Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding by Tom King; Mikel Janin was interesting enough while I was reading but ultimately mostly forgettable and I skim read most of it. I do want to give this book another try when I'm not in a reading slump though.

I have been a long time reader of the Batman comics and I also am a fan of the Batman and Catwoman romance. Even though the ending wasn’t what I had expected, the storyline was stellar. King has written a classic!

A mostly okay, if not predictable, volume. I think I expected more from it overall so I was bit disappointed. The plot was just okay but I enjoyed the art.

Picking up in the middle of a long story arc is difficult, but Booster Gold is an interesting introduction to this volume, as he attempts to reverse the ... problematic doesn't seem a strong enough word, but problematic ... effects of his time traveling on Batman and Catwoman. The results are spectacularly bad for everyone involved, reaching a midway point with a scene in which an alternate Bruce Wayne is surrounded by dead and dying bodies, including (SPOILER) his mother, father, Selina Kyle, Dick Grayson, and Booster Gold himself. Cut to the next issue, and an understandably rage-y Bruce Wayne is now on a revenge spree, bringing back both Booster and Booster Gold's time-traveling companion, Skeets, in order to reverse the additional damage Booster Gold has done while trying to reverse the *previous* damage he'd done. Basically, don't let Booster Gold near anything good, people, because despite his usually good intentions, he somehow manages to keep adding layers of screwup. Anyway. Once I understood the time-traveling alternate-universe aspects to this volume, the Booster Gold/Bruce Wayne storyline was interesting. The artwork was also quite good, with Tony Daniel's take on Selina Kyle being kind of pug-nosed and pugnacious. I'm a fan. She's very cute.

Then the artist shifts, and a new mini-arc begins, this time as Catwoman and Batman prepare to marry. I'm really confused about whether they're getting married as their alter-egos or not, but the story isn't particularly focused on that. Instead, it's focused on presenting a really powerful little Joker story about family and damage and belonging. Mikel Janin's Selina Kyle is less cute and pugnacious than she is more traditionally attractive, but the story and art complemented each other well regardless of this shift in take, and perhaps moving away from "cute" was a wise choice given the end-of-life reminiscing everyone's doing here.
The final third of the volume is taken up with the wedding, by way of flashback, and a montage of various artists' takes on moments in Kyle and Wayne's relationship. I tend not to like this kind of a mashup, in part because it relies entirely on internal monologue running across the page and no dialogue or action to pull readers through; I also like consistency in artistic style, and this feels like, I don't know, a bunch of cool people all pitching different takes rather than actually building a story. But that's just my personal feeling about it.
Overall, this was an interesting, if scattered, addition to the Batman canon. Not much humor, but a couple of times the seriousness pays off really well.

There isn't much this is needed to be said. If you have been following the series, you probably saw this coming. It's a good read, especially, as I said, if you have already been reading this on-going story arc.

one of the most hyped events in comics last year was Batman's marriage to Catwoman. This collection are the stories leading up to that monumental event. Characters from all over the Bat-Titles make appearances. The final result, may not be exactly what Bat-fans were hoping for, or maybe it was. Either way, its a must read for Batman fans.

ARC from Netgalley.
This epic Volume is divided into three parts. All deal with very serious issues and will have ramifications in the future...
"The Gift" - Booster Gold is at it again. Trying to find the perfect gift for Bruce and Selina on their upcoming wedding day, he went back in time to stop Thomas and Martha Wayne from being murdered. While life turned out well for Bruce... Penguin became President, Joker became a gang of murderers, Selina became a only-communicates-in-MEOWs serial killer, Dick Grayson became Batman instead but with a love of guns and stopping criminals, etc. Overall, he totally botched it all up, typical Booster style. It does get fixed in true time-travel fashion, but Bruce is instead forced to relive it all again.
"The Best Man" - Over the past couple of issues before this Volume, we've seen Joker lament and act out over not receiving an invite to the wedding. We all know that he believes that Batman can't do anything without him, but this time, Selina gets involved too. A fight between Batman and Joker breaks out and ends with both of them passed out in the wreckage of a church. As Joker talks to himself, he reminisces over their battles, and continues when Catwoman comes and then the both of them lay exhausted. (Q: Does Joker die at the end here? Not really sure.)
"The Wedding" - Taking place during the #50 issue, many artists come together to show the history of the two characters and their romance, all with both the preparation for the actual ceremony, AND the reading of letters to each other. Bruce's letter details how he knows that Selina can change and how her life with him will get so much better now that they see each other for who they really are. Selina's letter talks a lot of them and their love, but ultimately ends with her leaving him at the altar, not wanting to take away Gotham's protector, believing that Batman will suffer when Bruce is happy.
Poor guy...

