Batman STINKcorporated

I'll say it again:  I am not a fan of Grant Morrison. And I still don't understand why DC chooses him over many talented other writers when he writes incomprehensible stories.  During the New 52 reboot, he was given the task of not only writing another Batman Incorporated series, but also the new Action Comics starring Superman.  I read neither.  

Now they supposedly go and kill off Damian Wayne in Batman Incorporated.  Let's discuss this.  DC chooses to do this dramatic story in Batman Incorporated and not in the Batman and Robin that I do read?  Isn't Batman Incorporated supposed to be about the many Batmans or Batman-like characters around the world?  Instead, the latest Batman Incorporated series has just been another Batman and Robin title.  WTF, DC?  Seriously.  

Whatever happened to the Batman Incorporated concept?  And why does this title even exist when it's just another Batman and Robin title?  Is Robin the Inc. in Incorporated?  

No, I'm not going to cave and start buying another freakin' Batman title just because DC decides to give Grant Morrison free reign with a title.  Kill Robin, see if I care.  But I won't read another Grant Morrison written comic again.   

Batman Overload

Batman #7 (volume two)

I just caught up reading three months of Batman (#s 5-7) where he is being "judged" by the Court of Owls.  Unfortunately, while the lead-up to the Court of Owls in earlier Batman issues was intriguing, these last few issues felt like a throwback to Grant Morrison's awful RIP story where Batman was delusional, hallucinating, etc. and the story went nowhere.  However, in the New 52, I'm not sure any of that RIP stuff even happened now.  But I do know that it's definitely re-happening in my head and giving me a headache and a case of the boredoms.  Let's hope Batman picks up soon before I drop this DC mainstay from my reading list.

While I'm on the subject of Batman and Grant Morrison, I'd like to comment that the latest Batman, Inc. series, with its first issue being released in May 2012. 

Batman Inc. #1 (volume two)

First issue summary: The series hits the ground running as BATMAN and ROBIN face off against the assassin GOATBOY! LEVIATHAN'S sinister mission revealed!

Second issue summary: This is the story of a man and a woman fighting over the heart and soul of their child. Unfortunately for the world, the man is BATMAN, the woman is TALIA AL GHUL, and the child is DAMIAN.

Where does the "Inc." in Batman, Inc. come into play?  I thought the intent was to be about an international web of Batman-related heroes?   Sounds to me like another Batman title to make money off the masses.  Because Batman, Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Batman & Robin weren't enough?  And that's not even including his appearances in Justice League or Justice League International.  Now that there's only one Batman in the New DC 52, where does he find the time?  If Batman needs a personal assistant to keep track of his calendar, I'm available.

Superman: An Alien Among Us

I just read the new Action Comics #3 and Superman #3.  

Let's start with Action with the preface that I'm not a fan of Grant Morrison.  Surprisingly, though, the writing in this issue was decent and easy enough to follow.  (I guess Morrison took a break from the crackpipe to write this issue.)   I'm disappointed, though, that neither Superman nor Clark Kent isn't liked.  Superman for being new, different, and a bit scary to the public; reporter Clark Kent for trying to right the wrongs of the city by uncovering corruption.  Neither of these characters are the characters that I've known my entire life, so it's really difficult to accept this as the "new normal."  Lastly, why is DC charging $3.99 for Action Comics when we don't get any more story than a $2.99 comic?  "Filler" that is basically marketing for other Superman-related comics in the New 52 doesn't constitute an additional $1 upcharge to me. 

I liked Superman #3 better than the first two issues of the latest Man of Steel reboot.   The story seemed to flow and move along quicker.  While I appreciate that writer George Perez gave us more story for our $2.99 in issues #1 and #2, thanks to his throwback to the 80s with his tiny panels with lots of dialogue, it also made for stories that dragged on longer than they should have.  It was also fantastic to see Nicola Scott's return to a monthly comic!  I love her detailed, realistic, beautiful artwork and I think she's among the Top 5 current comic book artists. (And Superman's ass looks fantastic on the cover.)  But Ma and Pa Kent both dead already?  What reason does Clark have to return to Smallville in the future?  His visits to Smallville were always comforting.  Now it just seems he'll be a brooding superhero a la Batman.

All in all, the enthusiasm of "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" seems lost on Superman in the New 52.  He's no longer exciting to people, he's just plain alien.

Wild About Animal Man

The new Animal Man series is one of my favorites (so far) of DC's New 52.  Jeff Lemire's new version harkens back to the days of Grant Morrison writing the title in the late 1980s.  The theme is a bit darker than your typical superhero comic book, and I'm already excited about the potential odd storylines. 

One of the strongest parts about the series is the character development.  At the beginning, we see Buddy Baker in his family setting.  He's in superhero semi-retirement, but being recognized for his new work as an actor.  His wife Ellen is there, and we can already sense some tension between the two.  There's also Buddy's two kids -- Maxine and Cliff -- both rebellious in their own ways.  

