Batman #10 is a strange issue. As Batman infiltrates Santa Prisca, he keeps repeating a mantra over and over again throughout the pages. In many ways it’s reminiscent to the scene from The Dark Knight Rises where Bruce Wayne tries to escape from the prison and the prisoners chant what sounds like “This is Sparta” insistently. Maybe that’s where Tom King got his inspiration from? I don’t know.
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s weird, but this isn’t to say the issue is bad. We’re treated to Batman duking it out with Bane’s army before finally tackling the big man mano-a-mano, and by the last page we realise the Dark Knight did have a plan after all (should we ever have doubted him?). Mikel Janin’s artwork is also on point once again, and I much prefer his style than David Finch and Matt Banning’s in ‘I Am Gotham’. Rebirth’s art has been hit-and-miss at times; however, I think DC realised it and rectified the main series quickly enough.
Batman #10 is action-packed, even if it’s a little low on the storytelling spectrum and feels more like an expensive, but small, appetiser before the main course. If King’s run has taught us anything, it’s that he tends to favour slower-paced stories. As long as the end result is as good as the last two story arcs have been, that’s fine by me. Take your time, Tom.