Where can the title go from here? Will they try again, or is this the end of their relationship? I can't wait to see what's next!
High recommend.

This is a strange volume even for a Batman comic. Booster Gold wanted to give a gift to Batman/Bruce Wayne so he saved his parents which screwed up the future so he had to try and return things to "normal." Then Joker works very hard to get to Batman and kill him and Catwoman before the wedding. And then they decide on a date but they never seemed to have confirmed the location, so each thinks they were stood up by the other. And was this all a plot by Bane?

Thanks to DC and Netgalley for the early release! Mr. Tom King is a very talented writer and it shows here. This is an alternate timeline, but is a nice diversion where we can learn a little more about the characters that we all think we have learned everything about already! There is a joker arc that I particularly enjoyed, hard to write about his story, and any stories in this book without spoiling, so I will not! There are some nice moments between Batman and Alfred, emotional, as most of The Wedding arc is. The dynamic Between the Bat and The Cat is the most compelling of course, it tugs at the heartstrings and then it goes somewhere that I will not spoil. Worth picking up for Tom King's prose and emotional ending. Thanks to all!

I did not find the story as interesting as other Batman graphic novels I have read but the graphics were fantastic

This is volume seven of Batman in DC’s Rebirth era. The volume collects Batman issues # 45-50.
The first story is the longer story of those in the volume and is titled the Gift. It takes place in some kind of alternative universe in which Bruce Wayne is not Batman, his parents are alive and Dick Grayson is the Batman instead. Other Batman character are also living different kinds of lives away from being superheros such as Todd, Duke and Catwoman. The story center on a character whose name is Booster Gold . As told in the finale Booster Gold is really a guy name Michael Jon Carter a former football star at Gotham University with a tragic backstory that ended his football career which led him to become a hero. He is from the future but goes back into time to try to give Bruce Wayne a “gift” that will fix things back to the way we know it. It is an interesting story though readers can be easily thrown off if one wasn’t paying careful attention to the storyline. I did a look more research into Booster Gold and found out his backstory also included him having a Legion of Super-Heroes flight ring and Brainiac 5's force field belt that he acquired from a museum display. It is kind of neat to see DC tying the Legion of Super-Heroes into the newer comic books.
The second story is titled “Your Big Day.” It was a little too dark with me with the Joker sadistic side being directed towards a random stranger all because the Joker wanted to be invited to Batman’s wedding.
The third story is titled “The Best Man.” It is a story of Joker being demented and dialoguing with Batman and Catwoman about the wedding through a forced hostage situation which is his means of getting their attention. Like the second story this one was a little too weird for me.
Then there is the wedding. It is a well done artistic story telling. As the story is told from the perspective of Batman and Catwoman there is a review of past DC Comics artwork featuring the Bat and the Cat throughout DC history. I thought it was neat seeing how comic art changes throughout the decades and how Batman and Catwoman is rendered by different artists. I wanted to read this volume for the wedding portion of the book and I enjoyed it though I must say it is brief compared to the adventures that came before the wedding in this volume and the previous volume. Yet it ends in a way where you see the possibility of a new adventure that would follow in future issues which builds anticipation.
NOTE: This book was provided to me free by DC Comics and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

A bit odd to have time traveling and other “wedding “ stories. Overall the characters and dialogue is very good. That and the art saves this book.

I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.

This was one of the most awaited seminal events of the DC universe and it did not disappoint. Honestly I can not say much more about it without spoiling too much. So good! Overall it is exactly what I have come to expect when reading the DC universe.

Gah, the ending, you're killing me DC. Somehow, someway, I wasn't spoiled for the ending, and now...

