First off Tom King has done amazing things for this series. I absolutely enjoyed this. The panels showing how similar yet how different Batman and Bane are really doing it for me. You get the feeling that Bane is a real luchadore when he keeps saying "I am Bane" over and over again. The feels for real were epic.

I was just a little slow in picking this one up, since I received my copy last July... I'm sorry I waited so long! I was really disappointed in the first two volumes of the Rebirth Batman, and decided to take a break, but didn't really plan on waiting 10 months.

This was really good, all around. While the battle between Bane and Batman was intense (how could it be otherwise?), I really enjoyed the "Every Epilogue is a Prologue" chapter, especially the long discussion with Gotham Girl. It shows just how deep the emotions run in Bruce Wayne, and some long-held internal fears that most Batman authors don't ever seem to delve into. So, kudos to Tom King for that.

Oh, and that ending! I didn't see that coming! I won't be waiting 10 months to read the next one, that's for sure!

Tom King has become one of the finest writers of Batman in the character's long history. In this volume the romance between Bruce a Wayne & Selina Kyle, the Bat & the Cat reach a new stage, one that thanks to King's sensitive writing, is utterly believable. And he doesn't skimp on the action as Batman is forced to take on a vengeful Bane. A terrific comic sequence of Bruce Wayne eating in a Batman themed burger joint with the Robins & Duke. Brings the laughs. Every volume of King's Batman is must own

BATMAN VOL. 3 I AM BANE is written by Tom King and drawn by David Finch. This book collects BATMAN 16-20, 23-24; and BATMAN ANNUAL 1. I have never really cared for the character Bane from the moment he made his debut. Because he doesn't have superpowers, Batman has to rely on his intelligence in many instances to defeat villains. I always think Batman's brain is capable of defeating Bane's brawn on any day. In this collection, Bane faces a bunch of villains I think are much cooler, like Two-Face, Scarecrow, and Mr. Zsasz. Despite my misgivings about the character, Tom King, and David Finch have put together a great bit of storytelling.

I love how Tom King and David Finch recall Bruce Wayne and Bane's early years by stacking the histories in panels side by side. This storytelling technique tries to show how Bruce Wayne and Bane suffered similar pain in their formative years, but how they took completely opposite paths. Even though I don't care for Bane, every time Batman faces him in a battle royale, Batman's character becomes sharper, more defined, and easier to cheer on. The rogues' gallery that Bane plows through on the path to Batman - Solomon Grundy, Amygdala, Mr. Freeze, Firefly, Black Spider, Flamingo, Man-Bat, Mad Hatter, Dr. Phosphorous, Hush, Copperhead, Calendar Man, and more -- are like familiar evil friends and are a nice contrast to Bane. As much as I found the little yet fabulous touches in the Bane/Batman story appealing, my favorite stories in this book are the smaller ones at the end. I love the heart-to-heart between Batman and Gotham girl. Their conversation shows an introspective Batman peeking through his gruff exterior.

BATMAN VOL. 3 I AM BANE has a super-sized slugfest with a glimpse of Batman's soul. This book is full of whimsical touches to offset the intensity of the battle between Batman and Bane, like the significantly-named landmarks "McKean Clock Tower" and "Nolan Alley". As a longtime Batman fan, I also really enjoyed the opening scenes with many of the various Robins represented. Catwoman is a standout character in this book and adds some smarts and some charm to the villain versus superhero action. I really enjoyed the Swamp Thing story and the dynamic between that character and Batman. I've heard of Swamp Thing but haven't read any books featuring that character. After reading about him in "The Brave and the Mold", I feel like I need to read up on Swamp Thing.

I love the rebirth series and this is just another thrilling volume. I look forward to future volumes

Batman knew that Bane would be coming to get the Psychic Pirate Back. Being Bats, he had a plan and then more plans. First, get the Robins and others out of town. Mainly done. Then make a plan with Catwoman to help out others when they get caught. That worked. Then survive long enough for Gotham Girl to be restored. That is the question. Then there is all the dealings with Catwoman to put right. And what is this about a dog? And then Swamp Thing comes calling? Does not Bats have enough on his plate? Well, what are you waiting for? Read and find out what happens!

