Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - Batman R.I.P.

Now, gentle reader, we come to the climax of Grant Morrison’s run on the main Batman title. He’s been seeding elements of this story since the first issue of this run. Does it read any better after having re-read the entirety of his run? Let’s find out.

Batman R.I.P. – Midnight In The House Of Hurt


• And the opening line says volumes. “You’re WRONG! Batman And Robin will NEVER DIE!” The line has no context though, so I’m not really sure when it is, or who it’s responding to.
  
  A nice introduction to Doctor Hurt, and the Club of Villains. Doctor Hurt is the doctor responsible for the three ‘replacement’ Batmen who recently troubled Gotham. The third of which claimed that he’s the devil.
  
  A typical night in Gotham? Batman and Robin chasing down a wannabe psycho calling himself “The Green Vulture”.
  
  Now here’s something I missed before – Honor Jackson, the homeless person who finds Bruce Wayne, and gives him the ‘Bat Radia’ is there to witness the end of this pursuit. The face is reflected in the Batmobile’s window. Is he really there, or is that in Bruce’s head?
  
  In an interview, I think Morrison said he wanted more of a return to the 70’s/80's ‘love god’ Batman. Check.
  
  The exposition between Robin and Alfred lays out most of the salient points of the last couple of story arcs. A real nod for folks reading this in trade.
  An explanation that the Thogal ritual that Bruce underwent is a rehearsal, while living, of the experience of death. Thus allowing Batman to plan for death, and beyond it.
  
  This invitation to the Danse Macabre is what really starts the plot moving forward.
  Arkham, with all the doors open and a lot of blood. I’m not sure if that really dawned on me the first time I read this issue.


Reading this closer on the heels of the rest of the run has really helped me in noticing things. The first read through, I really had no idea who the Club of Villains was, and I’m not sure if I remembered who Doctor Hurt was. But now, I remember having caught reference to Caligula during the Club of Heroes arc, and I think someone mentioned Pierrot Lunaire as well. I can pick out most of the nemeses of the various members of the Club of Heroes now, I think.


• Batman R.I.P. - Batman In The Underworld
  
  I guess the lull in crime has left Bruce with plenty of time to ponder the mystery of The Black Glove. It probably doesn’t hurt that he’s starting to run into the henchmen of the Club of Villains.
  
  John Mayhew is clearly connected to the Black Glove through the movie he made. I’m not sure how Bruce knows that Doctor Hurt figures in though.
  
  Another deduction on Bruce’s part that I can’t quite follow. He suspects that the Black Glove may go back and involve people his parents knew. Mayhew’s movie was about a group of ultra-rich gamblers who corrupted and split up two lovers. Is that supposed to be about Thomas & Martha Wayne?
  
  The opening panel of this page shows a roulette wheel, alternating black and red. I’m not sure if there’s further meaning besides Jezebel Jet (a black woman with red hair) of the colors, but they were also mentioned in “The Clown at Midnight” where the black ad red petals of flowers would combine to form a deadly toxin. Red and black was also an important theme in DC Universe #0, which replaced the final issue of Countdown.
  
  Doctor Hurt reveals that he implanted a trigger phrase into Batman at some point while he was in his care. The whole point of the fight with Le Bossu’s henchman earlier was to expose Bruce to a drug that will make him more vulnerable to the trigger.
  
  The big confrontation between the tabloid publisher and Gordon helps establish the possibility that Doctor Hurt might be Thomas Wayne, and that Bruce’s childhood might have screwed him up more than his parents’ death. It even alleges that Martha’s family suspect Thomas Wayne faked his death to kill Martha.
  
  I can’t help but wonder if Bruce suspects that Jezebel is involved with The Black Glove. He even specifically says that he thinks this is the way this currently-hypothetical nemesis would work, undermining his belief in his mission and his faith in his cause.And Batman’s computer finally picks up what I noticed immediately when I started re-reading this run, all the ‘Zur-En-Arrh’ graffiti throughout Gotham. That’s the phrase that triggers his breakdown, moving us on to the next issue.
  

Batman R.I.P. - Zur-En-Arrh

• In the last issue, Batman commented that one of the black casebooks was missing.
  Right off, we find out where it’s gone. Tim is paging through it, reading of
  Bruce’s quest to understand the madness that he faces.
  
  Bruce Wayne awakens in a pile of garbage belonging on the homeless Honor Jackson. But
  Jackson claims he knows Bruce from somewhere, probably meaning his brief
  appearance in the first issue of R.I.P.
  