You do all that DC, I go from being sure that I hated the whole Bat/Cat thing, and then you slowly but surely convince me. You freaking convinced me DC, something I thought you'd never be able to do, and then... that.

I'll stop there. And, there were parts of the TPB that I liked. The Booster Gold issue with him 'fixing' everything, and then, *snort of laughter* having to 'fix' everything again.

Not to mention a story that I was very surprised that I liked that was basically between Joker and Catwoman. It had a lot of good stuff in that one.

But, the end of the TPB sorta soured me on the other parts of it unfortunately. Still, two out of three big stories deserves more than a one or two stars, so, a middling three it is.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.

In the illustrated dictionary, under misguided, is an image of this book. In order to ramp up the appeal of a surprise wedding, which both goes counter to, and affirms, about seventy years of comix history, we have Booster Gold yacking, and doing a "what might have been a decent time story, but in fact really isn't" bonus tale. In order to make the whole event more appealing, we get the least visually attractive Joker (seriously, I didn't know if it was the man himself or Jacob Rees Mogg) yack and yack his way to another defeat, surprise, surprise – OR DOES HE?! And then we have what I already saw elsewhere; the end. Meaning this volume is utterly, utterly devoid of worth. Seriously – just google "did Bats marry Cats" and find out what the whole thing was in aid of, and save yourself this gothic monstrosity. This really is a case of easy come, easy go. Now let me go. (Not magnifico, as if you needed telling again.)

'Batman, Vol. 7: The Wedding' by Tom King with art by Tony S. Daniel and Mikel Janin seemed like it was going to be a grand story in the long tradition of comics. I felt weirdly let down by all the hype. Let me explain why.

Two words: Booster Gold. The first half of this volume is a story of Booster Gold trying, and failing, to deliver the appropriate gift to Batman for his wedding. The problem is that Booster is in the wrong timeline and he keeps getting stuck. Worse still, he keeps screwing things up in prime Booster fashion. Which has little to do with the upcoming wedding.

The back half of the volume is a bit better and features things I'd read in the deluxe wedding album like the Joker showing up at some random soul's house because he's convinced his wedding invite will show up there. And there's the big issue leading up to the wedding with lots of big art panels by artists past and present.

Overall, I liked it, but I guess I was looking for more actual wedding story. The art is solid enough. I just wanted more epic and less mundane.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

From the publisher: It's the marriage of Batman and Catwoman! The wedding of the century is here in BATMAN VOL. 7, written by the critically acclaimed Tom King!

The day has finally arrived: the nuptials of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. But their road to wedded bliss won't be easy. With visitors from this time and beyond, the Bat and the Cat will have to undergo even more trials and tribulations before they walk down the aisle.

Written by generational talent Tom King and featuring art by Mikel Janín, BATMAN VOL. 7 features one of the biggest milestones in DC history! Collects BATMAN #45-50.

I really enjoy Tom King's Batman, and have been fascinated by the storylines leading up to the wedding of Batman and Catwoman. It has been a terrific character study of what Batman/Bruce Wayne would be, and is, like when he is happy. This latest collection, Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding, is the culmination of a story that began 50 issues ago.

The first of two story arcs in this collection focuses on Booster Gold, a time-traveling superhero from the future who is often looked at as comic relief. With Batman getting married, Booster is thrilled to get him the perfect wedding gift - Booster saves Bruce Wayne's parents from being murdered. Unfortunately, Booster has a butterfly effect moment, and the present is no longer one he recognizes. Oh, all the major players are present, but they are very different from the regular timeline. This three part story looks at one consequence of Batman being happy, and it is definitely a bittersweet story. I also wonder if this storyline is connected to Booster Gold's role in the Heroes in Crisis series going on currently in the DC Universe.

The other story arc is a Joker story, because who is Batman without the Joker? The arc starts with a lot of action, but quickly turns into a very deep conversation between Catwoman/Selina Kyle and the Joker. Both characters are very philosophical about their past and engage in a fun give and take; however, the circumstances of this conversation are anything but normal. In the end, once again King brings the narrative back around to Batman's happiness.