This is what King's run has been building up to and it doesn't disappoint. The scene in Batburger may have been the best scene in the entire book. Dick, Jason, and Damien sitting down for a fast food meal is comedy gold. I burst out laughing when Bruce took a knife and fork to his hamburger. After that, we get a nice parallel to Knightfall. Bane's coming for the Psycho Pirate and Batman needs 5 days to cure Gotham Girl. I liked that King brought back Bane's henchmen. I don't think we've seen Bird, Trogg, and Zombie since the Chuck Dixon days. One of the issues is devoted to the similarities between Bruce Wayne and Bane's childhoods, both growing up without their parents. It was one of the best issues in the book. Ultimately things come to a head with Bane and I'll leave those details for you to read in the funny pages.

In addition to the Bane story, there's an epilogue featuring Gotham Girl and Catwoman with an ending that was "Whaaaat?" <spoiler> Are we going to see little Huntresses running around the Batcave one day?</spoiler> There was also a nice tribute to the creator of Swamp Thing, Bernie Wrightson, who recently passed away. And then they brought back Ace the Bat-Hound for a Christmas story. I guess Titus from the Batman and Robin title has been forgotten about already.

'Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane' by Tom King with art in the main story by David Finch is a title I liked a lot more than other reviewers.

Batman has tried to save Gotham Girl. As part of that plan, he was taken Psycho Pirate away from Bane at Bane's home. Bane will not be having this, so he follows Batman back to Gotham and threatens or kills everyone that Batman cares about.

I loved the contrast between Batman and Bane. I also liked the contrast in the epilogue story with day and night. There are two additional stories, one featuring a dog that I really liked and a kind of confusing one with Swamp Thing, but I liked the oddly named WeinWrightson Tower if only because it gives a nod to two greats we lost this year.

I liked the quick pacing, the wacky humor and the gorgeous art by David Finch, who did the art for most of the issues featured. The stories are also good as well. There is some surprisingly good humor involving the dog and a strange burger restaurant.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The latest Batman goes from strength to strength under Tom King

I really enjoyed the story line here and the parallels between Batman and Bane’s upbringing. I also had never been exposed to Bane’s origin story which made this great too. The only thing I didn't care for as much was the annual comic at the end of this graphic novel- not that I didn't care for the writing or art, but found it very disjointed to the rest of the comic. The addition to that at the end altered my overall star rating of this book. When you go to read this, I recommend you reading the whole Bane story together and then telling yourself the annual is unrelated so you don't let the average of the two impact you! This is definitely worth the read.

Every ending is an ending... and this is an end to surely the world's naffest Batman arc - and what a stupid ending. The book's sole benefit is to carefully weave the things that matter from the previous two books into the story in an intelligent way, light on the forced exposition, so you are actually reminded of the dross you've long forgotten, and can work out the dross you're seeing here. The big JUMBO benefit to Batman from Rebirth was two childish flying teenagers who wanted to be superheroes but that you wanted to thump to buggery, but one of them got knocked up a bit. So Batman went and tried to break Bane's back (and told us about it a hundred times in a hundred pages) and steal a psychic bloke to settle her mind. Then Bane got the hump about this and came back.

The cod-psychology that's been ruining the arc comes to the fore in a slightly improved manner to show their two origins in parallel, but after a hugely destructive fight Batman is near dead. But then he taps Bane ONCE and that's it, game over. I mean, WTF doesn't come near it. You get more pathetic, lame, risible, plotless switcheroonies in WCW wrestling. If people think that was anything like a satisfying ending to three whole GN volumes, then they're wrong - and they're surely going to regret anything positive coming from all this when Annoying Flying Batgirl flaps about in future books.

Elsewhere in this volume Alfred gets catty about a dog, Swamp Thing comes up with an origin story that's annoying when it concludes with Batman whingeing that his origin story is better and therefore more important, - oh and he proposes to Selina. Again, something we seriously don't want - but DC have been giving us that in spades since the Rebirth.

