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Batman (2016)
Batman, Vol. 11: The Fall and the Fallen
Bruce and Thomas Wayne, THE BATMEN OF TWO WORLDS!
Batman has uncovered the mastermind behind his recent (and not-so-recent) troubles: Bane. But Batman's closest allies refuse to believe Bane is active again, and even after battling the villain himself, puzzlingly, there's no evidence to prove that anything out of the ordinary has even happened.
With no one on his side, Batman joins another Batman, a version of Thomas Wayne from another reality. He and his "father" will journey across the desert to rebuild the Wayne family--but how far into the unthinkable is either of them willing to go?
In Batman: The Fall and the Fallen, the newest collection of Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King's groundbreaking run, has Bane broken Batman in ways that can never truly be undone? King (Mister Miracle) is joined by artists Mikel Janín (Grayson) and Jorge Fornes (Thunderbolts) for this 11th volume, collecting Batman #70-74 and Batman Secret Files #2.
Batman has uncovered the mastermind behind his recent (and not-so-recent) troubles: Bane. But Batman's closest allies refuse to believe Bane is active again, and even after battling the villain himself, puzzlingly, there's no evidence to prove that anything out of the ordinary has even happened.
With no one on his side, Batman joins another Batman, a version of Thomas Wayne from another reality. He and his "father" will journey across the desert to rebuild the Wayne family--but how far into the unthinkable is either of them willing to go?
In Batman: The Fall and the Fallen, the newest collection of Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King's groundbreaking run, has Bane broken Batman in ways that can never truly be undone? King (Mister Miracle) is joined by artists Mikel Janín (Grayson) and Jorge Fornes (Thunderbolts) for this 11th volume, collecting Batman #70-74 and Batman Secret Files #2.
168 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
March 30, 2020
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
This was pretty much an extension of Knightmares, and Knightmares went on about 5 issues too long, in my opinion.
So more of that trippy shit was not a welcome sight for me.
Is whatever happening in this volume actually happening in Batworld? I don't honestly know.
And then there's the goddamn song (Thomas Wayne singing Home on the Range) and weird folktale (The Animals in the Pit) playing out over top of the action & other dialogue.
Oh, for fuck's sake please stop doing that.
It's annoying and pretentious when coupled with two dudes wandering around in the desert wearing helmets with pointy ears on them.
So, by the time I got to the equally nutty Batman Secret Files #2 (that stuff with Hugo Strange was just a HUGE pile of whatthefuckisthisshit) I was over it. I mean, the Secret Files issue really wouldn't have been a bad addition if the rest of the volume wasn't a whacked out bag of nonsense.
I'm probably going to be in the minority, but I was incredibly disappointed by everything but the art. <--because that was mostly great.
I just...I have no idea what's happening in this title. I even went back and made sure that I hadn't skipped over a volume accidentally or something and I guess I need to read Heroes in Crisis: The Price and Other Tales. And I suppose that means I need to read Heroes in Crisis? What the hell?
WHAT THE HELL?!
Fuck. Is it not possible to just read ONE title anymore?
Don't answer that.
This was pretty much an extension of Knightmares, and Knightmares went on about 5 issues too long, in my opinion.
So more of that trippy shit was not a welcome sight for me.
Is whatever happening in this volume actually happening in Batworld? I don't honestly know.
And then there's the goddamn song (Thomas Wayne singing Home on the Range) and weird folktale (The Animals in the Pit) playing out over top of the action & other dialogue.
Oh, for fuck's sake please stop doing that.
It's annoying and pretentious when coupled with two dudes wandering around in the desert wearing helmets with pointy ears on them.
So, by the time I got to the equally nutty Batman Secret Files #2 (that stuff with Hugo Strange was just a HUGE pile of whatthefuckisthisshit) I was over it. I mean, the Secret Files issue really wouldn't have been a bad addition if the rest of the volume wasn't a whacked out bag of nonsense.
I'm probably going to be in the minority, but I was incredibly disappointed by everything but the art. <--because that was mostly great.
I just...I have no idea what's happening in this title. I even went back and made sure that I hadn't skipped over a volume accidentally or something and I guess I need to read Heroes in Crisis: The Price and Other Tales. And I suppose that means I need to read Heroes in Crisis? What the hell?
WHAT THE HELL?!
Fuck. Is it not possible to just read ONE title anymore?
Don't answer that.
February 6, 2020
Oh nooooooooooo! Tom King’s Batman continues to nosedive in quality in Volume 11: The Fall and the Fallen - what an unfortunately fitting subtitle!
