So I was looking through old threads I started and found this one. I don't know why it died away because I really enjoyed it, so I figured I'd give it another go...
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Grant Morrison's Batman!!!
So I joined Batman with Battle for the Cowl (not Morrison) and continued into Morrison's Batman & Robin. I really enjoyed that but was obviously missing history here as I missed Morrison's earliest runs. So I went back and got all of those and over the past couple of weeks read from his first issue through the Return oneshot.
I have to say that his run is so hit and miss that it kills me. When he hits he hits hard, but when he misses he kicks you in the nuts and you don't even know why.
The Read Order:
Batman 655-658, 663-670
The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul Crossover
Batman 672-675
DC Universe 0
Batman 676-681
Final Crisis 1-3
Superman Beyond 1-2 (to better understand Final Crisis, not for the Batman story)
Batman 682
Final Crisis: Submit
Final Crisis 4
Batman 683
Final Crisis 5-7
Batman 687 (not Winnick but a good bridge between Final and B&R)
Batman & Robin 1-9
Batman 700
Batman & Robin 10-12
The Return of Bruce Wayne 1
Batman 701-702
The Return of Bruce Wayne 2-6
Batman & Robin 13-16
Batman: The Return
Batman Incorporated 1-7 (which is current)
The Good:
Damian Wayne - I know not everyone likes the new robin but I really grew to like this guy. Especially in the later half of Batman & Robin. He's one of my favorite characters at the moment. I felt he was kinda annoying and crappy at first and didn't shine until Batman & Robin and he really came into his own around B&R 9 or 10.
Dr. Hurt - Everything from his early minor appearances to R.I.P to the concluding arc of Batman & Robin, this character sucked me in. I can't help but to feel that that concluding arc of B&R is one of the best stories I've read in a long time. I liked it when I read it but I didn't get it. Having read all the build up to it now and understanding it I can't help but to feel that it was just a great read and his character creepy and fantastic at once.
Mr. Pyg - At first I thought he was just a quarky villain but in the final arc of B&R I felt that he came into his own as a creepy and interesting addition to the Bat rogues gallory. I hope to see him again but I doubt anyone other than Morrison will be able to write him properly.
Nightwing & Alfred - I'm lumping these two together because I feel that they each have been a fantastic supporting cast, stepping up as needing and just really fleshing out this book. I honestly enjoy the both of them more than Bruce himself.
The Bad:
Batman 663 - This issue could have been a great issue if it were a comic. No, it's written in prose... like a story in a magazine or novel. I tried reading it twice and both times couldn't finish it. The art snippets weren't good either and all in all this issue is just a fail for me. I read through the rest of the run and didn't notice any references to it that was necessary (other than maybe one comment about the Joker's return... which didn't have to apply to any specific issue). Of this entire run, this is the only issue I sold to Half Priced Books and I don't miss it. Apparently no one else did either because there's a good 3 or 4 copies sitting in their bin.
The Death of Batman - Not that I disliked Final Crisis, in fact I loved it, but Morrison's transition from R.I.P. to Final Crisis doesn't flow in the slightest bit. The supposed death in R.I.P. leading into his unexplained well health in Final Crisis to his actual death, and then somehow tying those two together in a random two issue arc of Batman (when Morrison wasn't writing the title) was horribly done. REDICULOUSLY bad.
And then he does nothing in the way of aftermath. He just died in Final Crisis and then in his next penned issue, Batman & Robin #1, Dick is in the cowl and training Damian and all is well. No transition at all... he leaves all that to Winnick and Daniel.
The Return of Bruce Wayne - I'm refering to the mini here. The build up to this was cool with the signs of Bruce being in the past being found by Dick and Damian, but this story itself was so confusing I've read it 3 times and still don't quite get it. I have a much better grasp on it now than I did when I first read it but it still doesn't make much sense. The individual stories of Bruce in the past were interesting but the overlapping reasoning for his jumping through time or how that works and how he actually makes it back is just crazy.
There were two other options explored at DC and I'd have taken either of them over this, and that was the Blackest Night approach and the Lazarus Pit (with the Clone).
R.I.P. - I really don't know if this fits in a
bad section as much as a "that was just wierd" section. It really did read like Morrison was high, wrote this, and then turned it in. The ultimate story when it was all finished was actually decent but it was very odd. And the fake out ending tainted the story to the fullest. As I said before though, I really liked Dr. Hurt.
The Final Word
So there you go... I've enjoyed Morrison's run through the Return. I've read the Batman Incorporated issues up to date but I want to reread them knowing the history now. I'm enjoying this read but I'm ready for someone other than Morrison. I'm eager to see his run come to an end by the end of next year. He has 3 more issues of Inc. and then a second season of Inc next year and that's it.
I'm pretty eager to check out Snyner's run after the September relaunch.
So in conclusion I'd definately recommend this run to people who like to think about their comics and reread issues over and over again, because it can be confusing in parts but after many readings reveal to be very interesting. But if you just like to just blow through entertaining comics, bag them, and never think about them again... definately not for you. This is a thinking run... and in hindsight... a darn fine one at that... but only in hindsight.