  As he comes to, Bruce begins to remember some of his encounter with Doctor Hurt. Of course, Hurt knowing the cave’s location and Bruce’s secret identity could just as easily be the result
  of the experiment he as part of, or it could be that Hurt really is Thomas Wayne.
  
  With Batman neutralized for the moment, the Club of Villains is targeting his associates. Caligula’s goons ran into Nightwing, while Pierrot Lunaire and Swagman tried to take out Robin. And then there’s the chick, but I don’t know if I ever saw a name for her.
  
  Bruce joins Honor Jackson on an ‘odyssey’ across town, little knowing that the goal is to beg for money to buy liquor. Before leaving him, Jackson imparts him a gift, and some instruction.
  Following Honor’s words, Bruce (still amnesiac) finds his way to Crime Alley, and a smack-dealer named Lone-Eye Lincoln.
  
  Nightwing is apprehended by Le Bossu, and incarcerated at Arkham as Pierrot Lunaire.
  
  Triumphant in the ruin of the Batcave, Doctor Hurt dons the Bat-man costume Thomas Wayne once wore to a costume party, furthering the notion that the two are the same.
  
  Muttering to himself, Bruce sews a new Batman costume from brightly colored scraps of cloth. He declares himself to be the Batman of Zur-En Arrh, and the busted radio given to him by Honor Jackson (who could be a ghost or a hallucination) to be the Bat-Radia.
  
  This was a crazy one, but it starts to make sense as the story progresses.
  

• 
  Batman RIP - Miracle On Crime Alley
  
  Batman’s been transformed. Now wearing a motley of brightly colored rags, Batman’s searching out the members of the Club of Villains.
  
  This new incarnation of Batman is either brilliant, insane, or both. He hears Gotham City itself speaking to him through its gargoyles. He sees how Gotham, and Crime Alley in particular are in reality a machine designed to create the Batman.
  
  Now we get some exposition to let us know exactly where the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh came from. It’s an emergency backup personality Bruce created in case he fell victim to psychic attack.
  
  Good to know that Robin’s still loose, and able to call in the cavalry.
  
  I think we’re supposed to know that Bill-the-Cop is doomed as soon as he mentions having a little boy at home, and loving it. We need a red-shirt to illustrate how El Sombrero has booby-trapped Wayne Manor.
  
  There are a lot of interpretations of this interplay between Doctor Hurt and Alfred. Is Hurt really Thomas Wayne? Is he just tormenting Alfred? Is he actually the Devil? If so, then the third Batman was his agent.
  
  I love Batman’s speech to Caligula. He sees clear through him to the washed-up-never-was that he is.
  
  I also think it’s brilliant that the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is “what you get when you take Bruce out of the equation”.
  
  Poor Jeremiah Arkham. He just can’t catch a break, can he? Or more to the point he catches too many… broken ribs, broken legs, etc.
  
  The red and black roses return Just don’t let them mingle.And who else would be the one to deliver the coup de grace to Batman but the Joker?
  
  
  
  Batman R.I.P. – The Thin White Duke of Death
  
  Doctor Hurt sets the scene, not just for the arriving members of the Black Glove, but also recapping for the reader. The Black Glove is a society of the ultra-rich who gather once a year to wager on games of life or death.
  
  Arkham Asylum is resplendent in shades of black and red.
  
  Le Bossu provides his own backstory, as he begins the process of costuming that transforms him from Guy Dax into his hunchbacked alter-ego.
  
  Batman chose the crazy colors for the Zur-En-Arrh costume with a purpose. The bright colors demonstrate confidence, presumably yielding a mental advantage. But Bat-Mite reveals that the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh was a short-term solution to the problem of psychological attack. Running at this intensity means that Bruce has limited time to overcome the Black Glove before he passes out from exhaustion.
  
  I like Batman’s last moments with Bat-Mite. He asks if the Mite is a figment of his imagination, or a super-imp from the fifth dimension. Bat-Mite’s answer is that imagination IS the fifth dimension.
  
  I love how the Joker scars Le Bossu. He’s had to listen to Dax drone on about how his ugliness was on the inside, so he gave it an outlet. And Le Bossu seems puzzled by it.
  
