Just The Worst
Written By: Tom King
Art By: Tony S. Daniel, John Livesay, Tomeu Morey, Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: April 18, 2018
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
While this comes off as no surprise for anyone who has frequented this sight over the past year or so........ Well, since I was dumb enough to switch reviews with Jim, where I took on this title for some reason. What I'm getting at is, you probably know by now that I'm not a fan of Tom King's Batman run with its repeated dialog, plot holes and what comes off at times as the writer not caring about anything that he's putting down on the page............ Well, that doesn't seem like it's going to change here as we continue our road to the wedding, where this time we deal with Booster Gold doing his best to get Bruce Wayne a wedding gift. Let's jump into this issue and check this shit show out.
Explain It!:
Our issue begins with Booster Gold witnessing Hal Jordan killing himself with his ring and explaining to us how the ring has protocols that actually make this not possible, but with a little extra will power, you can make it do anything. Now I have a big problem with this because I don't know what ring Hal Jordan has on........ and because later on we're told that he's "Jokered" and since I don't know anything about this world, I really can't complain about Hal Jordan killing himself because I just simply don't know how this altered timeline works. What I can complain about is, Booster Gold is depicted like Tom King only learned about the character through a passing conversation that he was eaves dropping on and nothing about him feels right in this comic. Hell, after Hal Jordan kills himself in front of Booster, only thing Booster can do is say how awesome that was. Fucking ridiculous.
As we move on we see that Gotham is a terrible place that has Dick Grayson as Batman and we get little vignettes about characters that are fine in the regular timeline, but have drastically altered lives here and in the long run this is supposed to show us what a world where Bruce's parents weren't killed looks like and first off.......... why the fuck is Dick Grayson Batman? It doesn't make any sense and neither does the fact that he just seems to kill "heroes" who come into his city because they might get "Jokered".
In the end, we continue to explore how Tom King knows nothing about Booster Gold, like how he doesn't have a force field, like how Skeets is his time machine and in the end, he's gone and altered time to show Bruce Wayne what a world would look like without him as Batman.......... even though it doesn't make any sense because this Bruce Wayne was never Batman............ and yet somehow, Tom King makes this make less sense because Bruce has had dreams where he was Batman. Nothing here is good and everything feels forced to the point where it comes off as fan fiction from someone who's a relatively new fan that doesn't know a lot about the characters. As our issue closes, Booster tells Bruce how showing him this world is his wedding gift to him, but Bruce doesn't care to the point where he smashes Skeets and locks Booster in a room until he's done celebrating his birthday, that by the end of the issue he calls his parent's anniversary. Fucking bullshit.
That's it for this issue of Batman and just when I thought that this run couldn't get any worse, along comes Tom King's idea of who Booster Gold is. Not only that, but the depiction of the alternate timeline world, where Bruce's parents were never killed doesn't seem like there was a lot of thought put into it either. Why the hell is there a Batman? On top of everything else, Booster Gold, who's a Time Master and has sworn to make sure that the timeline doesn't get screwed up goes and presents a Bruce Wayne who was never Batman with a gift that shows him how much he's needed as Batman in a regular timeline......... I don't get any of this. The art in this issue is alright, but right away I had to cringe when we open up the book and get a close up of Booster Gold, who looks like mongoloid mouth breather. I really, really hate this issue and I don't like using the word "hate" when talking about comics or someone's work, but this is just terrible.
Bits and Pieces:
Just when you thought it was safe to jump into a Batman book, we're presented with a story that makes no sense at all and is full of misrepresented characters that come off as shells of their former selves and that's before we even get to characters who are supposed to be different. The art in this issue is okay, but everything in the story is garbage and it really feels like this title has hit a new low.
Explain It!:
Our issue begins with Booster Gold witnessing Hal Jordan killing himself with his ring and explaining to us how the ring has protocols that actually make this not possible, but with a little extra will power, you can make it do anything. Now I have a big problem with this because I don't know what ring Hal Jordan has on........ and because later on we're told that he's "Jokered" and since I don't know anything about this world, I really can't complain about Hal Jordan killing himself because I just simply don't know how this altered timeline works. What I can complain about is, Booster Gold is depicted like Tom King only learned about the character through a passing conversation that he was eaves dropping on and nothing about him feels right in this comic. Hell, after Hal Jordan kills himself in front of Booster, only thing Booster can do is say how awesome that was. Fucking ridiculous.
