The King of Batman: The Good, The Bad, The Kiteman Pt. 1

It wasn’t until I started this project that I realized; Tom King wrote about 90 issues of Batman over 4 goddamn years! My comprehensive analysis of Tom King’s run of Batman has therefore become my comprehensive analysis of the first half of Tom King’s run of Batman. A Beautiful Disappointment That’s my shorten take on the whole of Tom King’s Batman but especially the first 50 issues. I don’t use the phrase to disparage King’s work but to praise it. For disappointment to exist, there needs to be hope. There was a gorgeous echo of ebb and flow between the first six issues and the following forty-four (save a few unrelated ones). The fate of Gotham and Gotham girl should have prepared me for the Cat and Bat’s wedding night, but I was had both times. “I Am Gotham” was our introduction to Tom King’s narrative mastery. These two Superman-level heroes pledge their fealty to Gotham and Batman. They are genuine, and we discover with Batman’s investigation that their intentions are pure; motivated by Batman’s heroism when he saves Henry Clover and his parents from a would-be murderer in a Gotham alley.  Ours and Batman’s hope is dashed when Hugo Strange and Psycho Pirate overwhelm Gotham and Gotham Girl with anger and fear, respectively. Gotham’s horrible dissent and Gotham Girl’s crippling dash Batman’s hope of heroes as powerful and good as Superman possibly taking over for him to protect the city should he fall.   We Can’t Have Nice Things The delight of happiness that King bui…