  What’s meant to be a final confrontation between Batman and the Joker plays out pretty well. The titular ‘thin white duke of death’ is only going along with this to prove to Batman the depth of his madness. Bruce thought that a controlled experiment would give him the key to understanding the Joker’s mind. But there’s no reason behind his actions, and no experiment will make his actions make sense.
  
  At this point, there’s still one thing that I don’t really grasp, and that’s the meaning behind the constant reference to black and red. The one explanation I’ve heard that makes any sense is that they point to Jezebel Jet, a black woman with red hair, as an indication that she’s part of the Black Glove. But that’s not satisfying to me, for some reason.

• 
  Batman R.I.P. – Hearts In Darkness
  
  Coming to after his fight with the Joker, Batman finds himself back in his traditional costume, strapped into a straightjacket and buried alive in a coffin.
  
  This flashback sequence helps to show you just how great Batman is. While undergoing the Thogal ritual, he found Dr. Hurt’s work on his consciousness and began preparing for the attack. This issue even says it first thing. “That’s the thing about Batman. Batman thinks of everything.”
  
  I love how the narrative points out that there are, ultimately, a finite number of eventualities that a body can be threatened by and that Bruce has planned and practiced for all of them over the years. It lends plausibility to the notion that Batman has actually planned for this eventuality.
  
  The Joker’s big speech to the Black Glove basically amounts to “I told you so”. When
  money’s on he table, even the Joker knows better than to bet against Batman.
  
  Talia and the League of Assassins are going to avenge Batman? That’s an interesting twist.
  
  Here, at the end of things, we get the counterpoint to the story’s opening page. With a policeman his captive, Le Bossu prepares to go about his bloody work, declaring that even Batman and Robin are dead, and unable to help him.
  
  This issue really is the pinnacle of Grant Morrison’s run on Batman. The remaining issues are more of a Final Crisis tie-in than anything else. But it brings in almost everything else he used in his run… Damian, Man-Bat Ninjas, and the Club of Heroes all play their parts in this final issue.
  
  There’s one mystery left to ponder… the identity of Simon Hurt. The book itself puts forward a few ideas. Was he really Thomas Wayne? He certainly acted the part with Alfred. Was he Mangrove Pierce, the actor who starred in John Mayhew’s film “The Black Glove”? Or was he the devil, as others have said. I like the possibility that he’s Thomas Wayne, simply because it flies in the face of assumptions we make, that Bruce’s parents were good people.
  
  
  
  

Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - Space Medicine

Well, folks, another DCBS box arrival and some slightly busier nights have put off my progress on re-reading Grant Morrison's Batman run. But I'm putting my foot down, and reading the issues leading up to Batman: RIP tonight. As stated, I'm skipping past the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul issues, and getting back to the good stuff.

My recollection is that this story arc is where Batman became difficult to follow, but that this story arc made more sense as the arc drew to a close. Let's see if hindsight helps.

Batman #672 - Space Medicine

• The third Batman from the black casebook has arrived. We saw him in issue #666, fighting Damian, but now it's time for Bruce's trial. We know these guys were cops, and he's asking for Commissioner Vane, I guess this was before Gordon's time?
• One thing I recall Grant saying is that he wanted to bring Batman back from being so grim and obsessed. Jezebel Jet certainly seemed to have that affect. "We make one another laugh".
• Here we go. The third man has shot Batman in the chest, and Bruce is hurt. If I recall correctly, the shot has triggered a heart attack. And as we near the end of the book and go into Bruce's head, we see Batman's glove tracing glowing letters against a black background. "ZUR EN ARRH". And this heralds the first appearance of 'Bat-Mite' in Morrison's run right at the end of the issue.

Of this story, the first issue was pretty straightforward since it's a setup for the chaos to follow.

Batman #673 - Joe Chill In Hell

This issue gets a bit chaotic. It cuts back and forth from Bruce's time in Nanda Parbat enduring the Thogal Ritual, and other memories as he suffers the cardiac arrest from his wound in the last issue.

