I Think I'm Going Bats: Review Of THE BUTTON

BATMAN/THE FLASH: THE BUTTON DELUXE EDITION.  (DC Comics, October 2017)  Hardcover, 104 pages.  ISBN # 14-127644X/9781401276447.  Writers: Joshua Williamson, Tom King.  Artists:  Jason Fabok, Howard Porter. Collects Batman #21-22, The Flash #21-22.

 

Summary from the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

THE NEXT PIVOTAL CHAPTER OF THE DC REBIRTH!

 

An unseen force has been manipulating our world. The only clue they left behind is a strange bloodstained yellow button. Where did it come from? Who left it here? The button could easily be the most important object in not just our world, but in every world - which is why the Reverse-Flash will kill to possess it!

 

In BATMAN/THE FLASH: THE BUTTON, all-star creative team Joshua Williamson, Tom King, Jason Fabok and Howard Porter answer the critical question poised at the start of Rebirth: Who's been watching the DC Universe? Collecting BATMAN #21-22 and THE FLASH #21-22, the road to DOOMSDAY CLOCK begins here!

 

 

My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

     I’m normally skeptical of cross-over stories in superhero comics. Too often, they are longer than they need to be, and I often suspect a ploy by comics publishers (looking at you, DC and Marvel) to get readers to buy multiple books and titles they normally wouldn't read. Putting my cynicism aside, I really enjoyed THE BUTTON cross-over story in Batman and The Flash titles. 

 

     For one thing, it's only four issues and contains a lot of story with no padding. It's highly creative and a well done collaboration between two skilled writers in King and Williamson. The art styles of Fabok and Porter are similar enough to provide consistency and fluidity to the visuals, which helps readers avoid reacting to abrupt changes in art when reading this as a whole. 

 

     The other notable landmark here is the deft handing of time-travel, a plot device often mucked up and confusing in many comics stories. Not only do the characters travel in time past and present, but they also visit alternate versions of reality - - all done with clarity and no confusion. 

 

     This is a neat lead-in to the current Doomsday Clock maxi-series, and while not essential to the reading of that piece, it does hint at the forces at work in the background of both books to influence events. Recommended.