For Batman the wish list is less slappable secondary characters (I know, I know, why would they change the habit of a lifetime now?!), less psychobabble and non-stop parent issues, and more coherently structured arcs that actually make sense. And lethal baddies that don't cave with a solitary headbutt. This is Bane, not Amir Khan!

Artwork is very fine - everything else here is almost dire..

ARC from Netgalley. 3.5 Stars
In what is I hope the end of the "I Am" Saga of Batman, we now see the return of Bane. Getting back on the Venom after the events of Volume 2, Bane is returning to Gotham to take Psycho Pirate and no one will stop him, because "I AM BANE"... as he says over and over again (actually it gets kind of annoying). Standing in his way, of course the Bat-Family.
Batman is trying to use Psycho Pirate to restore the bravery and abilities of Gotham Girl, and while he ultimately succeeds, Bane is able to:
-Hang Robin, Nightwing and Red Hood from lynch ropes
-Take Duke, Gordon, Catwoman, and one other hostage on a rooftop
-Completely beat the crap out of most of Arkham's inmates
-Get in a crazy fight with Batman, over which the author chooses to show the strong similarities between the two of them.
...I'm sure we will see Bane soon enough.

The real surprise of the Volume comes at the end. With Gotham Girl restored, Batman has the ability to let his guard down a tiny bit. Gotham Girl convinces him that he deserves to be happy and to have what he wants, so.... the Volume ends with Bruce proposing to Selina on a rooftop (with a diamond in it that she had originally stolen and he bought, knowing she desired it... how sweet!)! How will this play out?
Next up? The Button....
Recommend... though I hope better stories are coming.

Before I start I must say I am a huge Tom King fan and this volume did not disappoint. A great story line and superb art work..
Loved the Batburger idea. Overall a great read and highly recommended.

Heh, I almost added an entire star for the ending of the I am Bane story line (in the TPB there were two more stories after that. One about Ace the dog and one where he sorta teams up with Alec, aka Swamp Thing, in Gotham -heh- Gordon's reaction was awesome).

But, the main thrust of the story is the Bane one. It comes out of Batman getting Psycho Pirate out of Bane's island. Now Bane is in Gotham to take Pirate back, but Batman needs Pirate to cure Gotham Girl, and so there's lots of fighting and lots of kidnapping of Robins, etc. (And lots of flashbacks from both Bane and Batman), and as I said, the ending, holy crap, I did not see that ending coming.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment.

Tom King's Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane gets downright brutal at times (as illustrated by David Finch), whether it's hanging Robins, Bane tearing his way through a gauntlet of Batman's rogues, or Batman and Bane beaten to bloody pulps. And yet (and yet, and yet), this is by far the most cerebral of King's volumes, overflowing with word puzzles and nuance.

I Am Bane ends with King and frequent collaborator Mitch Gerads teaming Batman with Swamp Thing, a jocular tale of Alfred cleaning up mud and Swamp Thing wedged into the Batmobile -- until Swamp Thing brutally murders a villain in the end while Batman watches helplessly. King does well thwarting our expectations here, and another character King ought write aside from the Flash is Swamp Thing. Inasmuch as I've enjoyed having Swamp Thing back in the mainstream DC Universe, the humanizing effect that comes with this isn't entirely true to the best of the character. I don't expect King's issue to stick as the ongoing presentation of Swamp Thing, but it's a wonderful subversion, starting with the comedy of the domesticated Swamp Thing and finishing with Vertigo-esque horror.

There are a couple of moments here that feel off-key, but generally speaking, we have another solid entry into Batman's Rebirth line. "I Am Bane" is kind of a reverse Knightfall, where Batman has broken Bane's back (in a previous volume), and Bane must power through Batman's allies and all of the Arkham inmates in an attempt to achieve some peace. Stories outside the primary "I Am Bane" arc varied in quality. What should have been an important Batman/Catwoman issue was instead mostly a fairly boring conversation between Batman and Gotham Girl (still not a huge fan of her character). The origin of Ace the Bat-Hound was an amusing diversion. Most meaningful was the Batman/Swamp Thing team-up, not aiming for life-or-death consequences but instead important musings on what life and death really mean in the DC Universe.