Bane’s gonna break Batman. But not if Batman can break Bane! He’s gonna break Bane. Batman’s gonna break who? Bane! Wait - what’s Batman going to do to Bane? Break him! But not if Bane’s gonna break Batman! Then again Batman’s gonna break Bane. Batman break Bane break Batman break break break Baneman Bat Bat break Breakman bane bat bane break…
Fuck me. Did Tom King suffer severe head trauma and/or a stroke while he was writing this? A lot of this book was just loopy as all hell. Repetitive, dumb, pointless rubbish that summarised over and over the series storyline to no effect. Batman escapes Bane’s nightmare machine in Arkham, goes into the break cycle, then goes on a jolly in the desert with Flashpoint Batman (his dad from another dimension with major pinkeye) who’s wearing the desert outfit Batfleck wore in Batman v Superman.
That desert sequence was the only part of the book that somewhat engaged me because it’s so dreamlike and weird that I couldn’t tell at all where King was going or what it all meant. That and Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes’ art which was fan-nan-men-al. Loved it. Janin is becoming one of the best artists Batman’s ever had.
The book closes out with some tossed off short stories: Joker’s trying to unmask Batman, Psycho Pirate’s got a cult, Riddler’s riddling, Hugo Strange is being strange, and Bane’s breaking someone other than Batman for a change. Each one was unmemorable, uninteresting and pointless - tacked-on filler.
I really hope this isn’t the standard the title goes out on but, sadly, for now, Tom King’s Batman, Volume 11: The Fall and the Fallen maintains its crapitude set in the last book.
Bane’s gonna break Batman. But not if Batman can break Bane! He’s gonna break Bane. Batman’s gonna break who? Bane! Wait - what’s Batman going to do to Bane? Break him! But not if Bane’s gonna break Batman! Then again Batman’s gonna break Bane. Batman break Bane break Batman break break break Baneman Bat Bat break Breakman bane bat bane break…
Fuck me. Did Tom King suffer severe head trauma and/or a stroke while he was writing this? A lot of this book was just loopy as all hell. Repetitive, dumb, pointless rubbish that summarised over and over the series storyline to no effect. Batman escapes Bane’s nightmare machine in Arkham, goes into the break cycle, then goes on a jolly in the desert with Flashpoint Batman (his dad from another dimension with major pinkeye) who’s wearing the desert outfit Batfleck wore in Batman v Superman.
That desert sequence was the only part of the book that somewhat engaged me because it’s so dreamlike and weird that I couldn’t tell at all where King was going or what it all meant. That and Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes’ art which was fan-nan-men-al. Loved it. Janin is becoming one of the best artists Batman’s ever had.
The book closes out with some tossed off short stories: Joker’s trying to unmask Batman, Psycho Pirate’s got a cult, Riddler’s riddling, Hugo Strange is being strange, and Bane’s breaking someone other than Batman for a change. Each one was unmemorable, uninteresting and pointless - tacked-on filler.
I really hope this isn’t the standard the title goes out on but, sadly, for now, Tom King’s Batman, Volume 11: The Fall and the Fallen maintains its crapitude set in the last book.
January 3, 2020
On the one hand, I admire the audacity of what King’s done over the course of this run; it’s been a long and intricate set-up for a psychologically perplexing payoff. On the other hand, I’m kind of ready to just watch Batman brood, solve a discrete mystery, and punch someone in the face and call it a day while Alfred chastises him for getting too many bruises. I need a break from all this Bane insanity.
March 16, 2020
Tom King seems to be stuck in a time loop with Batman and Bane taking turns breaking each other. By the way, why does every Bane story have to involve one of the two of them getting their back broken? I don't like how after the Knightmares arc, it's still difficult to differentiate in this if things are really happening or if it's a dream. The story got much better in the last two issues with Bruce and Thomas travelling through the desert. This ends with a bunch of decent short stories from Batman: Secret Files #2.
February 10, 2020
"Your mother just could not quit. She had faith, this eternal faith in you. That you could see the horrors. And still dream of a better world."
Volume 11 of Tom King’s remarkable Batman run is a transition volume, a set-up for the finale, the City of Bane, (which may take two volumes?). Not much actually happens here beyond a recap and a clarification thst Bane has been behind everything bad that has happened in King’s whole run, ending in the (almost) complete physical and psychological decimation of the very human being Bruce Wayne. The volume opens with The Riddler. I had heard that Batman writers hate to write Riddler stories because they have to then write riddles, but this is not a problem for King, who uses the idea of the riddle to reflect on the nature of story and meaning itself as enigma, puzzle, riddle. Know thyself! What are you made of?!
