COMICS: Tom King's BATMAN Run To Reportedly End Sooner Than Planned Amid Declining Sales

COMICS: Tom King's BATMAN Run To Reportedly End Sooner Than Planned Amid Declining Sales

After his stellar run on Batman, Scott Snyder passed the baton to Mister Miracle and Vision writer Tom King to coincide with DC Comics' line-wide reboot, Rebirth. However, big changes are looming.

By MarkJulian - May 23, 2019 08:05 AM EST
Filed Under: DC Comics
Source: Bleeding Cool
Recently, a number of comic book analysts have been tracking the declining sales of Tom King's Batman run, the one title DC Comics could count on to have a top 5 finish each month in the face of Marvel's reoccurring market share.  

Shortly after these reports began to circulate, word has come down that King's run on the title will be ending this year, possibly at issue #85, well short of the 100 issues King stated was the goal for his stint on Batman.  

King was just in the news, stating that issue #75 would kick off his City of Bane arc and that the particular issue would change Batman for a generation. In the wake of this news, whether that event will still occur is unknown.

Under King's watch, Batman was left at the altar by Catwoman and Nightwing was shot in the head by KGBeast, leading to a bout of amnesia. It turns out that these incidents and more were all machinations of Bane, whose out to take down the Dark Knight once and for all.

Then there's also the Heroes in Crisis miniseries from King, which has angered more fans than anything he's done on Batman with its controversial treatment of Wally West.

King has yet to directly respond to the news, simply offering up the below Tweet.
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Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 5/23/2019, 8:48 AM
Good. King has run the comic into the ground. I've been reading since Snyder (a legendary run) and I've honestly stopped buying the comics now under King. He just drags out his stories much longer than needed.
xfactor
xfactor - 5/23/2019, 11:00 AM
@Nightwing1015 - I just couldn’t into his run on Batman during rebirth. It was boring as all hell. Shamed Snyder and capullo left (although I know they’re working on s Batman title now I hear that’s their last run)
dracula
dracula - 5/23/2019, 8:30 PM
@Nightwing1015 - yeah want good rebirth batman stories, read James Tynion's run on Detective Comics
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 5/23/2019, 8:50 AM
Also, they better not renumber the comic again. Enough with the constant relaunches. Just continue from issue 85.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 5/23/2019, 8:50 AM
2 issues a month is too much strain for a writer and it hinders their creativity. They need to go back to once a month AND let Snyder write Batman again.
oldnoname
oldnoname - 5/23/2019, 10:41 AM
@soberchimera - It doesn't hinder creativity since the writer would still put out the same amount of issues per story arc. The problem arises (like with king) where they still insist on making their arcs last too long. Dry, decompressed comics happen with monthlies, too. King's batman could have done away with a bunch of its issues and still kept the bi weekly schedule.

Also, I used to be psyched by scott snyder but I'm starting to get turned off by his stuff tbh
shadowspider9
shadowspider9 - 5/23/2019, 5:16 PM
@soberchimera - The manga industry would like to have a word with you.
dracula
dracula - 5/23/2019, 8:31 PM
@soberchimera - Most of the writers are dong fine with 2 a months, James Tynion's run on Detective comics was great.
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/23/2019, 8:51 AM
Sure, Bendis' Superman sales fell faster than a Soccer player during the World Cup but no one is cutting him.
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 5/23/2019, 9:35 AM
@Reeds2Much - but but but Bendis is coming!





PicolasCage
PicolasCage - 5/23/2019, 9:38 AM
@Reeds2Much - is Bendis any good in general?
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/23/2019, 10:06 AM
@noahthegrand - Besides it being Bendis, the worst part about that ad campaign is it's not even the second time they've run the exact same thing.


@PicolasCage - I don't think so. He started off good, but then he got famous and he started coasting on name recognition, and between his pandering and downright creepy obsession with Kitty Pryde it's all been pretty horrible since.
oldnoname
oldnoname - 5/23/2019, 10:44 AM
@PicolasCage - He's done some good stuff with superman lately, but it's beginning to show its wear for me. His young adult character stuff (young justice, naomi,etc.) is apparently good. I don't read those though, so I can't speak on it. I think it's a net positive overall
Kyos
Kyos - 5/23/2019, 8:54 AM
controversial treatment of Wally West.

