REVIEW: The Kites in Gotham City in ‘Batman #30′
In BATMAN #30, Joker’s gang goes down one by one as Bruce Wayne financially invests on The Riddler in this war.
In BATMAN #30, Joker’s gang goes down one by one as Bruce Wayne financially invests on The Riddler in this war. The last man standing in Team Joker is surprisingly the biggest joke in Gotham City — Kite Man.
The story is decent; it is not great, but it is not awful. Ever since Rebirth, Tom King has thrived with his short story-arcs that paint a bigger picture. As much as I love Tom and his efforts in re-establishing the city-level hero Batman, I couldn’t say the same thing for The War of Jokes and Riddles. The longer it takes for him to finish the story, the harder it is to understand the direction where this war is heading.
While I love how Tom developed Kite Man’s character in this issue, I got lost in understanding the purpose of the war. Tom could have executed the same by giving Kite Man his own separate story rather than dragging him and making his circumstances a casualty of the war. Although issue #30 took a detour and focused on the story of Kite Man, it is still my favorite part of the issue. It’s about time Kite Man gets the respect that he deserves.
The war of jokes and riddles is still a good story. It can still be saved by ending it in the next issue. I just think that there is no more story to tell here other than how the war ends.
Review by Paolo Ollero, co-founder of The Dark Knight Philippines, the premier Batman group in the country.
