Batman, Volume 7: The Wedding by Tom KingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, just wow. I was not expecting to fall in love with this volume, but here I am. Tonally, it changes quite a bit, and the storylines are myriad for just one volume, but it all adds up and builds towards a shocking and sad eventuality.
The Booster Gold story was just.... superb. I just loved it so much for the eerie, frightening world that it created. Especially the inclusions of the well-known Bat franchise characters and how different they are in this parallel world. I love mirror universe stories and this one was so perfect. I feel like Tom King understands Bruce Wayne like no one else. After a dodgy start to the series, King has returned to form with storylines that delve into who Bruce Wayne and Batman are, and what they would be without the other. It’s such a fascinating read.
The two Joker chapters were also great but not as atmospheric as the Booster Gold ones. Having said that, the genius ability to write an entire Batman issue where Batman says only one word is not something we would often come by. And the next installment hardly had Batman at all - yet, we felt his presence through the insightful dialogue between Cat and the Joker.
Now, here’s what I really must commend King on, he really worked to build up to his twist. Like, you almost understand why things went down the way they did. He dropped enough hints to suggest things would not end the way we wanted. Maybe I’m saying this because I read this story too late, and I had been inundated with spoilers already, but seriously, it all makes sense.
The final chapter was too mushy for my tastes, but that’s me. It went through a highlights package of Bat and Cat’s romance and the usage of many of the seminal artworks over the decades paid wonderful homage to so many of the creators who have worked to inform this particular story arc.
I’ll also point out here that the art throughout this particular volume was breathtaking. Tony Daniel produced some seriously beautiful renders of Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle and Booster Gold - they were all so jaw-droppingly beautiful to look at. Why can’t all comic book artists create such beautiful comics?
All in all, controversial or not, I loved this volume. More for its look inside the mind of Bruce Wayne rather than anything else, but also for how splendidly King geared up the reader for every eventuality. There are no villains in this volume, only heroes.
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