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Batman (2016-) Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles

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Batman 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles Paperback – December 19, 2017

by Tom King (Author), Mikel Janin (Illustrator), Danny Miki (Illustrator),

4.6 1,129 ratings

Part of: Batman (2016-)

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Early in Batman’s career, the Joker and the Riddler would seemingly be natural allies. But each man determined that he and he alone must be the one to kill the Bat... and either would sooner burn down Gotham than be beaten to the punch line.

Untold until now, one of the darkest chapters in Batman’s history sees all of Gotham’s villains choosing sides in a battle of wits that soon turns into a full-blown war—complete with civilian casualties. In the War of Jokes and Riddles, only one side can claim victory... but the scars it leaves will shape Batman’s future as he makes the most important decision of his life.

From the critically acclaimed, best-selling creative team of Tom King (Grayson, The Vision) and Mikel Janin (Justice League Dark), the epic graphic tale Batman: The War Of Jokes And Riddles has quickly embedded itself as one of the great stories in the Dark Knight’s mythology. Collects issues #25-32.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One needs only the barest bit of Bat-knowledge to take in this epic about the Dark Knight.” —Library Journal

“Stories of this nature require a writer to slip into the personage of a genius—or in this case, three geniuses. King is one of the few writers whose cerebral approach can do it justice.” —Paste Magazine

“Smart, exciting, satisfying, and gorgeously drawn.” —SYFY Wire

"Another classic Batman tale for King and Janin.” —IGN

About the Author

Tom King is a comic book writer and novelist, best known for his work at DC Comics including Batman, Grayson and Omega Men. He often relies on his experience as an ex-CIA agent and experiences during the recent conflicts in the Middle East in his writing, especially apparent in Grayson (alongside co-writer Tim Seeley), Omega Men and in Sheriff of Babylon, published under the Vertigo imprint.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dc Comics; Illustrated edition (December 19, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1401273610
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1401273613
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.7 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #198,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #509 in DC Comics & Graphic Novels
- #2,759 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels
- #44,537 in Science Fiction & Fantasy (Books)

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4.6 1,129 ratings

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Tom King

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Tom King is the New York Times best selling author and multiple Eisner Award winning writer of Batman, Superman, Mister Miracle, Vision, The Sheriff of Babylon, Omega Men, Strange Adventures, and many others.

Prior to becoming a writer, King served in the CIA as an operation officer in the Counterterrorism Center. He lives in Washington DC with his wife and three children.

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clairetoldmetochangemyscreenname

Tremendous New Chapter from Tom King Featuring his Masterful New Origin for Kite Man (Hell Yeah!)

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2018

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Tom King continues his absolutely astonishing run on Batman with the fourth volume that picks up right from where "I am Bane" left off. With Bats having finally proposed to on-again-off-again flame Catwoman, he decides to recount the story of the War of Jokes and Riddles. This retconned story (all told via flashback narration from Bats to Cat) takes place shortly after the events of the New 52 story arc Zero Year wherein the Riddler had briefly taken over the city of Gotham and left it a would-be no mans land. The Joker and Riddler end up on a collision course over the right to be the one that kills Batman and their feud over which one of them is truly deserving to be the man who kills Batman draws in almost every other criminal from Gotham. While a lot of the action and bloodshed does take place in the background, King's story is crucial in building a new mythos around the Riddler. After Scott Snyder's New 52 run gave the classically buffoonish villain an exciting retcon, King continues to build on a meaner, crueler Riddler who can potentially match the Joker's insanity. Along with the standout two villains is plenty of great character work with Batman (including the volume's stand out issue in which Bruce Wayne attempts to hold a peace talk dinner between the two criminals which plays out in a darkly comic manner over the eight course meal) is the crowning achievement of the book: King's breakdown of the Kite Man character. A joke of a golden and silver age character, Kite Man has had a few funny cameos in the first three volumes of King's run and now we get the full, tragic origin of this villain. How King takes a punch line character like Kite Man and makes him the standout character of the book is just genius. As Kite Man would say "hell yeah!"

