This was good fun, though if you're not a fan of jumping around from one timeframe to another you may find it heavy sledding. And as they move about the city they’re hunted by an inexperienced Batman who knows two things: One, he’ll need to be better than he’s ever been to catch these two psychopaths; two, Penguin survived and if he gets to them first, it’ll be a bloodbath like Gotham’s never seen. In Batman's second year of his crusade against crime, while he is still changing and perfecting his craft and the art of the vigilante, the cowardly lot of criminals in the city are changing as well-giving rise to darker, specialized rogues.

There are even times that I forget Batman entirely because I’m so tuned into the other parts of this story. Overview: In Batman: Killing Time, during year two of Batman’s career, Batman stands against Catwoman, Riddler, the newly created villain, the Help, and the US Government in a plot to control a mystical artifact connected to the slaughter of hundreds. Should we be surprised that this comes from a guy who *volunteered to join the CIA* and serve in Iraq? Riddler and Catwoman betray Penguin, leading to Penguin sending an ancient but absolutely deadly villain, the Help, after them.

January 22: In Arkham, Riddler plans the job, saying it needs four people – Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin (money), and a Coordinator who makes the trains run on time. It makes sense though when the narrator is revealed at the end - in typical Tom King fashion, he’s resurrected a relatively unknown character from the DC back catalogue. W) Tom King (A) David Marquez Catwoman, the Riddler and the Penguin join forces to pull off the greatest robbery in the history of Gotham City. I think he’s the best new addition to Batman’s rogues gallery we’ve had in a while and hope to see him in more stuff in the future.

Editor’s Note: This collected edition includes all six issues of the miniseries Batman: Killing Time, which had its first issue released in March 2022 and the final issue released in August 2022. Just as the characters within Killing Time gain and lose nothing from chasing after the eye, its readers gain and lose nothing from consuming it. Visually, there's nothing better in DC's lineup right now (World's Finest under Dan Mora is a close tie).

Unless I missed out some brilliant mindscrew, this is just Tom King and the editor screwed up the date right? Two of the new, colourful rogues, Riddler and Catwoman, have just pulled off the heist of the century, robbing Wayne-Gotham Securities, getting away with 1. However, it does have some really entertaining scenes, an interesting non-linear form of storytelling and a great ending, that I found quite meaningful.

Throughout the six issues, whilst you may have the main narrative of these villains trying to resolve this heist that has gone wrong, as well as a plethora of new characters such as the Help, who seems like a formidable foe for everyone he confronts, the story keeps going off in these detours. These moments fit the tone of the narrative so far, and wrap up each character in a way that feels accurate to their goals in the story and their own personalities.While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because the story works well enough as it is, I do think that Batman doesn’t get enough moments to shine. We don’t find out the significance of this until the end not only for its connection to the mystery item but also in understanding the point of the story. April 17: Batman fights Ra’s, seeking the Help, who vanished, and explains why he kept the Eye Ra’s gave him, tormented by it. It's one of King's more palatable stories, but without much of a deeper meaning that he occasionally adds.

The narrative is non-linear, but fluid in how each action clearly demonstrates a cause and effect that propels the plot forward. The art manages to balance the inherent silliness of a Batman comic without losing any of its edges, which is crucial for any Batman story and this one in particular.This month it’s just me reviewing the title, as Casper is on vacation, so this review won’t contain it’s usual dual tone both in color and conversation. The onemonopea start out filling the panels, loud and large and close to the fight, but gradually they get smaller and smaller, leading the audience away from that and on to the reveal waiting for us at the end, and I think it just works really well as a subtle way of also guiding the reader, alongside the art, narration, and paneling. A bit more violent than your typical Batman story but has some aspects of Indiana Jones/Pulp Fiction. February 26: Croc, motivated by his former girlfriend Vera Angleton’s disgust at his current form, decides to be the patsy for Riddler’s plan. I really liked this, but there were many times where the script seems to have been added to the panels as narration and that bugged the hell out of me.