Still surprised by King's writing & Janin's art (feeling rather spoiled by Snyder & Capullo), and while the premise of the selected issues is good, the execution is mixed. One high point, though, is Kite Man. Hell yeah.

Another instance with blank pages, with the added bonus of missing the last two issues. An incomplete volume, and that makes this nearly impossible to review.

ARC from Netgalley.
Told as a story to Selina while she lay in bed with Bruce, the tale of the War of Jokes and Riddles is his last effort to convince her not to marry him. He assumes (wrongly of course) that once she hears what he did, she'll leave him.
Sometime not long after the events of Year One, the Riddler and the Joker both decide that they should be the one to kill Batman. So... they create this huge war in the streets, getting various criminals on both sides attacking each other, attacking innocents, huge increase in crime, you get the idea. Two side stories are important as well: 1) What is the difference between a joke and a riddle? and 2) What will make Joker smile again?
Battle and action prevail, the art and story are fantastic, and they all boil to a head in a final fight between Riddler, Joker and Batman. Losing patience, wanting to ultimately save lives, Batman seemingly joins with Riddler, only to, during their battle, attempt to stab Riddler and kill him. Joker blocks the knife with his hand and seeing Batman lose his cool and resort to murder, he begins to laugh hysterically...
Having proven to Selina that he is as human and falible as the rest of us, admitting his 'greatest failure', he again asks for her hand in marriage and she accepts.

FINALLY! After 3 Volumes of mediocre main title Batman, it takes its place back amongst the greats. High recommend. Let's keep it up Tom King...

Here's a riddle for you: Why would you, in the middle of a strong run of comics that's making me forget all about the New 52, retcon Batman into doing something that is 100% against everything he stands for? Why would you spend eight issues playing a horrible joke on your readers? Selina's response when she finds out: "Who cares?" My response: utter disappointment.

A volume that seems to happen back in time, early in Batman's career as told to Catwoman by Bruce Wayne. Riddler and Joker went to war in Gotham over who got to kill Batman. Bruce Wayne even offered money to try and settle the dispute, but to now avail. A very different Bats tale.

With a title like this I was looking forward to the battle that would ensue. Both the Riddler and the Joker are long time Batman foes having been there from the early days forward. So what was going to happen with the pair in the new DC Rebirth era?

Well apparently not as much as I expected. The pair seek out to destroy Batman as they have in the past. But the Riddler now recognizes a flaw with their intentions. He realizes that while they both want to take Batman down for good they prevent one another from achieving this goal. He suggests to the Joker that rather than fight separately they unite to achieve their goal. To which the Joker turns him down.

A battle between the two follows with the citizens of Gotham in the middle of it all. Batman attempts to stop them both but with his attention divided and the two trying to outdo one another it’s not an easy task. The violence level between the pair is higher than in the past and an eventual showdown is expected but the winner remains to be seen.

The story felt like it had so many opportunities but none that held my interests from start to finish. At times it felt almost too wordy. The artwork was fine but nothing exceptional. The end result was a book that like so many during this Rebirth reboot has left me uninterested in becoming a regular monthly reader. Others who are enjoying this movement will be pleased with the results and want to add this to their collection though.

I haven't read much Batman before, but I enjoyed this volume. I love the artwork of this one and the Joker is one of my favorite DC villains. If your enjoying rebirth, this is a good one.

So, I wasn't sure what to expect after the ending of the previous TPB, and this definitely wasn't it.

We get a good portion (although not all, ugh to myself for reading mostly TPBs and having to wait) of a War between Joker and Riddler that happened in the past compared to this story, but about a year after Bruce first became Batman (to be honest I'm just going with whatever they say the timeline is, because it's now more confusing to my brain at least than the Once Upon a Time timeline).

It had some interesting stuff in it, especially who picked which side of the war when it came to bad guys and almost sorta badish guys. But I'd also love to actually see some more Cat/Bat stuff than was in this TPB. (Hey, I'm a fan of Helena Wayne, who I know isn't everyone's favorite Huntress, and so it's not a surprise that I'm a fan of Selina/Bruce or Catwoman/Batman too).

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

Tense story of a war between two of Batman’s greatest villains Joker and Riddler ... Lots of Gotham villa s show up to take sides in this battle of wits along with casualties . Great Batman story that keeps you turning pages . Amazing colorful artwork

The idea in Tom King's Batman Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles that the Joker has lost his ability to laugh and needs to kill Batman to get it back is fantastic, and Mikel Janin (who does stellar work here) reminds of Jim Aparo in his slim Joker. This is a great Joker story in the 1980s style of Joker more as arch-criminal than the supernatural force of nature he's recently been portrayed as. Moreover this is a great Riddler story in the style of Jeph Loeb's Hush or Long Halloween. The scope of what King sets up and knocks down with the Riddler in this story is breathtaking. As for Catwoman, if Rebirth is about knitting together DC's disparate histories, then depicting Selina tastefully in the Jim Balent costume is a bold and (for this 1990s fan) welcome choice, giving all these little bits of continuity their place while updating them for modern sensibilities.

