The DC Comics Black Label collected the twelve issues of the Tom King series ‘Batman/Catwoman‘ into this graphic novel, released just in time for you to avoid buying it for Christmas.

The miniseries features three storylines. The first follows Catwoman and Batman in the early stages of their relationship and how the Joker plans to sabotage it. The second follows the arrival of the Phantasm to Gotham City. She plans on killing the Joker after the Clown Prince of Crime murdered her son during the Christmas season. The final arc depicts Selina killing the Joker shortly after the death of Bruce Wayne, prompting her daughter Helena, acting as Batwoman, and GCPD Dick Grayson to investigate her.

Liam Sharp handled the first few issues and he is a talented artist, but you can tell he was just going through the motions by the time it got to the end. Same with Clay Mann who did the last issues. At first, he does a good job, but he slowly slips into mediocrity by the time the series comes to an end. Sure, the covers are well done, but you could tell the artwork was just phoned in by the final issue.

As for the series, it was worse than Kevin Smith’s terrible “Cacophony” and “The Widening Gyre.” The Christmas theme was outright stupid and offered nothing new to the story. Likewise, the three arcs made the plot bloated and directionless. It was almost like Tom King was just filling up space because he needed it to end somehow. Except, he did not and the ending was flat, leaving you wondering why you even bothered to read it.

The truth is, if I was a DC Comics editor, I would be embarrassed that I allowed Tom King to publish this. It takes a the world’s greatest detective and turns him into the world’s biggest dud. His sole purpose is to let Catwoman, Joker, and Phantasm belittle him with no pushback. He just whines about everything only for one of these characters to set him “straight.” Catwoman is the biggest offender. It is not just her calling out crap, she actively makes fun of him and mocks his life as the Caped Crusader. It is clear King has no idea what the Batman is supposed to be and turned him into an emotional weakling.

As I said previously, It was regressive, unimpressive, and showed a complete lack of imagination in how this “love story” was supposed to come together. We should have seen the writing on the wall when King could not maintain the individual Batman issues. This was supposed to conclude his arc how he wanted and if this is the ending he wanted, I am glad he is gone.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my article Stopping The Race To Make Batman Toxic. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

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