• The Thogal Ritual is important to RIP. "During a seven-week retreat known as Yangti, the practicioner undergoes an experience designed to simulate death and after-death." It's what helped him prepare to face his own death, and allowed him to plan beyond it.
• Flashbacks to his beginnings as a masked crimefighter, hunting Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents. Is this the way it actually happened, or a hallucination? It's confusing but I think that as he's suffering cardiac arrest, Bruce is flashing back to the Thogal Ritual, and what he saw there.
• I definitely didn't catch this before. A young Bruce Wayne (five years old according to the narrative) has a vision of a coffin carried by Dick Grayson, Ollie Queen, Clark Kent and someone I can't identify, followed by Alfred and Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair. It's clearly meant to be his funeral procession, as he's realized his own mortality. Foreshadowing the death of Batman.
• Here's our first glimps of Doctor Hurt. He's the scientist who Batman aided by spending ten days in an isolation chamber. The premise was to advance an understanding of what humans would experience on space missions, isolated from contact. Batman confesses to Robin (presumably Dick) that he really did it to experience madness in an attempt to better-understand the Joker. At this point, Batman begins to lose track of where and when he is. He's not sure if he's in the isolation chamber, being studied by Dr. Hurt, or undergoing the Thogal Ritual. In reality, he's still suffering cardiac arrest from the previous issue.
• At the end of the issue, the third Batman revives Bruce... once he's been restrained.

I think the thing that threw me on my original reading of this issue was the fact that even Bruce didn't know when he was. It made it hard to keep a point-of-view. But having some familiarity with the story, I caught a lot more on this reading than I did originally.

Batman #674 - Batman Dies At Dawn

• First page, and Doctor Hurt claims he's a Batman Specialist. Foreshadowing his claim that he's Thomas Wayne?
• This is big. The third man has a copy of Doctor Hurt's files. "And it's all here. Everything that happened here in this room. To you. To me. To Muller and Branca. The whole story. The post-hypnotic keywords he planted in all of us." Since it's one of those keywords that shut Batman down in RIP.
• And as he chases down the third man, Batman begins to suspect the existence of the Black Glove, an enemy who's calculated his every weakness and who has prepared as dilligently as he himself has.

This issue had phenomenal velocity. I couldn't put it down, and I don't think that I could last time either. The third Batman lays out for Batman what he thought was a hallucination - that years ago, the Gotham police in conjunction with the military had tried to build a contingency plan for Batman's death. They sought to prepare three additional men as replacements, should Batman die. And Doctor Hurt was the one responsible. The three Batmen have all been 'reactivated'.

Batman #675 - The Fiend With Nine Eyes

This issue was pretty much devoid of any foreshadowing or hinting about Batman RIP. Dick and Tim suspected that Bruce is losing it again. Bruce believes that the Ten-Eyed Man's attack was orchestrated by the Black Glove, and Talia and Damian sense something suspicious behind the attack on Bruce and Jezebel.

The main thrust of this issue is to introduce Jezebel to the nocturnal side of Bruce's life. It succeeds on that level, but considering the past two story arcs, this issue is a bit weak and not just due to the guest artist.

Next up, Batman RIP.

Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - batman in bethlehem and The Club of Heroes

Well, after a lengthy break, I've semi-digested Final Crisis and read a box full of new comics. now, it's back to Morrison's Batman. Lined up tonight, I've got Batman #666, which serves as a kind of endcap to the Black Casebook story, and the truly awesome Club of Heroes story that officially introduced the Black Glove to readers of Batman.

Batman #666 - batman in bethlehem


What we get here is a story of Bruce's son Damian as Batman, defending Gotham against the third 'evil' Batman from the Black Casebook - the one who sold his soul to the Devil, and destroyed Gotham.


The book opens with a two-page recap of Damian's origin, which is pretty old-school. But of course, this origin takes us beyond the story we know, as Damian takes the role of Batman following his father's death. I also like the visual look of Damian as Batman. The trenchcoat look is distinct from Bruce's costume, but in action it's still reminiscent.

Damian-as-Batman seems to be a little rougher on his opponents. There's a bit of blood flowing.

Commissioner Barbara Gordon... I really wish that we had more time to explore that dynamic. I mean, it's one thing for Jim Gordon to perhaps suspect that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but it's something else entirely for Barbara Gordon to have been Batgirl/Oracle, and as Commissioner to have her know that Damian is Batman.

There's a lot of biblical and occult imagery here. The mysterious 'third Batman' is claiming to be the antichrist. Professor Pyg has been crucified upside down in a church, and the murders of Gotham's other crime bosses form an inverse pentacle on the face of Gotham. All this, and the Yeats quotation:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

There's a lot of blood, again. It's not entirely clear if Damian kills any of the Madmen of Gotham, but he's pretty clearly injured them badly.