The final chapter of this book isn't an arc; rather, its the wedding day itself. King employs a narrative that unique in comics, at least in my opinion; he tells the story through intercutting a letter from Bruce to Selina with a letter from Selina to Bruce. As the couple approaches the wedding, they talk to their own confidantes, but the driving forces are the letters. And the story builds to an unexpected, but not surprising, ending that again taps into the theme of Batman's happiness. I want to mention the artwork in this particular chapter as well. The main story art is interspersed with one page pin-ups of classic scenes or designs of Batman and Catwoman drawn by a who's who of artists. These pages contain the texts of the letters, and this contrast with the regular art is a nice piece of storytelling from King and the artists.

I love Tom King's Batman stories. They are getting better and better each time out. And Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding is no exception. What might have been a cheesy event story took on a depth that I wouldn't have imagined when the wedding idea was announced. At this point, I would highly recommend any Batman stories by Tom King, and would give The Wedding my highest recommendation. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The aspect of happiness in a world that is governed by conflict and doom and gloom sometimes unbalances the truth of why people look up to superheroes. They live by different rules which means that the simplest pleasures are beyond them simply because of their psychological make up or the circumstances that formed them. In “Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding” [Tom King & Mikel Janin/DC/176pgs], the simple essence of a wedding is what creates an unusual progression in the three stories portrayed in a different time line, one in a philosophical permutation on death, one within a distracted love in a church and finally in the actual act of matrimony which in the ironic way in which it is shown balances it all out in a primitive but archetypal manner. All but the final story uses humor both broad and gallows based to get its point across. The first story with a would-be superhero from the future named Booster Gold is the most broad and the most silly since, like other recently successful superheroes, he breaks the fourth wall when he needs to. It shows that only by suffering does Batman truly exist but in his happiness the rest of Gotham becomes a cesspool ruled by evil. Gold’s rants are stream of consciousness and truly plays to the irony. He simply wants to get Batman a wedding present he will like. The 2nd story involves The Joker wanting to be invited to Batman’s wedding so he lures him to a church. The art of The Joker in this particular story at times is haunting especially a look of glee in an apartment but then a moment where he and Batman are kneeling before the altar in a church as it explodes. The remainder of the story which involves a near death conversation between The Joker and Catwoman where Batman is likely dead is esoteric in the best sense simply because in the dialogue the nature of their interdependence on each other is undeniably clear. The final tale shows the two lovebirds [Catwoman & Batman] growing close in an series of imagery but it is the final moments which won’t be revealed here that are the most poignant and tragic. “Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding” works because it is uneven and because it offers something new in its purview in trying something different.

B+

By Tim Wassberg

In Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding, Tom King has pulled off a gripping will they/won't they tale, an volume markedly touching and sweet and certainly controversial. The end upends everything we know about King's Batman run so far, as a good middle point should, seemingly tying the Batman comic to the heart of the Rebirth era. Included also here is the story "The Gift" -- fraught, emotional, bloody, and serving as a backdoor pilot for King's Heroes in Crisis -- and "Best Man," a brilliant Joker story in its own right. King delivers things we've rarely seen in a Batman story before -- sixteen pages where Batman only says one word, fourteen pages of the Joker and Catwoman chatting as they bleed out. We need more books like Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding on the stands, more books that confront and challenge rather than delivering the same old thing, if we want to see Superman, Batman, and the rest of the DC pantheon continue another 80 years.

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Well this was just absolutely beautiful, and equally heartbreaking. I am truly at a loss, as this has knocked the wind out of me.

As with all powerful relationships, what we’re really confronting is the conundrums of who each person is. Who is Bruce? Who is Selina? What brings these two people together? Can it work? — and perhaps most pressingly for Batman fans, can Bruce truly be happy with Selina and still remain the Dark Knight? Characters both likely and unlikely seem to have an abundance to say on this subject.

The artwork featured in the wedding issue itself is absolutely gorgeous, a layered, visual “love letter as narrative” that powerfully encapsulates and chronicles this union.

King’s acute lyricism for the relationship itself should be celebrated for years to come. No matter what missteps he may or may not inaugurate for these two over his remaining tenure as lead writer for this series, his dazzling capacity to enunciate the delicacies of time and feeling between Bat and Cat, whom we all have watched love each other in book, film, and television for eighty years, is undeniable.