11 Reasons ‘Batman’ #25 Is The Start Of A War You Want To Witness

As Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle lay in bed together, Bruce begins to tell her a tale from his first year as the Batman. In a very detailed and deeply revealing narrative, Selina and the reader begin to learn about two of the Batman’s deadliest enemies. How they met. How they clashed. How they brought the city of Gotham to a deadly war. And like all war stories, everyone will come away with scars.

Batman #25
“War Of Jokes and Riddles” Part 1
Written by: Tom King
Art by: Mikel Janin
Colors by: June Chung
Lettered by: Clayton Cowles
Published by: DC Comics

In a nice bit of change, Tom King takes us into flashback territory with this issue. Having it be a first person narration by Batman puts both the reader (and Catwoman) in the frontlines of a very intense opening of what is sure to be a very explosive story. Read on for 11 reasons to join the war that starts in Batman #25

1. Tom King’s Batman narration is very unique and this issue is a perfect example. We all love being in the head of Batman the tactician, the badass. But King shows us a very human side of Batman. One with feelings, fears, and even doubts as he looks back.
2. Mike Janin’s clean and elegant art set the tone perfectly. It’s cinematic.
3. The colors by June Chung are a sight to behold. The use of light and shadow in the opening two pages (one of which is included at the top of this review) is simply gorgeous.
4. Keeping both the Riddler and Joker hid and obscured in shadows gives them a nice level of fright.
5. The way King writes the Riddler. I can’t remember the last time Edward Nigma was this creepy. Just look at the scene where an escaping Nigma faces off against a SWAT team.
6. “This city. It’s always covered in rain or snow or heat.” –Batman
7. The multi-villain splash image on page 26.
8. “You need to laugh or else who are you? And you can’t laugh as long as he’s out there. To laugh again you need to kill him” –Riddler.
9. Clayton Cowles lettering. Each person has an evocative font. Each sound effect is felt and heard. A reminder of how important a talented letterer is to the comics medium.
10. How this creative team can make Joker sitting silently at a desk terrifying and tense.
11. “All Right. Go Ahead Mr. Feder. I’m ready to laugh” -Joker

    

As the first of King’s stories to start diving deeply into Batman’s more popular Rogues, this could not have been better. This title has been all about slow burns with big payoffs from the beginning, and this feels like it is heading in that same great. I can’t wait to see what happens next and where this story goes. Bring on the jokes and riddles!