As we move on we see that Gotham is a terrible place that has Dick Grayson as Batman and we get little vignettes about characters that are fine in the regular timeline, but have drastically altered lives here and in the long run this is supposed to show us what a world where Bruce's parents weren't killed looks like and first off.......... why the fuck is Dick Grayson Batman? It doesn't make any sense and neither does the fact that he just seems to kill "heroes" who come into his city because they might get "Jokered".
In the end, we continue to explore how Tom King knows nothing about Booster Gold, like how he doesn't have a force field, like how Skeets is his time machine and in the end, he's gone and altered time to show Bruce Wayne what a world would look like without him as Batman.......... even though it doesn't make any sense because this Bruce Wayne was never Batman............ and yet somehow, Tom King makes this make less sense because Bruce has had dreams where he was Batman. Nothing here is good and everything feels forced to the point where it comes off as fan fiction from someone who's a relatively new fan that doesn't know a lot about the characters. As our issue closes, Booster tells Bruce how showing him this world is his wedding gift to him, but Bruce doesn't care to the point where he smashes Skeets and locks Booster in a room until he's done celebrating his birthday, that by the end of the issue he calls his parent's anniversary. Fucking bullshit.
That's it for this issue of Batman and just when I thought that this run couldn't get any worse, along comes Tom King's idea of who Booster Gold is. Not only that, but the depiction of the alternate timeline world, where Bruce's parents were never killed doesn't seem like there was a lot of thought put into it either. Why the hell is there a Batman? On top of everything else, Booster Gold, who's a Time Master and has sworn to make sure that the timeline doesn't get screwed up goes and presents a Bruce Wayne who was never Batman with a gift that shows him how much he's needed as Batman in a regular timeline......... I don't get any of this. The art in this issue is alright, but right away I had to cringe when we open up the book and get a close up of Booster Gold, who looks like mongoloid mouth breather. I really, really hate this issue and I don't like using the word "hate" when talking about comics or someone's work, but this is just terrible.
Bits and Pieces:
Just when you thought it was safe to jump into a Batman book, we're presented with a story that makes no sense at all and is full of misrepresented characters that come off as shells of their former selves and that's before we even get to characters who are supposed to be different. The art in this issue is okay, but everything in the story is garbage and it really feels like this title has hit a new low.
3/10
I haven't picked this issue up yet. There's no way it can be as bad as the Poison Ivy fanfic a few issues back. . .right? Please tell me it's not THAT bad! YOU'RE KILLIN' ME, SMALLS. . .er. . .KING!
ReplyDeleteWell I asked for 'Batman Reborn' and I got it! Shame King screwed it up again.
ReplyDeleteYou did get it!!!!! MONKEY PAW!!!!!
DeleteThis story would be okay as a mini series but to just dump this in the middle of the wedding story line has pissed me off even more! I glad i stopped buying this title, I even feel ripped off just reading it online.
DeleteWeird, I'd actually put this a notch above a lot of what we've gotten from this book lately. This actually has a plot and a story trying to be developed, something we really haven't seen in this book for a while. Hated a lot of the obvious dumb fan service-y stuff, and self indulgent ribbing on Kite-Man, but as a plot I thought this was pretty ok.
ReplyDeleteI want to ask you why are you still reading and reviewing this title. You have Batman reviews since #26, it's twenty issues and only one you more/less liked was Annual #2, which is best issue today. Why you just don't give up?
ReplyDeleteBecause someone has to call out Tom King for his nonsense stories when everyone else is giving him mouth hugs for putting in next to NO effort .
Deleteso a reviewer should just give up if they don't like something? Would you rather go to a site that likes everything or only reviews what they like? That would be easier, make it appear that you are more positive, BUT we review everything whether we like it or hate it. That's kind of what reviewing is. Just remember, we are NOT a fan site, we are a review site. We are NOT cheerleaders, we are guys and gals who love DC comics, but are not blinded by our love and are not trying to kiss ass and make friends with everyone. There are plenty of sites that will give Batman a 10/10 just because it's Batman. I think that one thing that escapes people now is that a critic is supposed to critique an issue and if they like it or don't like it, tell people why. Instead of using this tired old "why are you still reviewing it" nonsense, tell us why you liked it, why Eric is wrong in his review. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
DeleteThis is one of the few sites that will honestly review Batman these days for some reason. I saw the same thing during Morrison's (mostly) God-Awful run. . .reviewers praising steaming piles of pretentious, self-serving crap as literature for the ages. For some reason, I see a lot of the same blind Tom King worship these days.