Do I wanna know? (´°_°`)
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/23/2019, 8:56 AM
@Kyos - You really don't.
Kyos
Kyos - 5/23/2019, 9:00 AM
@Reeds2Much - I'll trust you on this.
Jarvisjackrabbit
Jarvisjackrabbit - 5/23/2019, 9:12 AM
@soberchimera - I’ve only been reading King’s Batman run in streaks, but his Vision and Mr. Miracle are two of my all-time favorites.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 5/23/2019, 9:20 AM
@Reeds2Much - Was he raped by Dr. Light?
DeathSeal
DeathSeal - 5/23/2019, 9:59 AM
@Reeds2Much - I do. I haven't read a DC comic in years. I need to know what could he have done.
Beerus
Beerus - 5/23/2019, 11:33 AM
@soberchimera - No, I looked up the story line on google, and he turned Wally West into an anti-villain for a mini arc. Wally now has a body count, and has confessed to his crimes (also reveals his identity) to Lois Lane.
shadowspider9
shadowspider9 - 5/23/2019, 5:20 PM
@Kyos - Wally is the one responsible for the deaths of the heroes in Heroes in Crisis. Meaning he's a murderer now. The murders were an accident resulting from his powers going nuts. But he then covered them up.
dracula
dracula - 5/23/2019, 8:36 PM
@Kyos - he accidently killed everyone at satuery then traveled 5 days to the future killed himself, then then framed Harley and Booster so he could use his last 5 days to do as much good as possible.....Heroes In Crisis better redeem him in the final issue
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 5/23/2019, 8:58 AM
That wedding debacle killed it for him.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 5/23/2019, 9:03 AM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - bingo
GhostDog
GhostDog - 5/23/2019, 9:03 AM
I enjoyed some of his stuff, but mostly its been an up and down ride. The wedding shit was the final nail in the coffin.
SgtSoggybottom
SgtSoggybottom - 5/23/2019, 9:13 AM
His run started really strong. But honestly, I have about the last 10 issues sitting in my "to-be-read" pile....and growing. DC is doing everything in its power to get me to stop buying their stuff altogether.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 5/23/2019, 9:14 AM
Shouldn’t have ever baited the fanbase with the stunt he pulled on the Bruce and Selina wedding after all the built up. Got to say that was quite some “D&D unexpected” writing choice.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 5/23/2019, 9:15 AM
And what likely happened, is that this came from the top, over Dan DiDio's head, from either an AT&T or WB executive. From the wedding failure, to having Batman punch out Tim Drake, Tom King has failed Batman's legacy. Similar to what happened with Zack Snyder, these creators gotta be held to a higher standard.

This depressing, doom and gloom bullsh!t with beloved superheroes, isn't helping to entertain people, or make the world a better place. Hopefully Tom King's now condensed run, will finish strong, after he's wasted so much of people's time and money.💰
DeathSeal
DeathSeal - 5/23/2019, 10:07 AM
@WAKANDABATMANFOREVER - It's "Entertain people" part that they are missing and I just can understand how. I mean they literally have 1 job make it entertaining so that people buy the product. Everything else comes in a distant second. A big example now days all the political stuff. People say there has always been politics and social issues in comics, and that is very true but they made them entertaining first and the message was second. It seems pretty simple. If no one buys your book because it's not a good read, no one is going to get what ever message you want to send.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 5/23/2019, 1:19 PM
@DeathSeal - Agreed. And the thing with Batman, is that writers keep limiting him to the lovable Tragic Hero role, and readers aren't getting the full value and potential of the character.

Frank Miller's Batman definitely wasn't perfect.😂 But what I think fans overlook about The Dark Knight Returns, is how much joy Batman had being Batman. Beating the sh!t out of the bad guys, and protecting his city, HIS way. Coming from Miller, that's actually a really empowering and positive take on Batman. A dude knowing exactly what his life's purpose is, and how to get results.
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 5/23/2019, 9:25 AM
I don’t get Tom King. He writes Mister Miracle, my favorite book of 2019. Then he writes Heroes in Crisis. The worst thing I have read this year.


Kinda sad he doesn’t get to finish his story for Batman anyways.
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 5/23/2019, 1:06 PM
@noahthegrand - Not necessarily. It could be that Tom King was just simply told to wrap it up quicker, and achieve the main goal that he set out to accomplish, from the beginning. His own answer to whether or not Batman can or should, have a happy and fulfilling personal life.
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