By: Grant Morrison (writer) Georges Jeanty (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Tony Avina (colors) & Travis Lanham (letters)
The Story: As he bounces through time, Bruce Wayne ends up in the Old West where he tangles with a familiar face.
What’s Good: It was kinda cool to see a Batman-Lone Ranger mash-up. I really enjoyed the character design work on this iteration of Batman: How his utility belt is worn as a bandoleer, how he “draws” Batarangs instead of a single-action revolver and how the classic cowboy duster easily morphs into a cape. Cool visual imagery!
And, the other thing I liked about this issue was … nothing.
What’s Not So Good: Boy has this series gone from interesting to a stinker in just a few issues! This issue seemed pretty disconnected from the rest of the RoBW series with the exception of the Bat-coffin and the tie-in with Thomas Wayne and the building of Wayne manor. What happened to the story thread about Darkseid and how Bruce was going to destroy the world if he gets back to the present day? Why is that cool plot thread neglected, but Morrison remembers to have more Vandal Savage? Why can’t Bruce speak in this issue? What is the deal with the Native American guy? I found myself scratching my head a LOT while reading this issue and really didn’t enjoy the experience at all.
I also don’t understand why Jonah Hex needed to be in this issue. The movie already tanked! Since Morrison was completely neglecting the main story, why not do something cool and have Bruce and Jonah play a bit of cat-n-mouse in some old canyon? That would have been a lot more fun. And I thought Gotham was an east coast town? This whole thing is written as if it took place in 1870′s Arizona.
The art isn’t doing the story any favors. I think this was the issue that Cameron Stewart was supposed to draw, but then pulled out. Maybe Stewart saw the script and suddenly remembered that he was way over-committed? Hmm…. There are a lot of awkward looking faces in this issue and the rain beating off the characters looks more like snow than anything else.
Conclusion: After a really good first two issues, RoBW has really gone into a tailspin. This issue stinks. Unless you’re committed to reading the entire series in issues, you might want to lay off and see if things improve.
Grade: D
- Dean Stell
Filed under: DC Comics Tagged: | Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne #4, BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #4 review, DC Comics, Dean Stell, Georges Jeanty, Grant Morrison, review, The Return of Bruce Wayne, Tony Avina, Travis Lanham, Walden Wong
Totally agree with the review. Despite the potential and build up this issue, unfortunately, stank.
I’ve enjoyed the first three issues of RoBW immensely, however, had this been the first issue of the series, I would not have continued. The artwork is primarily what failed this issue. It looked rushed in both the figures and the composition of panels. I have a feeling a lot of this has to do with Jeanty filling in for Stewart at short notice. His work in Buffy has been far superior to what was in RoBW #4. A battle between Jonah Hex and Batman is always a cool thing so I won’t fault that. I also liked the inclusion of Vandal Savage.
That being said Ryan Sook is up for next issue and I would guess the quality will be superior to this issue.
Glad to hear I have some company on this one.
Just got around to reading this.
What the hell happened? This is NOT a good comic book in any way, shape, or form.
1. The artwork is horrible. The action scenes are badly done and everything looks amateurish, with little detail.
2. Why did Morrison decide to deviate from focusing on Bruce? Bruce gets not a single line….and instead we get possibly the most random ensemble cast I’ve ever seen in a Batman comic.
3. What the hell was up with the dialogue? So many lines were either unintelligible, or just really off.
4. Half-baked attempts to reference a gambling theme that was never established.
5. Conversational dynamics that were non-existent. Seriously, so often I felt that these characters weren’t actually conversing. Instead of replying to one another, they were just throwing random lines around. There wasn’t any organic flow at all.
With the whole Jonah Hex thing…..I don’t have any problem with him being in the comic. In fact, I think it’s kind of cool, and I was excited at the end of last month’s issue. What I don’t like is wasted potential, and that’s what this was. Nothing unique was done with Hex and he could’ve been anyone else. It was a completely wasted opportunity and he just ended up being sort of “there.”
Oh, and the narration that popped up now and then was gloriously over-written.
And also, what a completely random ending. Way to bring in a character in the last couple of pages and expect us to really care.
Well said, Alex! I’d welcome someone explaining why this was a good comic book.
Hurray for intelligent discourse.
You’re an idiot