So the opening pages here on The Riddler feature a poem—a kind of riddle—and ends the volume with a kind of extended Batman nightmare—another kind of riddle. The Bane of Bat’s existence briefly throws a series of villains at him such as Freeze, Scarecrow, Two-Face, and then throws him into the desert; why? To continue to break him down in preparation for the Final Showdown.
And then we are in the desert, with Bruce Wayne’s dead father, Thomas Wayne, a.k.a. the Flashpoint Batman, and we spend some time reflecting on, once again, what kind of life Bruce has lived after watching the murder of his own parents. We revisit a story from a Russian horror book his father had given him, featuring a story, “The Animals and the Pit.” It’s a bloody horror story where no one seems to come out of the pit alive. This experience in the desert would seem to be King’s version of Batman as Jesus in the desert, trying to figure out who he is, fighting his inner demons. Bat’s The Dark Night of the Soul. There’s a sense that things could still get worse before they get better.
So it’s obviously not an action volume, but a psyche volume, which is largely what the whole run has been about. King’s writing is as usual very good, very assured, assuring us he has known where every piece of this epic puzzle/riddle fits. And the artwork of Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes befits one of the great Batman runs of all time. I think King may be wearing out his welcome, though, here, so it is time to finish.
Volume 11 of Tom King’s remarkable Batman run is a transition volume, a set-up for the finale, the City of Bane, (which may take two volumes?). Not much actually happens here beyond a recap and a clarification thst Bane has been behind everything bad that has happened in King’s whole run, ending in the (almost) complete physical and psychological decimation of the very human being Bruce Wayne. The volume opens with The Riddler. I had heard that Batman writers hate to write Riddler stories because they have to then write riddles, but this is not a problem for King, who uses the idea of the riddle to reflect on the nature of story and meaning itself as enigma, puzzle, riddle. Know thyself! What are you made of?!
So the opening pages here on The Riddler feature a poem—a kind of riddle—and ends the volume with a kind of extended Batman nightmare—another kind of riddle. The Bane of Bat’s existence briefly throws a series of villains at him such as Freeze, Scarecrow, Two-Face, and then throws him into the desert; why? To continue to break him down in preparation for the Final Showdown.
And then we are in the desert, with Bruce Wayne’s dead father, Thomas Wayne, a.k.a. the Flashpoint Batman, and we spend some time reflecting on, once again, what kind of life Bruce has lived after watching the murder of his own parents. We revisit a story from a Russian horror book his father had given him, featuring a story, “The Animals and the Pit.” It’s a bloody horror story where no one seems to come out of the pit alive. This experience in the desert would seem to be King’s version of Batman as Jesus in the desert, trying to figure out who he is, fighting his inner demons. Bat’s The Dark Night of the Soul. There’s a sense that things could still get worse before they get better.
So it’s obviously not an action volume, but a psyche volume, which is largely what the whole run has been about. King’s writing is as usual very good, very assured, assuring us he has known where every piece of this epic puzzle/riddle fits. And the artwork of Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes befits one of the great Batman runs of all time. I think King may be wearing out his welcome, though, here, so it is time to finish.
July 18, 2019
The Fall and the Fallen feels like the volume of final preparations and table-setting, and it should, since it's the penultimate arc of Tom King's Batman run (on the main series at least). I still dig it a lot, though like with the previous volume I don't have that much to say about this particular arc — it's a book where many pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place, and at this point I'm just rolling with it and waiting to see where King takes us next on this wild and amazing journey through the Batman psyche. City of Bane promises to be phenomenal, and I can't wait to find out how the best Batman run since Grant Morrison wraps up.
April 15, 2022
Frustratingly bad. This book has a lot going for it. Mini Batfam reunion? Check. Great art? Check. A chance at deep, emotional storytelling? Check. And yet, King still manages to make a mess of it. This is just a lot of incoherent rambling paired with art it absolutely doesn't deserve
August 23, 2019
Ah damn this probably weakest volume in the entire run.
So Batman after his Knightmares is not having a good time. It actually opens interesting enough with Batman breaking out of Arkham. In doing so he slaps around some of his good old villains. The next few volumes is his complete breakdown, jumping around in time, and spending a little time with his pops. It all comes down to breaking him down before he goes pretty much insane.
