Batman #20
Publisher: DC
Writer: Tom King
Artist: David Finch
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Cover: David Finch, Danny Miki, & Jordie Bellaire
I’m going to have to take back some of the things I said on Tales From The Water Cooler regarding the beginning of Tom King’s Batman run because this last arc was absolute fire! Being that the issue opened up on one of my least favorite moments from the first issue it does show how King ties it directly into Batman’s motivations which have led us to the now. The conversation happening in the captions reveals all and King even adds an emotional kick when we see who is talking to Batman during this entire ordeal. When we get dialogue from Batman and Bane it’s compact, striking, and perfect fight talk. Batman doesn’t say much during the fight but King captures the determination and what makes the Dark Knight cool in six of my favorite panels this week in comics.
David Finch’s visuals hit harder than the fight between Bane and Batman taking place as we get flashes of what’s been happening over the past nineteen issues. However, the highlight is the brutality of the fight and the sick detail that makes you feel every punch. Each one of those panels yanks you right back into those visceral moments and out of the flashbacks taking place. Jordie Bellaire’s colors bring it all home from raising the detail in the line work to the rust colored bloodied faces of Bane and Batman. The green background during the fight helps with the intensity with it’s brightness when Bane has the upper hand but as the fight progresses it gradually becomes muted and darker. Then during that great full page impact things get bright and bloody all over again. It’s also just a great visual moment.
The I Am Bane arc wraps in a flurry of violence and bloodshed culminating in a tender moment which closes out the arc just fine. 4/5
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