DC Comics
Batman #13
By Avi Weinryb
December 30, 2016 - 00:01

DC Comics
Writer(s): Tom King
Penciller(s): Mikel Janin
Inker(s): Mikel Janin
Colourist(s): June Chung
Letterer(s): Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist(s): Mikel Janin; Variant by Tim Sale & Brennan Wagner



Batman13.jpg
After the showstopper that was Batman #12, issue #13 has some big shoes to fill. Tom King delivers another solid issue, bringing us Part 5 of the “I am Suicide” story arc. It contains some delicious twists and turns and offers a lovely throwback to the Knightfall storyline of the 90s. That can’t be so easily avoided when you’ve got Batman and Bane going head to head. But it’s more brains than brawn driving the conflict, with sharp dialogue and tidy plotting. And some feline charm courtesy of Catwoman. Meanwhile, Psycho Pirate meets his match and it is not whom you would expect.

Serving as an able partner, Mikel Janin’s art is the perfect companion to King’s prose. A warm golden glow permeates much of the book, making the gritty underground lair of Bane seem otherworldly and dreamlike. The characters are strongly executed, with a bevy of emotive figures playing off each other, and strong action sequences throughout. There is a lot to love in this issue and when someone says “It’s not impossible. It’s Batman”, one is inclined to believe it. With a creative team like this, why believe anything else?
Rating: 8.5/10