I think the idea is good. I see what King is doing. I enjoyed the first issue here a lot of him breaking out of Arkham. The rest? Kind of boring and all over the place. The big plan by Bane was obvious, the loss of his Batfamily is weird, and the ending is kind of meh. The secret file is also a waste of time, don't bother reading it.
I usually enjoy King's work A LOT. Most of his Batman volumes are some of my favorite ever. This? This is pretty darn weak. A 2.5 out of 5.
So Batman after his Knightmares is not having a good time. It actually opens interesting enough with Batman breaking out of Arkham. In doing so he slaps around some of his good old villains. The next few volumes is his complete breakdown, jumping around in time, and spending a little time with his pops. It all comes down to breaking him down before he goes pretty much insane.
I think the idea is good. I see what King is doing. I enjoyed the first issue here a lot of him breaking out of Arkham. The rest? Kind of boring and all over the place. The big plan by Bane was obvious, the loss of his Batfamily is weird, and the ending is kind of meh. The secret file is also a waste of time, don't bother reading it.
I usually enjoy King's work A LOT. Most of his Batman volumes are some of my favorite ever. This? This is pretty darn weak. A 2.5 out of 5.
November 26, 2020
I've loved lots of the stuff King has written but this one was a huge swing and an embarrassing miss for me. As usual with a high profile book at one of the majors the art is decent if not outright great, but the story? Yikes.
OK, the gang's all here! Now let's not do anything worth mentioning
OK, the gang's all here! Now let's not do anything worth mentioning
April 19, 2020
I love Tom King's dialogue and individual scenes, but I really, really dislike the characters of Bane and the Flashpoint Batman, and even King's fine storytelling is doing nothing to justify their existence in my mind. And the sequence where Bane's incredibly complex and unlikely plan is laid out step-by-step just about ruins King's whole Batman run for me. But I'm just going to chalk up that misstep to DC causing King to rush the ending of his big story by kicking him off the title prematurely. Unfortunately, the next couple volumes will probably be tainted by that whole what-might-have-been perspective.
December 27, 2019
Smart, yet stupid. Deep, yet empty. Beautifully written, yet stilted. Not the worst written in his run or my least favorite, but definitely a step back.
January 5, 2022
This was an intense volume!
We see batman go to his home and meet Thomas and Bane and well the drama there and later on meet his family but by then he has broken down and well what he does to Tim is something and you can see the point where he can't identify whats happening and then comes his father to the rescue and the walk in the beach or a camel ride but this is where we see the entire story come together and its well put and how Bane was behind it all and Thomas motive for assisting him and now what his plan is and then comes Bruce and the finality and its epic and I loved it whole-ly, the art is great and the writing comes together well and sets up one of the biggest arcs in Batman and so it should be a fun read!
There are backstories most of which are trash but the one with the riddler is interesting and then the one with Bane origin and meeting some guy in Latin america while full of potential was a waste and doesn't add to the larger story at all so you're better off skipping it. So yeah a great 100 pages then the boring secret files story.
We see batman go to his home and meet Thomas and Bane and well the drama there and later on meet his family but by then he has broken down and well what he does to Tim is something and you can see the point where he can't identify whats happening and then comes his father to the rescue and the walk in the beach or a camel ride but this is where we see the entire story come together and its well put and how Bane was behind it all and Thomas motive for assisting him and now what his plan is and then comes Bruce and the finality and its epic and I loved it whole-ly, the art is great and the writing comes together well and sets up one of the biggest arcs in Batman and so it should be a fun read!
There are backstories most of which are trash but the one with the riddler is interesting and then the one with Bane origin and meeting some guy in Latin america while full of potential was a waste and doesn't add to the larger story at all so you're better off skipping it. So yeah a great 100 pages then the boring secret files story.
December 23, 2019
Hating Tom King's run seems to be the 'fun' thing to do lately, for some reason. I'm still loving it, personally. Knightmares was a bit of a misstep, but The Fall And The Fallen gets right back on track, as King's long-form Bane story ramps up with Batman spiraling further and further away from himself and the people he cares about until it forces him into the arms of the one person he should be staying away from - his father, the Flashpoint Batman.
The first three issues of the volume are the spiral, and the second two after that show what happens when Bruce and Thomas Wayne finally start working together. Spoiler alert: nothing good. The journey that King is taking Bruce through is really quite harrowing at times, and this volume is almost the precipice of it all. If you think Bruce has fallen as far as he can go, you've got some major surprises coming.
Also included is Batman Secret Files #2, which are mostly little vignettes about all of Batman's foes, the ones that he battles through in issues #70-71, and how they're going to play into his final downfall in the next two volumes. It's a nice little addition, but none of the stories are particularly essential.
