Tom King

So Tom King has been taking off batman? Hes the only reason I became a heavy DC Fan. I love his Batman run and how he added another dimension to the Dark Knight. If its true this is one of the reasons why DC will always be second to Marvel. The lack of a back bone. I spend over $100+ every week in DC comic books! Not included merchandise. I’m so upset.

1 Like

It is definitely not the best way for this to happen. While I wouldn’t say that Tim King is the best Batman writer ever, he ranks high on the list and he should get to finish his story as intended. I get the feeling that a lot of the things people didn’t like too much about his run would at least seem to fit better with a new perspective.

(As a side note, I don’t really think it’s fair to say that DC has less of a backbone than Marvel, IMO. But that’s not what this thread is about, so I’ll digress)

3 Likes

Tom King’s run was really bad. His style of writing just doesn’t transfer well to such a long story. I think the sales on Batman probably started dropping pretty bad over time. First there was the wedding, but I think the thing that got most people to stop buying it was the recent nightmares arc, which is probably his worst and most pointless work on Batman so far. So it’s more about business than a lack of backbone.

And DC may have less of a backbone than Marvel… for now. It’s constantly going back and forth. Sometimes Marvel’s good, sometimes they do One More Day or Secret Wars (2015). It’s really up to whoever’s editor at the two big companies.

3 Likes

And he didn’t add another dimension to the Dark Knight. The “new” dimensions have been there for a long time. Tom King is simply giving a poorly written retread of things that have been explored better by other authors.

2 Likes

*writers

@Awsome_Squid Just because you don’t like it does not necessarily mean it’s poorly written, and it’s not. A lot of people like it, including myself.

It’s not for everyone, for sure, and you don’t have to like his approach. But jump into conclusion that there’s no new dimension in his run without reading its intended ending is like saying a joke is not funny without knowing its punchline.

1 Like

@emeraldlantern

I do believe it is objectively written poorly. The dialogue and sequence of events always feel slightly off and often feel way off. However, some people may be able to tolerate it more than me, so you are right: the reader’s enjoyment of the series is entirely dependent on the reader.

You are also right that I can’t say that there wouldn’t be anything new without the ending. That’s not fair to Tom King. What I should say is that I believe we haven’t gotten anything new so far, and, based on what has been given to us so far, I didn’t feel like we were going to get anything new.

2 Likes

@emeraldlantern Thank you for keeping me reasonable.

But, his last year from wedding on is about Batman losing everything. I think, the long term plan which will work great in trades struggle when it is taken into account over the course of the year. After Nightmares was completed, I binged the whole thing and had a real appreciation for the arc. I feel like most people miss the bigger point of it.

2 Likes

Batman #1 was bad have not been “wowed” yet

I rejoiced at the news that Tom King is being taken off Batman.
While “I am Gotham” is probably one of my favorite Batman stories ever, the rest of his run has really fallen flat for me.

I’m not going to say it’s bad, but from what I see he tends to write for big “Wow Moments” at the expense of the characters, continuity, story, and even contradicting things Tom King himself has written in earlier issues. Story threads don’t pay off, things are rarely set up and often come out of nowhere, nothing is explained well, and lately the story has ground to a frustrating and complete halt. And on top of that, he’s turned Batman into a one-note unlikeable jerk who has spent most of the run saying little more than “nnnnhh”, “No”, and “I’m going to break your damn back”. Tom King defenders say he’s “Humanizing” Batman but that doesn’t sound like an human I’ve ever seen, and there are plenty more stories that do it way better.

Funny thing is, I got fed up and dropped the book from pull list, literally YESTERDAY, the same day this news was announced. I guess I’ll be adding Batman back to my pull list sooner than I thought.

4 Likes

@weindog I think you did a better job explaining why I dislike the series then I’ve been able to myself.

1 Like

Yes, props to @weindog for definitively explaining what was wrong with King’s Batman run. I saw it as a wandering mess of character moments that rarely paid off. Hey, Bendis is doing the same thing with Superman. Can we get writers that understand plot and basic three-act play structure and deliver tight character-driven stories with action, humor, and pathos?

1 Like

I haven’t been reading the book so I have no real opinion on King’s writing, but I will take the opportunity to gripe about the current tendency to structure everything around the eventual trade. Once upon a time we got a (granted, much simpler) complete story for $1.25, now we get a sliver of a story for $4.00, and in many cases it’s just stretching things out with padding.

Even though I’m not reading the book, though, I’m surprised that King was taken off it with less that a year to go in his plan.

1 Like

I think what King is doing is an in-depth study of Batman that only a few writers had attempted for the character. It feels static and slow-paced because he focus more on the exploration of the inside instead of using new adventures to make the character grow. #1-#50 is a long argument of who Batman is. His motivation, his fears and trauma, his flaws, and his desire to be loved. #51-#75 intends to fully take Batman apart, bring him down, make him vulnerable and face all his deepest shadows without any defence. And then #76-#100 would be a process of rebuild and make him great again. It’s a shame we are never seeing the full version of that last part now.

And all people may not like his approach, some may prefer more external development of the character, which is totally fine. But it is not objectively poor-written.(How can his issues consistently getting high scores on IGN if it is?) Look at the short stories like Rooftops, Super Friends, and Cold Days. Those are some of the most beautifully written stories I’ve ever read. Stating that “some people just can tolerate more” is not very fair because I didn’t tolerate anything, and I enjoyed reading his run very much.

** By beautifully written, I mean not just the dialogue, but the combination of dialogue and arts, the overall narrative.

1 Like