From the publisher: In the tradition of BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, the next great Batman graphic novel is here in BATMAN VOL. 4: THE WAR OF JOKES AND RIDDLES!

Zero Year. 12 months in which Gotham City was left without power, without laws, without hope. 365 days in which the Riddler ruled the streets. But once again, Batman was victorious.

In the aftermath of Zero Year? War. The Joker vs. The Riddler. They called it the War of Jokes and Riddles and it's story has been untold... until now.

Written by breakout star Tom King and illustrated by Mikel Janin, the newest installment of this best-selling, critically acclaimed graphic novel series see a flashback tale of the Dark Knight facing two of his greatest foes ever! Collects BATMAN #25-32.

Tom King continues his excellent run on Batman with Batman Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles. Following the events of Zero Year, the Joker "forgot" how to laugh, so he decided to kill and destroy even more than usual. The Riddler, in custody, was asked to help Batman and the GCPD in finding and stopping Joker. Riddler refused, then escaped and confronted Joker with a proposal: Team up and let the Riddler kill Batman. Joker said no, and the two went to war. The resulting carnage was devastating. As for Batman, he is almost secondary as he is left to try and prevent more devastation and protect the innocent citizens of Gotham.

I really enjoyed The War of Jokes and Riddles. It was a spectacular story. King deftly handled the characterization of both Joker and Riddler, raising the level of genius and crazy to extreme heights. Both are equally menacing and unforgiving, refusing to give in or bow out so that the other might have the opportunity to kill Batman. King also does a great job juggling the various supporting villains the two gather to assist them in their war. Of particular note is Kite-Man, a seemingly "C" list villain, almost a joke himself. Kite-man gets several chapters of the story to show his role in the war, and King adds a level of pathos to a formerly ridiculous villain. It is in moments like these that King's talent shines through.

With his new relationship with Catwoman, Batman decides he needs to reveal his true self to her, and that is how the story of the War of Jokes and Riddles is presented. Batman promises to tell her something that may cause her to reevaluate their relationship and the way she sees him. This provides an interesting and suspenseful framework to an already enthralling story.

Over the past 30+ issues, King has proven to be a great writer who excels in characterization. He is adding layers and depths to characters who have been around for decades (Batman, Bane, Riddler, Kite-Man). This raises his writing above the average. He has also created some intriguing plots, especially I Am Bane, but the War of Jokes and Riddles has the chance to become one of the legendary Batman arcs.

I highly highly recommend Batman Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles by Tom King. With each successive volume, King continues to raise the bar, putting himself in the discussion for all-time greatest Batman writer. This is a must for Batman fans, and because it's self-contained, it makes for a great story for anyone wanting to give it a try.

*My review copy did not include the final volume of the story, so as of this writing I'm unaware of the secret Batman promised to reveal to Catwoman.

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

I'm not sure King really "gets" Batman. His run has been thoroughly blah, thoroughly pedestrian so far. Nothing great or outstanding. I've enjoyed reading these, but I'm still waiting to really be surprised by anything (though perhaps the Batman-Catwoman relationship might count). Good artwork throughout, though again, nothing outstanding. This just doesn't hold a candle to Snyder's run.

Hmmm... I'm not sure why people are giving the love to this book. It sort of makes sense, but only so far. The Joker and the Riddler both realise they aren't going to have satisfaction if the other kills Batman, so they both go against each other, and then before you can turn a double-spread splash page it's No Man's Land mark 2, and absolutely everyone (including many, many absolutely shit characters) are having a Civil War event all over a carved-up Gotham. The artwork does at least give us a monumental feel, with some four-page splashes, and some pointless up-skirt images, and Selina and Ivy look ravishing, but I don't think the script deserved the effort spent on it. It's a compendium of childhood puns and riddles, but with so much time invested in ignorable idiots the whole core of the War, and why it escalated so quickly, is just forgotten. So yes, it looks fine, and is snappy enough, but it's in need of a rewrite to make itself more coherent. The early intercutting waffle from Batman, interrupting every single other thread we're seeing and reading, is proof it's not exactly working. Two and a half stars.

Tom King's run of Batman keeps getting better. This was an ambitious book, with a full-on war between Joker and Riddler. Though I will admit the lead-up to this war felt a little rushed, and the book didn't show us the impact this war was having on the everyday citizens of Gotham (though it referenced it was definitely causing a lot of havoc on a daily basis, as the war resulted in a good chunk of Batman's villains joining one side or the other), it did a great job of having some very interesting twists and turns, including a memorable dinner scene, plus some aspects that really added more to the Bruce/Selina relationship that is being very prominently featured in Batman comics right now. Definitely a great read!

Tom King takes a unique take on Batman's first year as a crime fighter and shows him to be less effective as he tries to understand and disrupt the war that breaks out between Riddler and Joker and the rest of Gotham City's underworld.