"The victory is in the preparation" - I think that phrase sums up Morrison's Batman. He wins because he's always prepared. It's his greatest strength. And while Damian may be different than his father, that much is the same. By booby-trapping all of Gotham, Damian's taken that adage to an extreme. I think the thing I really like here, is that he acknowledges that he'll never be as good as Bruce or Dick, so he went outside the box.


More biblical language, as the Third-Batman refers to the Devil as the Dragon, with wings and black skin. More reference to Revelations.


"The Apocalypse is cancelled... until I say so". Great line. The notion of a Batman who's sold his soul to safeguard Gotham is interesting. Damian also states that his father died at age 14. Do we know how old he is at the time of Final Crisis?


On the whole, I'd kindof like to see a little more of this Batman, but only if written by Morrison.


Batman #667 - The Island of Mr. Mayhew


Wow... right here on the first page, there's a lot more to take in, now that I've got a better idea of what to look for. An unseen figure wearing a black glove addresses a captive. One thing tha is telling, is that the Black Glove speaks in the plural. This can be ambiguous, using the 'royal we', but in hindsight I know that the Black Glove is an association, not an individual. There's also the black and red of the rhoulette wheel.


Something else I hadn't thought of until now... Batman's costume is primarily black, while Robin's current outfit is primarily red.


A room full of has-been Batman wannabes. What a series of images. Especially the Legionary, as he sits and eats. And then we've got Wingman, the closest Batman analogue in the room, and the one who's most vocal about being better than, or earlier than Batman.


And here's the classic setup. It's the locked-house murder. A number of detectives are invited to a secluded estate for a mysterious purpose. They're locked in and challenged to solve a murder. It's been an archetype of enough mysteries that it's been parodied well. It's a great image though, this two page spread of the Black Glove closing over the exploding vehicles of the Club of Heroes. Beautifully styled.


The closing pages of this issue are amazing. The spread covering the death of The Legionary is great, but the last page, with the image of Batman surrounded by flames along the silhouette of the Black Glove's arm is stunning.

Batman #668 - Now We Are Dead!

I love the old-school look of this opening flashback.

These guys all have major baggage. None of the Club of Heroes seem to be able to get along.

Ahh... The Legionary let his city fall into the hands of Charlie Caligula, who later shows up in R.I.P.

Bruce asks Tim what was wrong with the library, where the video of Mayhew's killer was filmed. That's a nice touch, showing that Batman's still testing and teaching Robin.

These page layouts are stunning. A two-page spread on black. The panels make up the shape of Batman's emblem. Overlapping, a panel in the shape of the Black Glove's arm. I'm not normally as big a fan of art as I am of writing, but this is really striking.

And now the Musketeer mentions his own enemy, Pierrot Lunaire who also appears as part of the Club of Villains in R.I.P. I sense a trend. Especially since El Gaucho just mentioned El Sombrero.

This really is a top-notch issue. Absolutely superb in both art and story.

Batman #669 - The Dark Knight Must Die!

The pace of the action's really picking up in the last third of the story. I'm a good way in and it's light on clues, but heavy on activity.

And as the issue draws to a close El Sombrero, revealed to be John Mayhew, reveals the nature of the Black Glove. "People like me live lives beyond the law, beyond morality. The Black Glove is closing around you, Batman".

I think that the three issues that make up the Club of Heroes story are the best issues of Grant Morrison's run on the book. The pacing starts slow, and builds to a frenzy by #669. It reminds us that Batman wins because he's prepared and observant. And it lays a lot of groundwork for the appearance of the Club of Villains in Batman: R.I.P.

Following this, we have two issues of The Resurrection of R'as al Ghul. I think I'll be skipping those, because I don't want to re-read the whole crossover. Next post, I plan to start on the arc that began with Space Medicine. This is where the book started to feel extremely trippy and harder to follow to me, so I'm looking forward to seeing what a re-read is like.

Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - The Black Casebook

Well, since I'm not procrastinating anything by returning to Morrison's Batman run (and the fact that I'm kindof eager to undertake a similar exploration of Final Crisis) I return to Batman with issues 664 and 665.