Buddy decides to jump back into action when a crazy man who lost his daughter to cancer enters a hospital wing waving a gun around other cancer-stricken children.  After saving the day, Buddy returns home to some mysterious developments...

Animal Man is one comic of DC's New 52 that I can't wait for issue #2 to see what happens next. 

Someone Needs *Their* Ass Kicked

Because of the success of the first Kick-Ass comic book limited series from 2008 (and the 2010 movie of the same name), a sequel, Kick Ass 2, was proposed.  The first issue of the second series was released on October 20, 2010.  It was extremely successful and sold out within a week. 

It's now the middle of March (that's five months later for those of you without a calendar or calculator handy) and we've yet to see issue #2.  Did someone give this assignment to Kevin Smith or Grant Morrison?  I wish I had a job where I could turn in my assignments five months late.  Can anyone even remember what happened in issue #1?  At this point, does anyone care?

Batman Inc. doesn't stink.

If you've read my previous postings, you'd know that I am not a fan of Grant Morrison's writing.  I usually suffer through the nonsense, trying to understand what's happening so I can keep up with the goings-on of Batman, holding onto that slim hope that DC Comics will pass the writing reigns of this fantastic character on to someone else.   I picked up the first issue of the new comic series Batman, Inc. (written by none other than Grant Morrison) with the intention of not reading past this initial comic.  To my surprise, I found it engaging, fun, and it provided me with a flash of nostalgia to the old 1960's Batman TV series. 

The issue features the reunion between Batman and Catwoman after his return from the "dead."  It's a highspeed romp, not unlike a James Bond movie.  Batman needs Catwoman's thievery skills and she...well, she needs her Batman.  She's very frisky with Batman throughout the comic, and he certainly doesn't resist her advances. It re-establishes their relationship as playful and sexual. 

At the end, there's a cliffhanger, much like the cliffhangers on the Batman TV series.  Questions are posed to the reader: "Will Batman survive?"  "Will Catwoman?"  Followed by: "Find out next month in...Batman, Inc.!"   That part was cleverly done and I do applaud Morrison for this flashback.  

I'm not a fan of the whole idea of Batman going international with a different Batman in every country, but this was definitely an issue that was well written, easy to follow, and entertaining. 

Batman (yawn) Returns

I picked up Batman: The Return this week.  It was a $4.99 rip-off.  Er, one-shot.  Fortunately, I expected nothing less (or better) than I received.

I imagined the return of Bruce Wayne/Batman to be this dramatic event in the DC Universe.  However, it was a discombobulated mess and, as I've mentioned in previous postings, anti-climatic.  The Time Masters: Vanishing Point mini-series, in which a small group of DC heroes were searching for Batman throughout time, hadn't yet ended.  Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series hadn't ended yet either.  Both mini-series still had Bruce Wayne floating through time toward the present.  Even the Batman and Robin monthly series written by Grant Morrison himself couldn't keep up with the schedule of Batman's return.  Suddenly, DC Comics releases Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots and he's back, everyone knows he's back, and there isn't much said or seen reunion-wise.  Scheduled weeks later?  Batman: The Return.  So now he's back and we're supposed to be...what?  Surprised?  Excited?  Emotional?  No.  More like confused.  And disappointed.  I feel like I, too, traveled back and forth in time reading these mismatched stories and series out of sequence, to no fault of my own. 

Batman: The Return contained a regular-sized comic story written by Grant Morrison which was pretty uninteresting, and didn't really contribute to much of the Batman universe other than being a marketing piece toward the end for the upcoming Batman, Inc. series wherein Batman loses the "loner" status he's always held near and dear, opting for commercialization instead (here, I'm reminded of the classic Charlie Brown Christmas animated special).  The rest of the Batman: The Return issue featured artwork and various logos considered for Batman, Inc.  It was then bound by harder stock matte finish cover.  All for the "bargain" price of $4.99.  Seriously, it was a waste of time and money, but I'm the fool in this game, because I knew it would be awful going in.  I keep hoping for the best for Batman and I see nothing but commercialization and overexposure.  

Because of the many new Bat-titles forthcoming, I'll probably reduce the amount of Bat-books I buy.  Not just for quality purposes but because trying to keep up and keep things in order will just get too complicated.

The Anticlimactic Return of Bruce Wayne/Batman

In the crappy tradition of the Batman: RIP storyline comes the return of Bruce Wayne/Batman from the timestream in which he was caught.  That's not to say that the individual stories of the Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots are crappy, but the manner in which they were released/are being released are.  First, there has been the ever-delayed releases of current issues of the supposed-monthly Batman and Robin and the mini-series Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, both by the questionably talented Grant Morrison.  

