By: Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert, and David Finch (artists), Ian Hannin, Alex Sinclair, Tony Avina, Brad Anderson, and Peter Steigerwald (colorists), Richard Friend (inker)
The Story: Sometime in the past, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson stop the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman, the Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter from using a time travel device. A weird loose end segues the reader into the story set in the present, with Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin. More weird mysteries are revealed, leading us to the future, where Damian Wayne is full-grown as the new Batman and sees the mystery fully revealed.
What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Morrison wrote a story that couldn’t have been done without Bruce being gone. He wrote a multigenerational mystery and it was well done. It had the feel of another time travel murder mystery Batman had solved from beyond the grave (America versus the Justice Society). It’s great fun to try to stay a step ahead of the caped crusader as he adds causality to method, motive and means. Morrison also did an excellent job in characterizing the villains and different heroes. Deft touches of dialogue and mood make the characters individuals. For example, Bruce, still captive, threatening a roomful of villains is classic Bruce. The Joker is truly lunatic in this story, with disjointed, jumping thinking that suits a time travel murder. In a funny nod to Batman’s occasionally campy past, he even has Bruce call Dick “pal.” Dick, on the other hand, carries a different mood as Batman. He asks about the health of the policeman’s partner. He shows happiness when he discovers a new weapon. He’s not jaded. He is no less the dark avenger, but he is not jaded and somber. We can relate to him. And Damian of the far future. You can imagine what kind of Batman he becomes. On plot, did this work? Pretty much. There is a mystery and we discover what happened and how things went, but can I really say that “Batman” solved a crime because he was on the hunt for it, or is this more a case of three men who share an identity and intersect with a temporal crime? It’s not less fun, but the sense of satisfaction at the end is not as great as if the Batmen had been running down a quarry with their detective skills.
Different art teams picked up different time periods. Was it good? Oh yeah! Tony Daniel’s work on Bruce Wayne was awesome. Batman, Robin and even the villains looked youthful and fresh, while the level of textural detail and facial expressiveness was just awesome. Quitely delivered work as beautiful as what he’d produced for the Batman and Robin series. Lush. Brutal. Silent. Real. There were a few missing pieces of costume here and there, so I wonder if he was rushed, but overall, Quitely is Quitely and details are just details. Kollins chose a much more stylistic, exaggerated, and cartoony feel for his couple of pages. Despite WCBR readers trying to change my opinion, I still find Kollins’ art unappealing and unattractive. Kubert’s art was moody, with daring camera angles and dynamic layouts. The only criticism I would have of Kubert is that sometimes his close-ups were so close that I had a hard time figuring out exactly what was happening (see the panels with the rats – are those real rats or mutated rats?). David Finch’s work on the Batman of the far tomorrow was also excellent. The book also ends with 8 gallery pages of Batman by different artists with different styles that are well worth the look.
Conclusion: Morrison and the gigantic art team delivered a fine piece of Batman lore for the collector and the fan alike. It is a stand alone book, not capping any story lines leading up to it, nor launching any for afterwards, so it is accessible to new readers and time travel stories are great fun. The cover price is heavy at $4.99, but Batman fans, whether the Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson or Damian Wayne varieties, will all be pleased with the offering.
Grade: B-
-DS Arsenault
Grade
Conclusion