The Return of Bruce Wayne discussion (Spoilers!)

[Zombipanda]

It was kind of surreal for me in that when Thomas mentions summoning Barbatos with Jefferson (as in the third president of the U.S.) I had just read the storyline where that happened ("Dark Knight, Dark City" Batman 452-454) two days previous.

I've just started reading "Dark City, Dark Knight". IIRC, the Barbatos ritual is mentioned pretty substantially in the last B&R arc as well.


This was clearly the weakest issue yet. The art was just bad (Although, understandably, dude may have had to rush to get the pages out the door) and the script itself didn't seem up to the quality of the prior issues. I think the strength of the series so far has been that each of the stories works as a standalone with a very simple premise, but there are little elements of internal continuity weaved into each issue that make it that much stronger. There's typical big Morrisonian ideas at play, but he rocks them more subtly than he normally does. And this issue just didn't really live up to that standard. Maybe it's because I've been watching a lot of westerns recently and so I'm unfairly comparing Morrison's script to the spaghetti film greats, maybe it will improve on a second reading.

 

[Iceshadow]

I've just started reading "Dark City, Dark Knight". IIRC, the Barbatos ritual is mentioned pretty substantially in the last B&R arc as well.

Yeah but even then I thought that was just Morrison making stuff up, I didn't realize there was any kind of continuity there.

 

[moonmaster]

The new issue was surprisingly weak. The art was dull and the story didn't really hold my attention. I got the feeling that Morrison was trying too hard to avoid western movie cliches when he should have just embraced them. I've loved this so far - honestly, Morrison's Batman books are the only superhero comics I still keep up with monthly - so hopefully this was just one misstep.

 

[thee great one]

Yeah I expected the Jonah Hex - Cowboy Batman fight to be awesome.

 

[Zombipanda]

The new issue was surprisingly weak. The art was dull and the story didn't really hold my attention. I got the feeling that Morrison was trying too hard to avoid western movie cliches when he should have just embraced them. I've loved this so far - honestly, Morrison's Batman books are the only superhero comics I still keep up with monthly - so hopefully this was just one misstep.

I agree. The newest issue came out this week though, and it was a pretty big step up from #4. Certainly not the best of Morrison's Batman, but it had some entertaining mind-bends, crisp dialogue, and clever little twists.

Alongside it were a handful of tie-ins where Bruce, wearing a new suit and a new identity as "The Insider" (ugh) tests his former partners to see how well they've done in his absence and records it in the "White Casebook" (ugggggggh). His new suit allows him to replicate a bunch of different super powers, which I'm guessing is something that will play a part in Batman, Inc. I really like the idea of the DC heroes as "New Gods" and Batman as the new Orion, but I find the thought of him in a super power suit just really unappealing. I'm willing to give it a chance, I guess.... From an editorial point of view, I think they've taken a smart route. This new direction is clearly pretty experimental, so DC is smart in insuring that we have a few avenues for "classic Batman" with the Dick Grayson books.

 

[E]

This series is weird. I like it, but I can't make heads or tales of a lot of it.

I think I need a good, thorough summary of #5 and a couple of re-reads of the whole series.

 

[Iceshadow]

Read the annotations on Comics Alliance, they help make everything make sense.

 

[E]

Read the annotations on Comics Alliance, they help make everything make sense.

Cool - thanks. Have a link? I'm not familiar with the site and didn't see anything about annotations for this issue.

 

[Iceshadow]

Here's the link to RoBW #5 and if you scroll down to the bottom of the article there are links to annotations for the rest of RoBW, Batman 700-702, and previous Batman and Robin issues as well as Morrison's Batman run and Final Crisis.

 

[Zombipanda]

Even I'm a little confused by it all, and I'm both a genius and I've been following Morrison's Batman since the beginning.

 

[thee great one]

This was amazing. Time/Memory lost Bruce Wayne investigates his parents death. There is not words for the awesome.

 

[E]

Even I'm a little confused by it all, and I'm both a genius and I've been following Morrison's Batman since the beginning.

Now I don't feel so dumb lolololol!!!!!!!!1

This was amazing. Time/Memory lost Bruce Wayne investigates his parents death. There is not words for the awesome.

Totally.

Here's the link to RoBW #5 and if you scroll down to the bottom of the article there are links to annotations for the rest of RoBW, Batman 700-702, and previous Batman and Robin issues as well as Morrison's Batman run and Final Crisis.

AWESOME - thanks.

 

[Dr.Strangefate]

The ideas are still incredible, but am I the only one who thinks Morrison's writing is becoming progressively shakier? The ideas are expressed, but aren't laced in with the intricacy he's proved himself capable of in the past.

I wasn't that impressed with #5, honestly.

 

[Iceshadow]

The ideas are still incredible, but am I the only one who thinks Morrison's writing is becoming progressively shakier? The ideas are expressed, but aren't laced in with the intricacy he's proved himself capable of in the past.

I wasn't that impressed with #5, honestly.

I think he could do a lot better with a higher page count.

 

[thee great one]

The best part of The Road Home is the hints to the fate of Cassandra Cain.

 

[Iceshadow]

The best part of The Road Home is the hints to the fate of Cassandra Cain.

Right!? Though I did like when Stephanie thought she was fighting Amazo.

 

[E]

Here's the link to RoBW #5 and if you scroll down to the bottom of the article there are links to annotations for the rest of RoBW, Batman 700-702, and previous Batman and Robin issues as well as Morrison's Batman run and Final Crisis.

I forgot all about this and still read them anyway (at least the annotations for Return of Bruce Wayne - not the others, yet) and my mind is blown. It's such a huge story and has awesome moments. This surpasses Seven Soldiers of Victory - probably my all-time favorite comic story - in terms of depth and interconnectivity.

Unfortunately it makes it a little off-putting and more of a chore to get through than it seems it should be. It is TOO interconnected. I like re-reading comics and picking up on new things but this is like work. Not the good kind.

I still love it, though. I'm amazed by the whole thing. The concepts are just incredible. I re-read Batman And Robin 1-16 before this and now have to re-read all that again to pick up on things I found and learned by re-reading this.

MY WHOLE LIFE HAS BECOME BATMAN COMIC BOOKS.

 

[E]

I wish there was more discussion about this and the entirety of Morrison's run so far.

I mean, guys - