Script: Tom King
Pencils: David Finch
Inks: Danny Miki and Trevor Scott
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Derron Bennett
Batman #20 brings us part five of the “I Am Bane” storyline, which continues being fantastic. The issue heavily revolves around a narration that turns out to be Bruce’s mother in his head. Tom King even writes in a scene with a grown up Bruce and Martha. The story and art work so well, as they have throughout this entire run. At first, I was weary of the arc all being “I Am” related, but this creative team proved that it’s merely just a naming theme and does not dictate any details about the story.
This is the last issue for the Bane arc and it wraps up the story nicely. The narrative allows the readers to know just what Batman is going through and the fact that it’s his mother narrating these thoughts shows just how important her opinion is to him, despite him not getting to truly have it. Normally, more dialogue between characters would be ideal, but Bane doesn’t need to me much of a talker when there’s so much brute force on his side. It gives Bane a nice story arc without it being all about him. Tom King really is doing an excellent job on this run of Batman.
The art is another upside to this issue. I’ve said before that art doesn’t make or break a comic for me, but when it is good, I definitely notice. David Finch did the “I Am Gotham” storyline as well and it gave the comic a solid start. Here, he continues the great work and the fight scenes between Batman and Bane are extremely intense. You can see the pain and struggle in every facial shot during the fight. Not to mention, Jordie Bellaire consistently rocks it with the colors. If only Jordie could color even more comics, I think that would make a lot of people happy.
I could probably go on and on about most of the current Batman titles, but this one is really solid. Next up will be the button issue that DC has teased for a while now. And while the Bane storyline was a great read, I’m really looking forward to what comes next.
Verdict: Buy. If you haven’t been reading Batman, you should probably get on that. Following Snyder and Capullo is no small task, but King makes it his own and does an excellent job. Plus, this issue concludes a great Bane story and he’s a tough villain to handle.
