REVIEW: ‘Batman,’ Issue #67 – Knightmares Part 5

Batman #67 is published by DC Comics, written by Tom King, with art by Lee Weeks and Jorge Fornes, colors by Lovern Kindzierski, and letters by Clayton Cowles. The issue continues the “Knightmare” arc. We previously left off with Selina finding out from the Questions just how deep Batman is in Bane’s illusion and how this time around, without her, he might not be strong enough to escape.

The book picks up with Batman as he tears through the streets of Gotham and then into the sewers chasing a mysterious figure in a trench coat. The majority of the pages rely on Weeks and Fornes’ artwork and have little to no dialogue. By little, I mean about four panels contained a piece of dialogue, adding up to about 15 boxes of dialogue if you include internal monologues, in this 24-page comic.

I would like to preface this with: I have read Mister Miracle, so I understand how convoluted and mysterious King’s storylines can get. That being said, I have no idea what is going on in this issue.  Now, I am concerned I have no idea what is going on with this story arc. This is a bi-weekly comic so I remember the previous issue fairly well. I assume I will end up liking this arc a lot more in trade form but right now, this issue has completely changed the pacing, and not in a good way. I do not understand the point of the twist and furthermore, it is taking far too long to come back to the main villain of this story, Bane. We have not seen Bane in a Batman comic in quite a while.

Weeks and Fornes’ art was breathtaking, which it has to be, since it carries the entire comic. The story is told through his action sequences and although the panel design is pretty classic it also utilizes dynamic elements and fits the scenes that are on the page. Kindzierski’s coloring sticks to deep blues creating a darker color palette that reminds me of older Batman comics which fits well with Week’s art which also is reminiscent of older comic design. Additionally, Cowles’ lettering adds a lot of movement to the scenes especially since there is so much dialogue missing. This helps the pages to feel less empty.

This isn’t a bad comic but considering the ones before, the placement seems odd. It might make sense later but the pacing of this overall arc and considering it was divided in the middle with a Batman/Flash crossover event, albeit a good crossover event, makes it really hard to stay interested and follow along.

Obviously, as a Batman fan, I am not going anywhere but I do hope something happens soon. The last issue was fantastic so the creative choices made here make me feel like I missed an issue, or four. The pacing here, the lack of dialogue, and the overall wonkiness over the actual plot movement are hard to overlook, even if it is a Batman comic.

Batman #67 is available now everywhere comic books are sold.