, jarring in fact. The ending surprise is no surprise and is a bit weird but the art is gorgeous, that is worth all the stars but as usual Tom Kings writing is lacking but I will see where this goes.
Regina –
The story jumps around A LOT. You're not even long enough on a particular timeline to even know what's going on and next thing you know you're getting thrown into another one. Had they timed themselves better and chosen less time periods, maybe the time jumps would have benefited the storytelling and increased the mystery and drama. The only thing that it manages to do is confuse its readers. The story jumps around A LOT. You're not even long enough on a particular timeline to even know what's going on and next thing you know you're getting thrown into another one. Had they timed themselves better and chosen less time periods, maybe the time jumps would have benefited the storytelling and increased the mystery and drama. The only thing that it manages to do is confuse its readers.
Danny Brown –
I haven't read King's run on Batman. I picked this up thinking I can jump into a number 1 and start a new journey... I was wrong. I have no clue what's going on. I haven't read King's run on Batman. I picked this up thinking I can jump into a number 1 and start a new journey... I was wrong. I have no clue what's going on.
Artemis Hobbs –
Been looking forward to this since December... LAST December. 12 month delays be a real bitch sometimes. The art was certainly worth the wait. Clay Mann is like the flip side of Jason Fabok. Just as good but in Mann's case, a little more sketchy. I like how he draws everything but especially the Joker- real classy an shit. The story was pretty good. For a start I had fun but I have absolutely no idea where it's going and it has a lot of room to fall. Batman Mask of the Phantasm is my favorite Bat Been looking forward to this since December... LAST December. 12 month delays be a real bitch sometimes. The art was certainly worth the wait. Clay Mann is like the flip side of Jason Fabok. Just as good but in Mann's case, a little more sketchy. I like how he draws everything but especially the Joker- real classy an shit. The story was pretty good. For a start I had fun but I have absolutely no idea where it's going and it has a lot of room to fall. Batman Mask of the Phantasm is my favorite Batman film and for a while now I have often wondered why comics never utilized Andrea and the Phantasm more. So this i suppose can be called a bucket list scratcher. Jumps around a bit in time but King's limited use of words keeps it from getting too bogged down and convoluted. Even gets grim at times in a way I wasn't prepared for. All in all really good stuff. Though the art is the show stopper here. If you don't find yourself paused in awe at some of these splash pages, you're doing it wrong.
Danny Zang –
A more satisfying read than most of his run on the main title, but still falling short of being a worthwhile purchase on it's own. King falls into a weird spot for me where if he's not saying anything deeply political (as in exploration of Iraq war crimes and trauma), it's difficult to remain engaged for too long, yet usually when he is saying anything deeply political it is dumb. Maybe the only outlier here is The Vision. Mann's art and Morey's colors pull the bulk of the weight here with dazzl A more satisfying read than most of his run on the main title, but still falling short of being a worthwhile purchase on it's own. King falls into a weird spot for me where if he's not saying anything deeply political (as in exploration of Iraq war crimes and trauma), it's difficult to remain engaged for too long, yet usually when he is saying anything deeply political it is dumb. Maybe the only outlier here is The Vision. Mann's art and Morey's colors pull the bulk of the weight here with dazzling cityscapes and lovely figures, though I'm less of a fan of the way that Mann's action scenes seem more like static images set in order by King's staccato narration. Maybe this will read better in collected form.
Kastie Pavlik –
Well...that was...interesting? Since I'm not sure what to think, and I like the Bat with the Cat, I'm erring on the higher side of 3.5. I don't mind the confusing jumps once context is established (which does not happen in this issue, meaning I flipped back pages more than once trying to figure out what the heck was happening), and I thought Heroes in Crisis was brilliant when all was said and done, so I'm holding out the same hope for this. Good reveal and good ominous build up, so fingers cros Well...that was...interesting? Since I'm not sure what to think, and I like the Bat with the Cat, I'm erring on the higher side of 3.5. I don't mind the confusing jumps once context is established (which does not happen in this issue, meaning I flipped back pages more than once trying to figure out what the heck was happening), and I thought Heroes in Crisis was brilliant when all was said and done, so I'm holding out the same hope for this. Good reveal and good ominous build up, so fingers crossed for the future issues.
Rubén Giráldez –
El bailoteo en las líneas temporales acaba por hacer bastante cuesta arriba la lectura. Porque, además, me parece haber perdido bastante trasfondo (dejé parado el Batman de King antes de La Boda). Pero aguanté por el dibujo y sobre todo por todo lo referente a El Fantasma que la verdad es que promete. Por lo que seguiré adelante con la lectura. Si estás aquí también por lo horny unleashed del BatCat pues disfruta que King está desatado.
Spencer Kain –
Really liked this and am very interested in where this is going. My only complaint is the time jumps aren’t handles very well, I had to reread a few pages because I wasn’t sure what time we were supposed to be at several points. Beyond this though, I’m very excited for this whole run and this first issue had a lot of solid stuff here, especially that great art. Call him what you like, but Tom King writing Batman and Catwoman again has me very excited.
Heath Fodor –
A tale told in Threes Love this first issue! It is told in three different time periods of their lives. I like how each period is shown in such a different degree. The inclusion of Andrea Beaumont means some Phantasm action soon!! There is a way that these two characters work together that is like nothing else in comics. Tom King well done!
Cameron Howell –
I loved the art in this! Honestly it probably carries most of this first issue. The flow of the story is a little rough but the story itself should be fun. At least if we get more in depth with the Bat/Cat relationship than we did here. Once I learned who the man was that Selina met up with though his dialogue seems not so fitting but overall enjoyed the issue. 3.5/5
K Saju –
Did not enjoy this one
Lisa Wright –
What did I just read??? I have no clue. Not easy for the casual reader to follow.
Etienne –
Really interesting! Surprising, fun, entertaining, a bit of action, a bit of mystery, some love too. I'm looking forward reading the next one! Really interesting! Surprising, fun, entertaining, a bit of action, a bit of mystery, some love too. I'm looking forward reading the next one!
John –
Just OK. I was confused most of the time. The art is pretty good, but the story timelines were confusing. I’ll try one more issue, but the story will need to be clearer.
Kevin Schnurr –
This is really a 3.75 only because the time jumps were a bit jarring and I’m not entirely sure about some plot elements but I am excited for more and hopefully, further clarification.
Mariel –
Mmmmm. No me convenció... tanto, pero ajá, claro que seguiré.
Matt –
Really solid first issue. Great artwork. The three timelines were just slightly hard to follow, but I think it will get better as the story continues.
Andrew Hojnacki –
Man it's an awesome first issue & that's pretty much all I can say non-spoiler wise.....other than that Clay Mann will go down as one of the best comic artists ever. Man it's an awesome first issue & that's pretty much all I can say non-spoiler wise.....other than that Clay Mann will go down as one of the best comic artists ever.
Piper Hall –
What.
Emanuel Lopes –
A arte está ótima, mas a história não é lá grande coisa, sendo bem comum pra quem já leu algo do King. A mesma não linearidade de sempre.
Memaro –
This character development is so great.
Sean Kottke –
Throws a lot of balls into the air; I'm prepared to be either amazed or confused in a few issues :) Throws a lot of balls into the air; I'm prepared to be either amazed or confused in a few issues :)
Jonathan Dowdell –
5 for the art, 3 for the story
Tim –
Roman –
Adrian-Jacob –
Sabrina Raven –