By Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Guy Major (colors)
In many ways, Batman RIP is very similar to Final Crisis. Both stories are confusing, abstract, and fragmented, but because Batman’s story is only nestled within the “Bat-Universe” there’s less tabs to put on characters making the story a bit easier to follow. I put a big emphasis on “a bit” easier, because after this issue I was more lost than ever. And you know, I don’t mind being lost as long as I know where the general direction of things are headed. In Final Crisis I can’t make heads or tails of the story without consulting appendices and cliffnotes from the DC elite (thanks guys), but in Batman, Grant Morrison manages to throw us a bone every once in a while, and that I can deal with.
This issue makes me wonder if Morrison is deliberately trying to invoke the same amnesiac feelings amongst his readers as Bruce Wayne stumbles around Gotham City with the ghost of a homeless man. Eventually Wayne wanders to Park Row (the area of Gotham where his parents were killed), and here his mind is ignited (by drugs no less). The end result is something that I can only describe as just plain Silver Age flamboyance at its worst (or best, if you’re into that kind of thing).
The Black Case Studies Wayne’s done on his rogues gallery is particularly fascinating and it makes me wonder what kind of damage had been done with Wayne’s “experimentations” into madness. Robin’s wondering this too. Speaking of which, Nightwing and Robin seem to be getting nowhere in their search, yet their less than covert actions has drawn the attention of the Club of Villains ever closer (and unknowingly). I won’t reveal anything here, but wow… poor Nightwing.
Perhaps my only beef with this issue is the lack of resolution with Alfred. Though we see him for just a brief moment latter half through the issue, nothing new is explained on his past dealings with The Black Glove nor of his fate. Anyway, this issue is weird, but perversely fun? (Grade: B-)
- J. Montes
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Batman, Batman, Black Glove, Dark Knight, DC Comics, Grant Morrison, Guy Major, Nightwing, RIP, Robin, Sandu Florea, Tony Daniel
Morrison really does get a lot of leeway for his antics, especially for this Bat-tale. This whole Morrison arc has been trash. This isn’t a Batman story anymore, it’s a wacky chaos magic Grant Morrison crap-fest. Isolation chambers, drugs and meditation, bald/ Morrison-looking protagonists, obscure references to meaningless previous issues… If you’ve read Morrison’s older works, you’ll recognize that these same elements have been used before. Doing drugs and wandering around with a bum in this issue is too similar to a scene in “The Invisibles.” Even dating back to Batman 666, having a Morrison-looking character such as a bald Damien in a trench coat is no different than Morrison inserting himself in his works as the main guy in”The Filth” or as King Mob in “The Invisibles.” I can’t wait till Morrison’s run on Batman becomes nothing more but dusty trade paperbacks that are sold in used book stores. I’m over you writing for Batman, Grant Morrison. Strike one for “originality,” strike two for making readers research and read forgettable back issues, and strike three for forcing most of us to disregard every single detail of what’s going on, and making us just “feel” for the story.
To understand Batman 678, read Batman #113, in which Bruce Wayne is transported to the alien world Zur-En-Arrh, where he meets a scientifically advanced but physically less-capable version of batman…
I don’t see how this is abuse. I definitely had a fun time reading it and it’s a bit fun trying to figure out what’s going on. I can see where your venom comes from, however, and I do feel it’s misplaced. If you read my Final Crisis #2 review, you’ll know that I completely hate what Morrison is doing in that series.
If you read Morrison interviews regarding Batman, he said he’ll be delving deep into Batman lore. Some of it requires some research and homework, but at least I don’t need to dissect every single page like I did in Final Crisis.
Why are you so willing to put up with incomprehensible nonsense? You’re “more lost than ever”, and still happy as long as you’re occasionally “thrown a bone”?! Perverse is right. Would you put up with this sort of abuse from any other writer? It’s not like there’s any real fun to be had in being told you’re supposed to understand something without any way of understanding it. If I claimed to have a brilliant idea in my head, but refused to tell you anything about it (other than that I had it), would you really take me seriously? The amount of leeway Grant Morrison is given for things which make no fricking sense is astonishing.