3 people found this helpful

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Daniel Reade

An Emotional Raw and Powerful Look at Early Batman

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2017

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In a dark bedroom, Batman confesses to Catwoman. The two are in a relationship and Batman feels there is a part of his history Catwoman must understand before they move their relationship to the next level. Batman proceeds to tell the story of an all-out war between Joker and Riddler that erupted during Batman's second year wearing the cowl. Batman reveals the measures he went to in order to end the war, and how he almost lost his soul. Within all this is the story of Kite Man, a little known comic book villain here given a deeply tragic back story.

The War of Jokes and Riddles is in the top three Batman stories I've read. Its dialogue is sharp and powerful, filled with pathos and allusions to previous Batman stories and movies. Batman is presented as emotionally vulnerable and personally aware; this is one of the most accessible versions of Batman I've seen. Somewhat strangely, then, it is perhaps the story of Kite Man ("Hell yeah!) that is one of the story's most emotionally moving parts. The individual who becomes Kite Man struggles against incredible disappointment and loss, his the story of one small individual caught in a war between titans.

In terms of critiques, I personally was not always a huge fan of the art work--it felt overly clean and computerized--and the ultimate reason for Batman's confession felt, in the end, a bit flat, but these were for me minor concerns in what is overall a fantastic comic. Especially for those who are interested in character- and emotion-based graphic novels, this is an excellent choice

8 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Not much action and weak jokes/riddles keep a great story from being fantastic.

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2018

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Negatives:
-The overall story was clever and I liked the big finish, but the weak part, unfortunately, was the choice of actual jokes and riddles they used. I wish they had outsourced those to actual comedians/puzzle writers because some of the riddles they casually included (as dialogue, not as big plot points) are ones I heard as a kid more than fifteen years ago. Ever heard the interrupting cow knock knock joke? Well you'll hear it here, too. Ever hear the riddle where you're trapped in a room with just a mirror and a table, so you look in the mirror, see what you saw, take the saw, cut the table in half, two halves make a whole, escape through the hole? Yeah they dusted that one off. It's like instead of working anything smart or new, they took material from an actual joke book. Very disappointing for the genius Riddler to use stuff from easily a decade ago.
-Batman's inner monologue that narrates the story can also be over the top melodramatic, but I've come to expect that from these bigger titles.
-a lot of the actual war and chaos and fights are described instead of shown. There is very little transition between the war starting and it being full swing with mass evacuations and the like. Also disappointing. It makes some of the story pacing jump around at maybe a third way through. Can be confusing if you're not going show enough.
-the frame story was, to me, a little cheap way to try and make it sexier by showing a girl in a bedroom every chapter or so, as though our attention can't be kept otherwise. Felt unnecessary and sometimes was more an interruption than an aid. Like, can Batman have personal conflict without there being a relationship on the line? We already know his future happiness can be effected by the choices he makes. They played this card better in the phantom movie.

Positives:
-this isn't a spoiler because you find out first thing, but part of the premise is that joker isn't laughing and is finding it hard to find things funny, even when he's trying. It was a bold choice to make a title villain act out of character the whole time, but it absolutely worked. Great way to freshen him up without having to make him do something ridiculously noncanonical and over the top. I bought it.
-when the villains do actually talk and interact, it's good fun. The first fifth is pretty serious/dramatic, but they start having fun with it the deeper in you get. A dinner scene in particular was good ole fun having villains interact.
-the art as usual was fantastic. We're all used to the main stream style of these graphic novels by now. The artists know what they're doing and I was never confused by what I was looking at. I just wish parts of the story had been more carefully crafted if they were going to invest so much talent in it. It won't be in my top five, but I will revisit it when I'm looking for some villain banter. Not for the action, though, as there's little to be found.

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Michael H

Loved it!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2022

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I haven’t read all of Tom King’s run yet. I loved his Swamp Thing 1-Shot and about to read his Grayson. I didn’t care for the start of his run with Gotham Girl. But really enjoyed this story. It was dark and I enjoyed the characterization of the Joker and the Riddler. Love Kite Man in the Harley cartoon on HBO so his inclusion, story and importance to the plot I thought was excellent. I loved the ending as well. A terrific self contained story in these issues. Even though my hopes on King’s run have been tainted by others I will finish it and certainly buy a future omnibus just to have this story in oversized format.

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Matt Mozgiel

Fun from start to finish!

Reviewed in Canada on April 12, 2022

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This book is just fun! It's big, it's loud and it's a really fun Batman story. Mikel Janin and Clay Mann deliver some great visuals over top a Tom King yarn.