On art for the main five issues are Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes, who split each issue fairly evenly. Their styles are quite different, but they mesh surprisingly well. King's run has been full of excellent artists, and these guys are two of the best. The Secret Files has a few different artists thrown in, not least of which is Eduardo Risso, who deserves a special mention as ever.
The Fall And The Fallen is a painful volume to read at times, but it's all just more set-up for what's about to hit. Batman may think he has it sussed, but he'll be surprised - and I bet you will be too.
The first three issues of the volume are the spiral, and the second two after that show what happens when Bruce and Thomas Wayne finally start working together. Spoiler alert: nothing good. The journey that King is taking Bruce through is really quite harrowing at times, and this volume is almost the precipice of it all. If you think Bruce has fallen as far as he can go, you've got some major surprises coming.
Also included is Batman Secret Files #2, which are mostly little vignettes about all of Batman's foes, the ones that he battles through in issues #70-71, and how they're going to play into his final downfall in the next two volumes. It's a nice little addition, but none of the stories are particularly essential.
On art for the main five issues are Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes, who split each issue fairly evenly. Their styles are quite different, but they mesh surprisingly well. King's run has been full of excellent artists, and these guys are two of the best. The Secret Files has a few different artists thrown in, not least of which is Eduardo Risso, who deserves a special mention as ever.
The Fall And The Fallen is a painful volume to read at times, but it's all just more set-up for what's about to hit. Batman may think he has it sussed, but he'll be surprised - and I bet you will be too.
January 17, 2020
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
The Dark Knight has faced challenges of all kinds in his life, surmounting them with more bravery and modesty than humankind could ever possess. Among the obstacles he’s faced, the physical strain that comes with every act of heroism remains quintessential to understanding the pain and suffering that is carried around by Gotham’s greatest saviour. But only some know how to get inside Bruce Wayne’s head and destroy him psychologically. To play mind tricks and to exploit his greatest fears by manipulating his emotions is not something that even Batman could overcome with his gadgets. Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King teams up with artists Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes to continue another chapter in Batman’s saga, where he faces a traumatic, personal, and psychological battle against an unlikely foe.
What is Batman: The Fall and the Fallen about? Collecting Batman issues #70-74 and Batman: Secret Files #2, this story arc picks up where things were left off as Batman wakes up from a oneiric contraption forcing him into going through nightmares somewhat related to his recent repeated experiences of trauma. From a miserable wedding event to the tragic shooting of a beloved member of the Bat Family, the Caped Crusader finds himself in an ugly and vicious cycle filled with rage and confusion, all orchestrated by one person who wishes to break the Bat beyond the physical torment that was once inflicted on him. At the heart of this devastating plan dealt out by unseen hands is the return of Bruce Wayne’s father from the Flashpoint Universe. While the mystery alone is killer, it’s what’s about to unfold that will be the most mortifying.
Pseudo-poetic and literary, writer Tom King falls down a pit of repetitious creativity with his latest story arc embracing his greatest flaws, notably his choppy story-telling. Told in five parts, The Fall and the Fallen begins by having Batman steamroll through countless villains who are doing Bane’s bidding right in Arkham Asylum. Right when the story begins to spark some sort of originality, it falls back on flashbacks as it presents his current emotional state which is at the heart of the chaos occurring right inside his mind. While it is impressive to see Batman and Bane—a villain that writer Tom King has obsessively used during his comic book run; while failing to impress me so far—go at it with no restraint, the dialogue and narration is ultimately distractful and blurs the reader in his ability to understand what’s actually going on or if the story is even going anywhere, especially when some of the key character’s have incomprehensible motives.
Despite this story arc serving as a recapitulation of the past events that have slowly cracked Batman’s self-control, it is essentially the foundation of the upcoming two-part event that will mark the end of writer Tom King’s Batman run. Nonetheless, the artwork remains stellar with artists Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes working together in unison. While the former was assigned the present time events where things seemed to occur without any confusion, the latter seemed to have scenes that were more likely to be illusions or nightmares lived by Batman, with no assurance that they actually occurred. Fornes’ artwork is also a bit thicker, heavier, and less detailed to accentuate the action scenes, while Janin’s visuals excelled in splash pages with a touch more emotion and profoundness to convey personal significance.
