DC Comics
(W) Tom King (A) Matt Wagner (C) Tomeu Morey (L) Clayton Cowles
With villains named, Crazy Quilt, Condiment King, Ten Eyed Man, Kite Man, why wouldn’t The Dark Knight be in a more colorful mood as of late? Maybe it’s due to being left at the altar, or from the recent trial in Cold Days. But between all the drama and tragedy, The Dark Knight deserves a laugh or a fun night, which comes courtesy of Nightwing and some… less than iconic bat-villains.
Tom King brings the fun and playfulness back into the Caped Crusaders life in this single issue story featuring Nightwing and a fun cast of villains. Jumping between the day Bruce meet Dick Grayson and the present, King presents Nightwing as a banterful older Boy Wonder trying to bring a smile to a moody Batman. This issue is refreshing coming off the three part Cold Days and the big Batman #50 non-wedding. Showing us glimpses from the night of The Flying Graysons demise, and the days following we get the chance to see Bruce bond with Dick and learn where his love for cucumber sandwiches come from. Then flowing back to the present showing just how wacky some of Batman’s Rogues can be and how even The Dark Knight needs a laugh every few issues.
If you consider the story as the meat of the Bat-Burger then the art would be the delicious ketchup and mustard that helps spice it up. Having drawn some Batman back in the 90’s it was a smart choice to bring Matt Wagner on art duties for this classic feeling story. Each panel felt detailed and beautiful making the experience a blast from the past. I hope we get more issues in the future featuring Wagner.
Completing the Bat-Burger is the bun that holds it all together; in this story the colors by Tomeu Morey would be that fresh out the oven hamburger bun. During the Crazy Quilt and Condiment King fight the colors have a pop that makes the panels fly like a kite. Never feeling out of place or overdone they make this one tasty Bat-Burger.
Final Thought: I really tried to come up with some crazy puns but I couldn’t condiment up with any….. Yeah, that pun flew like a kite, man. All crazy quilts aside, I really loved this issue, my two eyes wanted to re-read it til I grew ten eyes.
Moral of the Story: Don’t give up on cucumber sandwiches, because Bruce Wayne swears they’re worth it.
Memorable Quote: “I hear with your third absurd villain you get a free Kite Man” -Nightwing. There was so many good lines in this issue it was hard to choose the most memorable.