Jesus, look at the teeth on the horrific David Finch cover! I'm not going to miss his art one bit.


(This is supposedly Finch's last hurrah on BATMAN. We can only hope.) My legendary dislike for the art of David Finch aside, BATMAN, VOL. 3: I AM BANE is another solid effort from author Tom King. This volume (Which collects BATMAN #'s 16-20, 23-24, and Annual #1), finds The Caped Crusader feeling the effects of his invasion of Santa Prisca in the last volume, as a mightily pissed-off Bane comes to Gotham to retrieve The Psycho-Pirate. I've been a huge fan of Bane ever since the one-shot that introduced him, but I haven't always loved how he was presented through the years. KNIGHTFALL was, and remains, the Bane gold standard....but this story comes in a close second. (Not too close, though. KNIGHTFALL is still in a class by itself.)


That's not to say that this is a perfect collection, though. The actual conclusion to the Batman/Bane physical conflict comes, and goes, way too quickly. It was fun to see Bane rampage through Gotham city, and run the gauntlet of Arkham Asylum inmates, but it would have been nice to see King pay a little more attention to what was going on between Psycho-Pirate and Gotham Girl, since that was the reason for all of the carnage and bloodshed that we were witnessing.



HappilyI remain fully on board with King's kinder and gentler Batman; Through the past three volumes, Bruce Wayne has smiled, said "Please" and "Thank you", asked for help, consoled victims of crime, helped friends in need, and, at the end of this volume, does something previously unthinkable. Thank you, Tom King, for making me like Batman again. The villains remain loathsome, the adventures remain grim and gritty, the fights are still brutal....but the hero has become so much more human. It's a simple fact, but one that has seemingly been forgotten by most BATMAN scribes since 1985: It's easier to care about a real, human character with flaws than it is to care about a complete, unrepentant asshole. Hopefully, this iteration of Batman will stick around for a while.


After the five-issue Bane throwdown, we skip the two issues devoted to THE BUTTON, and close out with a trio of done-in-one issues: The umpteenth introduction to Ace, The Bat-Hound, a romp through the rooftops with Catwoman, and a murder mystery team-up with Swamp Thing.


The Ace story is a wonderful little vignette that spotlights Alfred, and continues King's humanization of Bruce Wayne. THE BUTTON isn't a must-read story, in the context of this volume, but reading it will make Batman's actions with Catwoman a little easier to understand. The Swamp Thing team-up is titled "The Brave and the Mold", and that is really all you need to know. Someone get Tom King a job writing Swamp Thing. Please.


Oddly enough, the review copy DC provided swapped the placement of the Catwoman and Swamp Thing issues, which makes the finished product feature a massive, game-changing cliffhanger, only to include one more issue that provides no closure. Hopefully, the finished, printed book has the issues in their proper order.


Extras are few....just a gallery of the Tim Sale & Brennan Wagner variant covers.


I'm in for the long haul on this title...as long as Tom King is aboard, I will be too. BATMAN, VOL. 3: I AM BANE earns a massive nine out of ten steroid-enhanced, Batman-pummeling fists:

✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊✊


DC Comics provided a review copy.

From the publisher: The man who has physically tested the Dark Knight like no one before is back to finally break the Bat for good. Can a battered, exhausted Batman fend off one of his greatest foes? Plus, catch up with Catwoman as she and the Dark Knight battle a collection of villains and plan for the future!

Collects BATMAN #16-20, 23 and 24.

With Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane, Tom King wraps up his "I Am" trilogy of Batman stories. And boy did he wrap it up well. I Am Bane is a terrific story, with lots of action and some quieter, deeper moments of self-reflection for Bruce Wayne, and even Bane. To summarize the , thanks to Psycho Pirate, a hero known as Gotham is dead and Gotham Girl is emotionally broken. Bane took possession of Psycho Pirate to help him deal with the effects of his long time use of Venom. Batman, knowing the Pirate was the only who could heal Gotham Girl, used a group of questionable "heroes" to take the Pirate from Bane, invading Bane's home, the prison island of Santa Prisca, to do it. Which brings us to this final volume. Bane wants the Pirate back, Batman needs five days for Gotham Girl to be healed, and will do anything and everything to delay Bane in his quest.