Batman #664 - Three Ghosts of Batman

• Ah, Man-Bat Ninjas. Grant Morrison, you so crazy.
• "He says you're cool, like James Bond" - I'd never thought about it, but it's a remarkably accurate comparison. Both are, essentially, highly trained people, but not superhuman. Both use high-tech gadgets to accomplish their goals. But where Bond does his work in a tuxedo, Bruce puts on the cape and cowl. Of course, Bruce's entrance in this scene is very Bond as well.
• It's interesting to watch Jezebel Jet trying to work her way under Bruce's skin. What's supposed to look like a romantic dinner where the pair bond over shared pain almost looks like she's probing him. Maybe I'm reading too much into it?
• More Zur-En-Arrh graffiti in the background as we transition back to Gotham.
• Massive guy in a luchadore mask - I wonder just how much I'm supposed to think of Bane.
• The comments about this big lug being steroid fueled continue the 'Bane' thoughts, but the massive stomp right on Batman's back makes it pretty clear.

Batman #665 - The Black Casebook

• It's good to see that no matter how rough a town Gotham is, when a Bane/Batman mashup tries to smash your spine, a hooker will drive you home.
• Ahh, Bruce Wayne's penthouse. I mention this, because in interviews I believe Grant Morrison referred to loving the Batman of this era, where he lived in the city to be more centrally located. Again, with the posh living and secret passages, James Bond similarities aren't far off.
• Even Bruce draws the connection between Magilla the Gorilla from the last issue and Bane.
• Another hint of the Black Glove. After defeating Bane-Bat, not only does the criminal up and vanish, but the Mayor is leaning on Gordon to stay away from this. The implication being that someone else is leaning on the Mayor... somebody rich and influential.
• As Talia returns following the Batman and Son story arc, she's interested in Bruce having been seen with Jezebel Jet recently. I wonder if she's aware back here that Bruce is being targeted by the Black Glove.
• As Bruce and Jezebel kiss, we see a shot of a pair of hands holding binoculars, spying on them. Hands wearing black gloves.

Some thoughts after reading these two issues.

This story begins to re-introduce some of the elements of Batman that have been missing since Crisis on Infinite Earths rebooted the DC Universe, and Frank Miller's Batman: Year One redefined the Caped Crusader for the modern era. Morrison seems to want to bring back Batman's encounters with aliens and with the supernatural. This is an important aspect that carries over into 'Zur-En-Arrh' and the R.I.P. storyline.

These two issues are pretty straightforward. It could be argued that the next issue, #666 belongs with these two. The stories reference three 'alternate' Batmen that Bruce encountered... one who killed criminals with a gun, another who was a steroid-fueled mass of rage, and a third who sold his soul to the devil and destroyed Gotham. Issue #666 is a clear reference to the final of those three, but because that is a story of Damian Wayne, not Bruce, I'm going to reference it separately.

New Azrael Mini-Series Announced!

It's right here, folks. Can it be a coincidence that, once again as Bruce Wayne is removed as Batman that Azrael once more takes the scene?

But admittedly, this doesn't sound like Jean-Paul Valley... no matter how much I really want it to be. The solicitation mentions the Suit of Sorrows, so maybe something noteworthy will come out of the truly mediocre resurrection of Ra's al Ghul. (Seriously, DC... if you're going to make such a big deal out of bringing a character back, you should maybe, I dunno, do something with them.)

The fact that this is running in parallel to The Battle for the Cowl means that it's less likely that we'll have a full-on Az-Bats revival, but a guy can hope... right?

Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - The Clown At Midnight

Now I come to it... the infamous prose issue. Posing as a regular comic book, this verbal bomb nestled amongst my regular week's comics, waiting to ambush me with text. my recollection was that I had trouble reading this issue, but that's probably because I wasn't expecting it. This is from a time not long ago that I didn't follow solicitations months in advance. And as a prose piece, it's a bit more dense than typical comic fare. So now, as we approach the second anniversary of it's release, here are my thoughts as I read the issue.

• I like the quote it starts with - "There's something about clowns at a funeral and it's hard to say if it's sad or if it's funny." I wonder if Grant wrote that, or if it came from something else. If so, major props to Grant. I have to think that quotes about clowns and funerals would generally be in short supply.
• Two pages in, and here's a reference to black and red flowers. More foreshadowing for Batman R.I.P.
• Are the doctors in Arkham ever going to realize that the Joker is just too bugnuts crazy to write off? Oh, we know he's the Joker... but he's too frail to be any threat to anybody this time. Pff.
• I'm not quite half-way through, and there's a third reference to red and black. I just didn't catch on that these color references were going to be at all important. And once again, it's red and black flower petals mixing to form a toxin.
• And there's a reference to the Killing Joke, during the Joker's 'Circus Ringmaster' phase, when all of his henchman seemed to be carnival sideshow performers.
• I like the mosquito poisoned by the Joker's blood, that the very essence of the Joker is toxic.
• There've been constant references to checkerboards, which alternate red and black. The 'reborn' Joker views Harley as a checkerboard, but this 'new' Joker loathes 'board games'. Morrison's intention here seems to be to split Harley from the Joker. She's fine for the animated series, but not for the Joker he wants to write. Heck, imagine the Joker from The Dark Knight with Harley. She doesn't work there.

