Batman: Killing Time (2022-) #1

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After the disappointing Batman/Catwoman, which served as King’s conclusion to his ongoing narrative during the main Batman title whilst playing with non-linear storytelling, Batman: Killing Time is basically a repeat of that storytelling. When Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin join forces to pull off the greatest robbery in the history of Gotham City, Batman investigates the deadly heist that goes wrong. It could be that the story is about the transient nature of power, how the item passes from one to another, each briefly empowered before losing it to another, and so on. Or perhaps the stupidity of superstition. Or perhaps it’s simply a story meant to kill time, as the title suggests, and that it’s not really about anything more than what we see on the surface. Maybe it’s a commentary on the nature of superhero comics, that are all middle story and no real conclusion, that gets repeated over and over again ad infinitum. As Riddler intones at the end, “What did we… solve? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.” Maybe it’s a superhero retelling of The Bacchae. And I figured what better way to write a review about a team up story than to do it team up style! This time you all will get to hear from both me and Casper as we share opinions on just how well King’s pulled off the first issue of this series.

The call for Riddler's head isn't without warrant. In the title's premiere issue, the Riddler/Edward Nygma betrayed the Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot, who had bankrolled a shared job between the two villains, Catwoman and Killer Croc in obtaining the mystery item from the bank. When Penguin requested the item at their meeting spot, Nygma instead beat Oswald with his own umbrella 46 times, leaving him battered and bruised in the hospital.Much of King's work on Batman has spotlighted his relationship with Catwoman. During his time on the main Batman title following the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016, King developed the relationship between Bruce and Selina to the point where they were engaged to be married. However, in the end, Selina opted not to marry Bruce, deciding it would impede his ability to help the people of Gotham City. Following his departure from Batman, King began work on Batman/Catwoman, a twelve-issue series with artists Clay Mann and Liam Sharp. As Batman/Catwoman #10 releases in February, it seems likely Batman: The Killing Time will be available at the same time as that series.

Throughout the six issues, whilst you may have the main narrative of these villains trying to resolve this heist that has gone wrong, as well as a plethora of new characters such as the Help, who seems like a formidable foe for everyone he confronts, the story keeps going off in these detours. There’s a whole subplot about Killer Croc’s fiancée, which I don’t think is a big deal, but there’s also sections where we cut to periods of ancient history, which supposedly ties in with the current heist. The final issue does reveal some answers, but reading through the other issues is a chore to get through. Exactly. The problem is that King gets too specific with little details. I don’t think we need to know the exact times when things happened, and I don’t think we even need this nonlinear narrative at all. It just makes it seem so much more complicated than it really is, and that’s never a good thing in my book. Constantly jumping around through time and getting time stamps as well as various names and locations thrown at you is indeed making me feel kind of dizzy. As a result, I find it hard to connect with the story and focus on the plot, because I keep getting distracted by my frustration with all these unnecessary details.Catwoman, the Riddler, and the Penguin join forces to pull off the greatest robbery in the history of Gotham City. And their prize? A mysterious and priceless artifact in the secret possession of Bruce Wayne! But, as the events unfold, what fun is a heist without a bloody double cross or two? Yep! I actually like quite a few King comics, although he certainly has missed the mark with several of his works. Hopefully this will be good–let’s have a look! David Marquez draws yet another great issue that’s detailed and exemplary at pace. Make no mistake, the idea of how this issue starts and is structured is great, but Marquez makes you believe these faceless villains lived full lives. Meanwhile, Batman moves through the narrative like a force of nature. He’s laser-focused and still trying to catch up to Catwoman and Riddler since the first issue. That culminates in an exciting rush to possibly save Catwoman and stop the United States government from doing something stupid. Tom King and David Marquez’s Killing Time is a decent done-in-one Batman book that’s always unpredictable and never boring, with fantastic art throughout, though ultimately the story is a forgettable one with a very underwhelming finale. Batman: Killing Time is the latest Batman-related project from prolific writer Tom King. The comic book author, who penned The Vision, Mister Miracle, and The Sherriff of Babylon, wrote 85 issues of DC's main Batman title, taking over for Scott Snyder. Following the run's conclusion, he's worked on a follow-up Batman/Catwoman maxiseries alongside Clay Mann, Liam Sharp, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles. King is also currently writing Supergirl alongside Bilquis Evely, and Human Target with Greg Smallwood. Meanwhile, David Marquez has done the art for Justice League alongside Brian Michael Bendis as well as Batman/Superman with Joshua Williamson.

This issue of Killing Time pushes action over plot, but in a balanced way. The story presses forward less because the characters are talking and more because events demand it. King juggles the cast of characters well, keeping everyone true to their motivations, and readers entertained throughout. It’s another strong entry into this series. This is just another good example of how specific things can be, while they’re not really that important for the readers. Every time that the creative team gets this specific, it almost seems like this is something to remember for later, except it’s pretty obvious that these are just minor, unimportant details. I think the comic would’ve been much more enjoyable without so much focus on inconsequential fluff. It seems to be set in the early days of Batman’s career for no real reason. It definitely doesn’t follow King’s Batman run as the Batman/Catwoman relationship is completely non-existent here. In fact Catwoman is written very differently from the Cat in King’s run - here she’s very vicious and quite mad. Despite Batman being the titular character, in which he has been the Caped Crusader for a couple of years, he isn’t really the main character, continuing a recent streak of King not that interested in Batman as a character. King is clearly more interested in the villains who are always double-crossing one another and no doubt there is some fun with the banter between them, but because the comic is so fixated on being non-linear, it’s ultimately hard to care. The plot is fairly simple: Catwoman gets a tip from the Joker about the MacGuffin. She recruits the Riddler to set up a buy for the MacGuffin. Batman catches wind of the heist and is especially upset the MacGuffin has been stolen. Penguin, who has been double-crossed in the midst of all this, calls in reinforcements in the form of The Help, who also becomes interested in the MacGuffin. These narratives converge in a big kerfuffle.

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There’s a subplot running in parallel to the modern-day one, set in Ancient Greece and revolving around Euripides’ play The Bacchae. We don’t find out the significance of this until the end not only for its connection to the mystery item but also in understanding the point of the story. The play’s end also mirrors the end of the main storyline. I like the twist as well, although it doesn’t surprise me at all, so it doesn’t feel like that much of a plot twist to me. More like a natural answer to the mystery of the narrator. I also agree that I’ll want to reread this story when it’s finished. I have a feeling that once you know the ending, it’s easier to appreciate the story, because you’ll know why King’s making all these “weird” narrative choices.