While it felt like the whole story was being dragged through the mud—or just on the back of a horse in the middle of a desert—there were some interesting ideas conveyed in the form of a metaphor that can be understood in the childhood books that Bruce Wayne loved to read. His understanding of it allows for an interesting interpretation of his way of life. Unfortunately, the final issue, Batman: Secret Files #2, was an unnecessary addition filled with short stories where villains try to take down Batman. It is safe to say that none of these stories by various different writers and artists had anything significant to contribute to the story afoot.
Batman: The Fall and the Fallen is a messy yet artistic arc setting up the pieces to an inevitable confrontation told through literary metaphors.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
January 7, 2020
Probably the weakest volume of Kings run so far
March 1, 2020
Batman Vol 11: The Fall and the Fallen feels incomplete. Like they didn't include the finishing issue. And that's what brings it down I think, because King is going somewhere and I'm excited to get there but we've been setting up and planting for City of Bane since the beginning, and Bane's plan started in issue 59 when Bruce got abducted to be put into a knightmare state. By the end of this collection we're at 74. 15 issues since Bane has taken an active role in his plan and it feels very slow, like it didn't need this many issues for me to see Batman kick Banes ass. Getting the pace of this run out of the way I enjoyed the volume even if I think it's incomplete. And sure comic runs until they finish will always feel incomplete and I'm just waiting for that point where we'll have the whole thing and can look at it from that perspective. But right now issue 76 is the latest and I believe he's writing until 85 so 9 more issues then a 12 issue maxi series. 21 more issues until we can look at the whole story. And within that hundred issue story by issue 70-74 we're just now seemingly entering the endgame.
It's a bit of a contrast to say Scot Snyder or Grant Morrison where you have this whole bigger thing going on but you also get really satisfying trade paperbacks of the collected issues. Take say Death of the Family or Batman R.I.P, both of them are in a larger narrative that gets played into later and is used as setup, but both of them are fucking satisfying on their own and can be taken as that. I don't think you could take this one on it's own as the groundwork has been laid elsewhere and it's still laying groundwork for a bigger story in the next two volumes.
A bit of an anticlimax? Yes. Is King's Batman still worth reading? Yes. Is it going to improve when we have the whole story? I think so.
3 stars for now, if you've read this far you're a saint.
It's a bit of a contrast to say Scot Snyder or Grant Morrison where you have this whole bigger thing going on but you also get really satisfying trade paperbacks of the collected issues. Take say Death of the Family or Batman R.I.P, both of them are in a larger narrative that gets played into later and is used as setup, but both of them are fucking satisfying on their own and can be taken as that. I don't think you could take this one on it's own as the groundwork has been laid elsewhere and it's still laying groundwork for a bigger story in the next two volumes.
A bit of an anticlimax? Yes. Is King's Batman still worth reading? Yes. Is it going to improve when we have the whole story? I think so.
3 stars for now, if you've read this far you're a saint.
January 2, 2020
Sadly, one of King's weaker volumes. We get the inevitability of Batman's escape (#70) followed by a really confusing chronological issue (#71) and then worst of all an issue-long exposition dump (#72). It only really takes off in the last two issues (#73-74) which focus on Thomas and Bruce at odds with each other. (Wait! This is the Flashpoint Thomas Wayne? Not the Simon Hurt Thomas Wayne from Morrison's run!? I'm so confused. Still, it's quite interesting.)
Unfortunately, the book then anti-climaxes with some mediocre "Secret Files" by many authors who are not Tom King.
Unfortunately, the book then anti-climaxes with some mediocre "Secret Files" by many authors who are not Tom King.
October 20, 2020
A fast and enjoyable enough read focusing on how Batman loses Gotham.
The narrative flow is off and the "extra" stories at the end don't add much to the main story.
MY GRADE: B.
The narrative flow is off and the "extra" stories at the end don't add much to the main story.
MY GRADE: B.
February 10, 2020
What's even going on here? Knightmares predictably featured an extended dream sequence for Batman courtesy of Bane. Now, in The Fall and the Fallen...we're still in the dream? Maybe? Why are Batman and Thomas Wayne in the desert? Why is Martha Wayne's corpse involved?
I was happy to see "Batman Secret Files" issue at the end because it meant I didn't have to deal with Tom King's nonsense voiceovers anymore. Not that the secret files were any great shakes, but they at least made sense. The only reason The Fall and the Fallen isn't a one-star volume is the art. It continues to be world class.
I was happy to see "Batman Secret Files" issue at the end because it meant I didn't have to deal with Tom King's nonsense voiceovers anymore. Not that the secret files were any great shakes, but they at least made sense. The only reason The Fall and the Fallen isn't a one-star volume is the art. It continues to be world class.