That's a meaty read for something that looks like a comic book. But it's a good one. Morrison waxes a bit prosaic early on in his descriptions, but it's a good story. It ties together all of the various changes in the Joker from camp to psychopath. But make no mistake, this is definitely more of a Joker story than a Batman story.

I can't help but wonder if Morrison has specific plans for the Joker. Through most of the rest of his run thus far, the Joker stays locked up in Arkham as Batman begins to wrestle with the Black Glove. But he foreshadows the doom coming to Gotham if the Joker does escape... and he walked out of Batman R.I.P. with his freedom.

I have to confess, I'd been a little nervous about reading this one, specifically because I remember it as such a weighty, heavy read. I'm not saying that it wasn't, but it's definitely a good read as well. And it continues to foreshadow elements that Grant Morrison would use over the course of his run on the book. There's all the red and black, of course, and a mention of Nanda Parbat. It's neat to pick up on these things now, even if I didn't realize their significance initially.

Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - Grotesk (Ostrander Fill-In Story)

So, here are the thoughts that go through my head as I read the Grotesk arc by Ostrander and Mandrake, published between Batman & Son and The Clown at Midnight:

• Wow... this isn't very good.
• So these guys want this other guy's sister? Ten gets you twenty he's the villain.
• This is so bad it's giving me a headache.
• Johnny Karaoke? SERIOUSLY? And his Geisha Grrls?
• Headache... getting worse!
• Once again, a Gotham vigilante thinks Batman should understand his mission of vengeance.
• I think this headache is actually my brain trying to escape from my skull so that it can poke my eyes out. I don't blame it. In fact, it might be for the best if it succeeds.
• Well, at least we won't have to worry about seeing Johnny Karaoke again.
• And the sister dies too, so we have no loose ends that might bring ANY of this back around. Outstanding.

Well, in the final analysis, the best thing I can say about John Ostrander's four issue cliche is that I'm done reading it. Now I feel like I need a shower. And some steel wool. I'd have rather gone a couple months without an issue of Batman than read this. I'm normally the first one in line to scream when a book I like has delays. "Why not give us a filler story" I might say "while the regular team tries to get their book back on track?"

If you hear me say this, remind me that his line of thinking got us "Grotesk".

Pseudo-Live-Blogging: Grant Morrison's Batman Run - Batman & Son

As you may know (or care) my job leaves me with a fair bit of empty time in the middle of the night. How do I fill the empty hours, you ask? Instead of pondering exisential crises, I've been reading a lot of comics. Having recently read through Batman #681, I've been playing with the idea of re-reading Morrison's run over the course of a few nights of work. There are definitely a few issues in there that aren't very straightforward on their first read. I figured I'd like to see if they made more sense as a bigger part of a coherent whole. So I grabbed a handful of issues before I came in tonight, and I'm going to write my impressions as I re-read them.

The only issues I plan on skipping are the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul issues. I'll probably even post my comments as I torture myself by re-reading the Grotesk story arc that popped up early in Morrison's run. Hey, my torture is your enertainment. I get that.

Now, because I do have to ge up and occasionally do bits of work, I'm just going to save drafts, and push the 'Publish Post' button once at the end of the night. (Hence, pseudo-live-blogging.)

So let's get started with Batman #655, the start of Morrison's run.

• Wow, talk about starting off with a bang. The commisioner's been gassed! The Joker's beaten Batman with a crowbar. I can't help but wonder if it's the same one he beat Jason Todd with.


• Okay, just noticed that. Graffitioed all over the wall on the page with the title/credits is "Zur En Arrh". Seriously, it's ALL OVER the wall. That's really something Morrison was playing from the beginning.


• I don't know what amuses me more... that Alfred actually feeds the Bats in the cave, that Bruce has never noticed, or that the bats apparently have a favorite meal. Those are some spoiled rodents.