DeleteKeep telling the truth, Weird Science!
I am about to crack Thia book open to review now IAM so disappointed I want to use hals ring on myself
DeleteThis mentality is the stupidest thing I see way too often when it comes to comics. It basically boils down to people basically saying "I don't want to see people not liking something that I like." Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you can't read it and continue to give your opinion.
DeleteNormally I would argue that a reviewer's distaste for a book is no reason to stop reviewing it, as long as the reviewer can continue to approach the book objectively. But at this point, it seems to me that Eric Shea has lost any semblance of objectivity as to this title. Out of 1,356 reviews compiled on Comic Book Roundup, Mr. Shea has only ever given 8 reviews with a score lower than this one. Tom King is not beyond criticism, but to rate this among the Worst Comics Ever suggests that Mr. Shea has simply become fed up with the book and is no longer able to objectively judge it on its own merits.
DeleteDo you think anyone wanted to review Troll 2? Or Mac and Me? The least amount of integrity a reviewer can have is to at least review something whether he thinks he'll like it or not.
DeleteNot one of the worst comics ever, but certainly one of the worst I've reviewed. Nothing in this comic makes any sense for the reality that Tom King has set up and Booster Gold is nothing like the character that we've seen throughout the New 52 or Rebirth.......... which sucks because we just had a huge Booster Gold arc in Superman, where everything you need to know about Booster right now was laid out. Yet, Tom King doesn't seem to care about such things.
DeleteA gracious reply. Thank you.
DeleteAlthough Tom King's Batman has been a unique and enjoyable breath of fresh are for me, I appreciate your willingness to give a tough negative review when you believe a book deserves it.
Chris, I actually am putting up a second opinion for this issue and Mister Miracle since so many people do enjoy and I wanted to get the point of view of someone who likes both issues. Especially, since we don't like it, I want to make sure that does not mean that others shouldn't.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteUff, how many replies.
DeleteI like opinion of Jim Werner. I don´t say that nobody has to criticize King´s run (also Morrison´s which I like too). But when I wrote my comment I had same feeling as Chris O'Neil - that Eric lost objectivity to the title and he just don´t like it. So I´ve asked why he is reading it again - just for bad review? Or he is hoping that he can find some good regular issue?
I know that they are people who don't like King´r run and they have to have some site who say it. I like that you have two reviews. Because you can like or dislike King´s run but it definitely be one of most important in Batman´s history. Not only because of wedding.
Batman will have 80 years soon too and in his history there were only few longer run. Before Morrison, I know only about O´Neils from 70s. After 2006, there were 3 - Morrison, Snyder and King. Every run created lot of new things, changed things in history and in present. Every one of there runs has lot of readers who hates it. And I´m not against them. I just wanted to know why is Eric still reading it, if only for review or if is he still hopping. And why is he still reviewing it if he didn´t found nothing very interesting in 20 issues. If it is because he wants just to give people opposite view as another sites, it is ok. I just wanted to know.
i dont understand how you can say this issue is out of character??? Booster Gold is exactly how he's been, especially Actions comics recently its like the character jumped from there to here. This is also elseworld style so bruce's parents never died and he didnt learn any lessons so I imagine he would be insane to then give up his parents, considering this run has focused on how much he clearly misses them!
DeleteSo a time master who just watched krypton die, Clark's parents die and did change the fate of Lois and Sam Lane (with the huge point that he knew he was in HUGE trouble for doing) is just going from that and changing the timeline her for a wedding gift and to teach a lesson.
DeleteDon't go elseworlds either...this is an altered timeline and makes no sense whatsoever for Bruce to go insane since this is all he would know. Dating he "knew something was wrong" is a cop out short cut. If the timeline changed to never have pizza, you wouldn't dream of it and think it's missing. Plus, skeets is not a time machine!
Ok just read this book and does anyone else have the feeling that this iteration of booster gold just may be on the spectrum???....he's mentally not all there for sure lol I was super frustrated cause this story could have been cool if Tom king actually did a good job with the idea of this story art was pretty good I liked graysons batman look... not sure his answer to being jokerized is tue best solution ...lol 4.5 to a 5 when will i get a good batman book what won't frustrate me??
ReplyDeletesomeday!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry for these deleted comments. Ive just wanted to correct my english and some typoes
DeleteNo problem at all!!!
Delete