March 8, 2020
It's finally the beginning of the end for King's run. This volume contains the Scooby-Doo moment, where someone in-story goes over the entire run from the beginning and explains how it was all planned and why. It's needed, because it has been a long and winding road, but wasn't that satisfying to me. Possibly because I already knew who was behind it al because I've only been reading the TPBs and from the news media covering the book. It's also a little confusing because it jumps back and forth between two different time periods, nearly every other page.
Looking forward to reading the conlusion, but I know I'll have to read the whole thing straight through to see if it really comes together well.
Looking forward to reading the conlusion, but I know I'll have to read the whole thing straight through to see if it really comes together well.
January 17, 2021
Volumes 10 and 11 were a big let down, so I’m hoping this series ends on a high note.
September 26, 2019
2.5 stars.
A bit of buildup, a bit scattered, and a bit confusing.
A bit of buildup, a bit scattered, and a bit confusing.
February 10, 2020
I'm going to be really annoyed if I find out the whole Catman-Batman romance was just part of an elaborate plan to bring down Batman (which is hinted at here). This whole "plot" doesn't have a lot of weight to it--Bane is behind it all, but no one will believe Bruce/Batman, because Bane is pretending to be weak and broken (and incarcerated)? And somehow, he decides/announces that Batman is broken? Hmm, when did this happen exactly? And where did this alternate-universe Thomas Wayne come from? This is a pretty disappointing volume from King. About the only thing going for it is some strong Mikel Janin artwork. And then there's the inclusion of Batman Secret Files #2, which doesn't really add anything to the whole mixture.
January 8, 2020
Kinda meh. Arc is way too weird, lacks of action and it doesn’t feel like a preview of the next big event: City of Bane. Art is still on fleek tho.
January 14, 2020
This is a very solid collection. I am loving what Tom King is doing with Batman and can’t wait until the next episode. Loving it.
January 23, 2020
Ehhhh. Hard to find much to enjoy in this arc.
July 11, 2020
Batman has a mental breakdown after his marriage with Catwoman falls apart. And he's obsessed with Bane....lol
September 25, 2020
More of the terrible 'storyline' from the preceding volume.
October 23, 2020
Here’s some more Batman adventures! As I mentioned in my review of volume 10 the last volume felt like a dreamy filler but here in this volume it picks up from volume 8 after Batman was knocked out in a plot by Bane. This volume collects Batman issues number 70-74 and Secret Files #2.
The main story in this volume is the story arc “The Fall and the Fallen.” Batman after being drugged and caught in a machine he breaks out and fights a whole host of villains to escape from Hush, Croc, the Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze and Riddler, etc. That was pretty cool even as it’s pretty quick. After escaping here in this book Batman calls his fellow caped heroes including Nighwing, Catwoman and Robin together to go on a path to resist Bane. But his team are also not sure if Batman is ok. The rest of the book we do see Batman being unhinged while at the same time we also see Batman discover the wide conspiracy of Bane that is so deep it goes back to the very first issue of Batman’s Rebirth’s reboot. We also see Batman’s father Thomas appear in this story as alive in a costume similar to Batman but Thomas Wayne is a lot darker than his son Brue. Thomas is actually from an alternative world in which Bruce’s parents weren’t killed. We see Thomas dragging an unconscious Batman through the desert and fighting desert assassin and when Batman wakes up he’s trying to figure out what’s going on with the desert trip and the mysterious coffin that the horse is dragging. It turns out that Thomas is trying to do something not very wise and dangerous that can affect the very identity of Batman and his motivation and Batman has to fight his father. As the two fights the conversation recounts Bruce’s childhood and an exploration of how his childhood has affect Batman today. Well done!
The Secret Files #2 in this volume is a collection of short stories by various writers and illustrators with the first being Joker having a captured Batman and trying to figure out to unmask Batman but it’s harder than he thinks. The second short story title “He Helps Us” with Batman freeing people held hostage in a cult lead by a villain name Psycho-Pirate. There’s another short story about the Riddler which a psychologist is trying to understand the Riddler’s thinking of his relationship in fighting Batman.
Overall I enjoyed this better than the last volume since it makes more sense as a narrative and also there’s action.
