Having made Kite Man interesting, Tom King tries to burnish the reputation of another of Batman's lesser rogues but with much less success since he goes for grimness instead of humor. Mostly, this is a heist story with Riddler and Catwoman stealing a MacGuffin from Batman and going on the run as they try to sell it to the mysterious mastermind behind the whole affair.

The narration gets tied down in tedious detail that makes sense in the story but gets to be a little much to read.

Still, Catwoman and Riddler's back and forth is fun, the Help -- a new villain with deep retcon roots -- is cool, and the art of David Marquez is magnificent. And the dumb punchline of an ending made me chuckle even as its meta aspects insulted me.

So a lukewarm thumbs up. ( )