With that said, the story is much more involved than that. There are guest appearances by multiple former Robins and Duke, Superman, and Catwoman. There are plans within plans. There is plenty of action and confrontation. And there is an interesting parallel between the childhoods of Bane and Batman. All of this sets up a crisis of conscience for Batman, and sends him off on a new path in his life.

In addition to the main story, there are several others as well. There is a nice tale about how Bruce Wayne acquires a pet dog, named Ace, and an interesting team-up with Swamp Thing that is deeply philosophical. The best of these stories, though, is the epilogue to the I Am Bane storyline. It involves Batman and Catwoman, and spotlights their relationship. It is told in contrast to a conversation between Gotham Girl and Batman. It is well told, and King does a fabulous job with the characterization. In fact, the characterization in this whole volume, particularly with Batman/Bruce Wayne, is a highlight for me. I feel like King has added to an already storied and iconic character, which is hard to do.

Finally, the ramifications of I Am Bane are sure to be felt for a long time. Bruce has come out of this ordeal a changed man, and I'm anxious to see where King takes him. I highly recommend Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane, particularly to readers who have read the first two volumes in this trilogy. King has risen to the challenge that Scott Snyder left for him on the Batman title. He is well on his way to writing a very definitive take on Batman and I recommend this book to all Batman fans.

I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is volume three of the new Batman series in the DC rebirth series. It picks up where volume two left off in which Batman was able to bring back the character named Psycho-Pirate to help restore Gotham Girl back to a regular mental state due to events that are explained in volume one.
I’m going to try to not give away the whole book in my summary of this present volume. Since Batman took Psycho-Pirate away from Bane in volume two, Batman knows that Bane is going to go to Gotham seeking vengeance and attempt to get back Psycho-Pirate. This is the story of Bane fighting Batman and a range of other characters in Gotham including other superheroes and other villains. I thought that was kind of neat although it was not as thorough or detailed and it went pretty quick. Maybe Bane is no match for any other characters except for Batman or the writer and artist was trying to speed the story along, I can’t tell other than the feeling that it went kind of fast.
Similar to volume two I thought that it was interesting how the story at certain moment paralleled Batman and Bane to compare and contrast the two characters especially in terms of their childhood. It seems much of other Batman stories have made much about the father-son dynamic with Bruce Wayne and Thomas Wayne but here in this volume there is a mother and son dynamic that is explored. Which makes this pretty interesting.
I liked how the story of “I am Bane” ended with a prologue which the writer titled “Every Epilogue is a Prologue” which made me curious if this is a prologue for the next Batman volume or a prologue of the many more adventures of Gotham Girl. There’s a discussion here in this section that I found rather neat concerning being a hero and whether or not Batman likes it. It kind of add to the fascination of the complex character that fans enjoy about Batman. Also towards the end of this work there were other shorter stories about Batman as well. It was somewhat disjointed at times these shorter stories. Overall though I enjoyed the volume as a whole including the artwork.
NOTE: This book was provided to me free by DC Comics and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

With the previous 2 Volumes leading up to this clash between Batman and Bane, I was a tad disappointed in how the actual fight ended up going. Not that the fight wasn’t enjoyable, it was more the fact that it was not what I was expecting.

Lets start with the storyline, the focus of this Volume is the Batman v Bane fight, everything else either is irrelevant or leads up to this moment. I loved how in the story King decided to go a different way to showcase both Bane and Batman. We see how similar that they are and how they both became who they were today.

The art style suited the events that were going on. It seemed to be very gritty and realistic which gave everything an heightened edge. At times it seemed that I was not reading a comic book as I just got lost in this story; which both the art style and the storyline contribute to.

We also get 2 single issue stories at the end of this volume, which both make way for interesting events for volume 4.

If you want to see a Batman out-smart Bane, then look no further.