The main story in this volume is the story arc “The Fall and the Fallen.” Batman after being drugged and caught in a machine he breaks out and fights a whole host of villains to escape from Hush, Croc, the Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze and Riddler, etc. That was pretty cool even as it’s pretty quick. After escaping here in this book Batman calls his fellow caped heroes including Nighwing, Catwoman and Robin together to go on a path to resist Bane. But his team are also not sure if Batman is ok. The rest of the book we do see Batman being unhinged while at the same time we also see Batman discover the wide conspiracy of Bane that is so deep it goes back to the very first issue of Batman’s Rebirth’s reboot. We also see Batman’s father Thomas appear in this story as alive in a costume similar to Batman but Thomas Wayne is a lot darker than his son Brue. Thomas is actually from an alternative world in which Bruce’s parents weren’t killed. We see Thomas dragging an unconscious Batman through the desert and fighting desert assassin and when Batman wakes up he’s trying to figure out what’s going on with the desert trip and the mysterious coffin that the horse is dragging. It turns out that Thomas is trying to do something not very wise and dangerous that can affect the very identity of Batman and his motivation and Batman has to fight his father. As the two fights the conversation recounts Bruce’s childhood and an exploration of how his childhood has affect Batman today. Well done!
The Secret Files #2 in this volume is a collection of short stories by various writers and illustrators with the first being Joker having a captured Batman and trying to figure out to unmask Batman but it’s harder than he thinks. The second short story title “He Helps Us” with Batman freeing people held hostage in a cult lead by a villain name Psycho-Pirate. There’s another short story about the Riddler which a psychologist is trying to understand the Riddler’s thinking of his relationship in fighting Batman.
Overall I enjoyed this better than the last volume since it makes more sense as a narrative and also there’s action.
August 14, 2019
What the hell is it with King? Why does he like going over old ground? I can understand why he does it. For example, Batman's escape from the bowels of Arkham is in representation to Bane's attack on the Asylum, when he was looking for Batman and Psycho Pirate. But to have it so precisely copied was irksome. I like new, I want new, but King does love to regurgitate.
Then we have the entire King Batman story arc narrated to us in a condensed format. This works better as it unfolds the entire story from a new perspective... However, I don't fully agree with the conclusion you're given. Knowing the characters I don't think this in-depth planning and carrying out is feasible. However, it is a comic and the tales are meant to be fantastic, so I'll let it go.
Then we are back to the morbid little Russian fable of the cute furry animals down a pit who take to eating one another... down to the bones. This is my least favourite of the stories in his volume, though it does go to show everybody has an ulterior motive. I now the story is to parallel what's happening in the pit but do we need the whole fable again?
Each of these, though vexatious to me, works. They work even better with the artwork of Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes (though at times, these two artists styles don't work together). For me, it feels as though King is trying too hard to be clever and it comes across a tad precocious.
The other annoying element of this story is The Worlds Greatest Detective. Batman does not deserve this mantle. Surely, with the amount of planning needed to get to this broken Batman, there would have been a clue or two. I have always loved the fact that Batman was human under the cowl. King's Batman though is habitually human. Hardly has he ever thought with anything other than his fists, throughout this series. I think that's the reason I enjoyed the previous volume, Knightmares, so much - he was back to deducing situations.
All that said, it's still a good story, and it's the artwork that adds strength to the ongoing story, rather than the narration and dialogue. So I would recommend buying the book as I hope this is a minor lull, in what is still looking to be an epic tale.
Then we have the entire King Batman story arc narrated to us in a condensed format. This works better as it unfolds the entire story from a new perspective... However, I don't fully agree with the conclusion you're given. Knowing the characters I don't think this in-depth planning and carrying out is feasible. However, it is a comic and the tales are meant to be fantastic, so I'll let it go.
Then we are back to the morbid little Russian fable of the cute furry animals down a pit who take to eating one another... down to the bones. This is my least favourite of the stories in his volume, though it does go to show everybody has an ulterior motive. I now the story is to parallel what's happening in the pit but do we need the whole fable again?
Each of these, though vexatious to me, works. They work even better with the artwork of Mikel Janin and Jorge Fornes (though at times, these two artists styles don't work together). For me, it feels as though King is trying too hard to be clever and it comes across a tad precocious.
The other annoying element of this story is The Worlds Greatest Detective. Batman does not deserve this mantle. Surely, with the amount of planning needed to get to this broken Batman, there would have been a clue or two. I have always loved the fact that Batman was human under the cowl. King's Batman though is habitually human. Hardly has he ever thought with anything other than his fists, throughout this series. I think that's the reason I enjoyed the previous volume, Knightmares, so much - he was back to deducing situations.
All that said, it's still a good story, and it's the artwork that adds strength to the ongoing story, rather than the narration and dialogue. So I would recommend buying the book as I hope this is a minor lull, in what is still looking to be an epic tale.
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