This past week, I just picked up issue #5 (of 6) of the up-til-now-boring/lame Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.  Additionally, I picked up four one-shots (yes, FOUR issues) of the Bruce Wayne: The Road Home one-shots, featuring (in no particular order) Batgirl, Red Robin, Batman and Robin, and Outsiders.  They were originally supposed to be released two issues per week, but apparently someone was slacking off.  Since they weren't labeled, I had to look at the back of each comic to see the "To be continued in..." box to figure out some semblance of order.  In each comic, Bruce Wayne appears to the other characters with no fanfare.  I take it that the people in his life already know that he's back, but we, the readers, have not seen this come about yet.  Maybe that's because DC Comics has only released issue #5 of the aforementioned Return comic.  For me, the "return" really lost its impact because of the delayed and crazy release schedules.  I'm going out on a limb here, but perhaps everything should have been pushed back to coincide?   And releasing four comics of the same storyline at $2.99 in the same week?  What about the Batman readers who are only kids who spend their allowance on comics?  Can they afford to shell out $12-$15 in a single week on a single character?  I know I wouldn't have been able to as a kid.  DC is really doing a disservice to its younger readers.  If kids aren't shown respect now, they're not going to show DC Comics respect later in life.  Those kids can grow up to be adult comic collectors, too, you know.  As an adult reader, I'm offended with being presented with all of this non-labeled material out of sequence.  I don't watch my Mad Men episodes out of order.  Why should I read my comic books that way? 

With all that said, I will say that issue #5 of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne has been the best so far in that otherwise unnecessary series.  Bruce's parents have been recently murdered, and he learns some not-so-great details about their lives that he probably wished he hadn't.  I've only read two of the Road Home one-shots so far (Batgirl, and Batman and Robin), but both were well-written and enjoyable.  Perhaps, though, the stories would have fit better into their own series instead of one-shot issues so we the readers can, again, see some sequence to the events.  I would have liked to have seen the characters' reactions/reunion with Bruce Wayne.  I'm sure some were heartfelt.  

Sadly, since the Batman: RIP storyline, I've really lost interest in the Dark Knight and his cast of supporting (and not-so-supporting) characters.  Why?  The delays, the out-of-sequence releases, the nonsense storylines, myriad of one-shots, revamping of series titles (and starting over at #1 issues), Batman rip-off characters like Knight and Squire taking over the Bat-titles, the thought (and fear) of the too-many-to-name upcoming Batman series, the concept (and title) of Batman, Inc., etc.  Maybe I'll just stick to non-Bat titles until some of the titles fail and are cancelled and Batman becomes interesting again. 

Batman Turns 700

Batman's 700th issue just came out, with Superman's 700th and Wonder Woman's 600th to follow this summer.  So why does it not feel like much of a celebration?

Batman #700 was written entirely by the questionably talented Grant Morrison.  It's unfortunate that DC Comics relies too heavily on Grant Morrison to bring Batman to the world.  His writing is so divisive; there's no middle ground.  People either really love him or really hate him.  For that reason, his stories exclude a large portion of the audience that DC is trying to reach.  

Batman #700 was divided up into short, separate tales that included past, present, and future Batmans (i.e., Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Damian Wayne, respectively).  Again, like with his "Batman RIP" storyline, I think Morrison was using hallucinogens whilst writing these tales.  The stories -- and I use that term loosely -- weren't entertaining, weren't grabbing, weren't noteworthy, and definitely weren't substantial enough to warrant placement in the milestone 700th issue of Batman.  Furthermore, they didn't fit in with any of the current Batman storylines going on.  In fact, the recent Riddler one-shot was better written, certainly a lot more entertaining, and offered a better value for the $2.99 cover price.  The rest (almost half) of the $4.99 issue was filler, featuring Batman art from different artists, a layout of the Batcave that we've most likely seen before, and um...well, that's it. 

All in all, Batman #700 was a big disappointment.  Better luck with #800, Batman.  I hope Superman and Wonder Woman receive a better treatment for their upcoming milestones. 

And now, I leave you with a message from Grant Morrison:

Batman R.I.P.

After seeing the movie The Dark Knight, I was in the mood for more Batman. With the Batman comics starting the "Batman R.I.P." storyline, this seemed like a good place to jump back in. I picked up all the comics on the Batman R.I.P. checklist, which included Batman #676-681, Detective Comics #846-850, Nightwing #147-150, Robin #175-176, and Batman and the Outsiders #11-13. I've read them all now and all I have to say is, "Huh?" I used to love Grant Morrison's wacky storylines for Animal Man in the 80s, but with Batman today, I think he's on something. Seriously. I never got into the story. And wasn't sure even how to begin. Batman of Zur-En-Arrh? Excuse me? Did you say "Surrender?" No. Batman of Zurrrrrrrrrrrr-ennnnnnnnn-arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh. Oh, okay. Can I have some of what you're on, Grant? And whatever the DC Executives are on who okayed this storyline? After that, throw in some Bat-Mite and we've got ourselves a party!

Seriously? This is what you give Batman fans who went in droves to the movie theaters this past summer and then out to buy Batman comics as a follow-up? Rabble and Bat-Mite? The Riddler makes more sense than "Batman R.I.P."