[World of Bats] Batman (2016) #33-38 "Rules of Engagement / Double Date"

Hello and welcome to the World of Bats, the Batman Book Club!

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, let’s head back to the adventures of the newly-engaged at-that-point Batman & Catwoman in Tom King’s run of Batman, specifically issues #33-38, with art by Joelle Jones, Clay Mann, and Travis G Moore.

LINKS:

Batman #33
Batman #34
Batman #35
Batman #36
Batman #37
Batman #38

Digital Trade (Ultra)

Reading will last from 2023-02-11T06:00:00Z2023-02-17T06:00:00Z, but if you’re busy trying to get into your bro’s costume, you can always come back later!

Looking forward to discussing these stories with you all! :batparrot:

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3 Likes

I absolutely loved all of these issues! The double date with Lois and Clark was hilarious! And the look into the future at the end was sad but satisfying. I like Bruce and Selina together.

4 Likes

“Double Date” is one of my favorite Batman stories from the last two decades.

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I feel like Double Date is the one story that even the most ardent, rage-filled, “Wally-West-deserved-better” Tom King haters will admit was pretty good, which is saying a lot, honestly. :rofl:

5 Likes

I actually really dislike “Rules of Engagement” - the bickering and awkwardness between Bruce and Selina feels cliched and sitcom-level writing, King and Jones haven’t figured out how to work with each other and action yet (something I’m not convinced Jones ever figured out, really). I do like the conversation between Dick and Damian - that’s the kind of interaction I really enjoy, and I think King plays with themes and characters really well there.

Skipping ahead, I really dislike the “Master Bruce” storyline, both here and when it pops up in Knightmares. It clearly was something King didn’t quite figure out how to work through, and just isn’t very much fun at all.

But Superfriends…that’s really classic. Despite my general dislike of Batman and Superman being in the same universe, King makes their mutual admiration, insecurity, and love for Selina and Lois really, really appealing. And of course Clay Mann made it really sexy and fun. I also really love the relationship that King develops between Selina and Lois - I wish it got more, but at least in Knightmares we get to see some more of this absolutely wonderful friendship.

4 Likes

Double Date is great, easily the highlight of this selection. It was a lot of fun seeing Batman and Superman just hanging out at the fair

I didn’t love Rules of Engagement. The quips between Bruce and Selina didn’t work for me.

3 Likes

Which is your favorite batman covers?

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This is the first one that came to my mind. Maybe there are better ones, but The Dark Knight Returns cover is iconic and really sticks with me

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I was assuming that we were talking about favorite cover from these issues :slight_smile:

I’d say this is actually a pretty weak sequence of covers for Batman, and my favorite is the Tony Daniel variant for #35, the 800th issue celebration:

3 Likes

You might be right. I may have misunderstood the question :laughing:

1 Like