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It was a surprisingly good week for comics, if I do say so myself. Freedom Fighters is as weird and wonderful as ever, Secret Six still has its edge, and Superboy was as fun as I'd hoped.
The book most people will probably be talking about, however, is Batman & Robin #16. What exactly can we say about that book? Well, it came out the wrong week for one. It's frustrating to see Bruce Wayne "return" without understanding how it happened.
What went on with Hush as impostor? How did Batman get back to the present? Those aren't the only questions I've got, either. What exactly was "Barbatos"? Is Doctor Hurt really supposed to Bruce Wayne's ancestor? Am I supposed to think that Professor Pyg is an impressive villain rather than some sort of twisted vanity exercise?
This isn't to say I didn't like it. After all, the comic was full of some of the scenes I love in Batman comics. Batman saving the day at the last moment just in the nick of time. A simple and elegant explanation as to why the Joker is -- and always will be -- a notch above any new villains that are created for Batman.
But even though some of the things I love about Batman were on display there, I feel like Grant Morrison has turned Batman into something I barely recognize. Now, I know that there are multiple Batmans; there always has been. Like any fictional character who has lived as long as Batman there will undoubtedly be a great number of character variations (Scipio calls it a "persona-cycle").
I'm not against the idea of a "globe-trotting" Batman. After all, that's nothing new for the character. But something about the direction Morrison is taking Batman feels "off." Maybe it's the fact that Dick Grayson isn't giving up his cowl. Maybe it's the fact that Batman is "franchising." Whatever it is, it makes "Batman" feel less like "Batman" and more like... Something else.
I know that they're back to having trouble over in Gotham City. With You-Know-Who still apparently "dead" a whole new crop of Morrisonian villains have shown their faces. Old Dick Grayson and that annoying new kid can't seem to keep up with it.
At least that's my way of looking at things. You know what else I guessed (long before the new Robin)? I guessed that that "Oberon Sexton" guy might actually be You-Know-Who. But then, it doesn't take the "World's Greatest Detective" to put those pieces together.
Anyway, know that I'm going to try and get back into the vigilante business soon. As good as Dick is at stepping into You-Know-Who's shoes I sometimes think he's not willing to just thrash the bad guys within an inch of their lives (something they need from time to time). That's at least one thing the new kid and I have in common...
I'm terribly tired to night, so I'm not going to make a long post. Instead, I'll just make a quick reference to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's Batman and Robin.
Here's what I'm going to say: I may not like everything these two guys have done, and some fo their concepts and methods may leave me cold. But I can say this for the two of them: they know how to instill dread.
Those last few pages of Batman and Robin #1 are some of the most unsettling images and words I've seen in a long time. These guys know that the most terrifying things aren't what we see. They're the things that remain unseen...
Can it be? Can it be?
Can it be? Has Grant Morrison done the impossible? Has he brought back...