• I like the scene where Alfred is coaching Bruce on the finer points of being Bruce. It's a nice commentary on the Batman books.


• Damian gets a nice intro in this issue. It's subtle, but you can pick up on the fact that he's a bright kid. He's good enough to pick out the father he's never met in a crowded room. Of course, that may be in part due to the fact that Bruce is so used to being Batman.
  

This issue's a nice entry point. It throws a fair bit of Batman at the reader, with Jim Gordon, Alfred, Robin, The Joker and Kirk Langstrom... but it never quite manages to seem overwhelming. It also punctuates the 'grim and gritty' with a few surprising bits of humor.

• Grant... you had me at Ninja Man Bats.


• I love the interplay between Batman vs Ninja-Man-Bat action, and the comic-book art panels on display in the museum. Really neat way to work in sound effects, etc.


• I like the way Batman goes through plans A through D in a matter of seconds, as he waches the situation escalate.


• It might be a tip that Jesebel knows that Bruce is Batman. As Alfred helps her out of the museum, she comments that Bruce Wayne is still inside with the Prime Minister's wife.

This one's another solid issue, but where the last issue was largely setup, this one consists mostly of action. But it's never hard to follow and it's never dull. There are also nice touches to help explain Batman's almost superhuman tactical skill. He comments (via inner monologue in a caption box) that the cowl's mic is so sensitive it can pick up the Man-Bat's navigational shrieks.

• Wow... Talia just tells Bruce that he's Damian's father and he's already showing him around the cave?


• The confrontation between Damian and Robin seems a little sudden. I don't know, maybe it's just that Tim has been around long enough as Robin that I don't expect him to immediately feel threatened by Damian.


• I like that Batman is making wry comments on Damian's spoiled behavior. It's good to remind us that Bruce does have a sense of humor.


• I like the idea that the police try to infiltrate the gangs of Gotham's costumed criminals. Nice touch. But in the first issue, didn't they say that Batman had coralled pretty much all of the costumed crooks in the city? Was the Spook too small a fish to count?


• The notion of Damian as a rival for Tim is a really neat idea. I wonder why they never let him into the Robin title? That would have made for some great reading. The more I read about Damian, the more I like him. He's absolutely brilliant, but criminally misguided.

• Does anything ever surprise Alfred? Beaten up by Bruce's son and locked in a closet, and he's right back to business as usual? I suggest testing him for metagene activity.
• Damian's a surprising character at every turn. He's brilliant, and dangerous with a criminally skewed view of the world. But seeing him desperate for Batman's approval? I'm suspicious. But this first four issue arc has me wishing we'd spent more time with him.
• Batman has a rocket? I can see boats, cars and jets... but I tend to have a little trouble with the non-traditional vehicles.
• Why does Batman refuse Talia? If he joins her, she'll help him fight crime. I'd have liked a little more explanation for saying no. Granted, kidnapping the wife of the British Prime Minister seems a bit of a complex task for making the offer, but it did get Bruce to spend some time with Damian.

I think I'm going to draw this post to a close here. Maybe I'll stick with generating a post for each story/story arc.

What did we get out of this issue? "Zur En Arrh" all over Gotham City. Jezebel Jet was introduced to Bruce's life, and we know she plays a big role later on. Damian was introduced, and he also comes back into play... both for the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul and in Batman R.I.P.

It's also a good, fun Batman story. If you haven't read it, I'd recommend picking it up. Aside from the buildup towards Batman R.I.P. this one's an entertaining story all on it's own. Grant Morrison is showing his love not just for Batman, but for Bruce Wayne. He's referencing some of the earlier, crazier Batman stories with elements like space ships and Zur En Arrh... that's a trend that definitely continues later into the run, and is key to Batman R.I.P. It's good stuff.

The Battle for the Cowl?

So the identity of Batman is going to be up for grabs amongst all of Batman's associates past and present? Who's going to be Batman? Dick Grayson? Jason Todd? Tim Drake? Bruce Wayne? It'll never happen, but here's my pick for the new Batman...



Who is it?

.
.
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Jean-Paul Valley!

This would be the greatest sucker-punch in the world. Who has the largest amount of experience as Batman, short of Bruce Wayne? Yeah, sure... maybe he let a murderer die, possibly condemning his last victim to a slow and horrible death. Okay, he's got moments where he goes just bat-sh!t crazy. But I think I would applaud the sheer cojones a move like this would require.

Who says nothing good happened in the 90's?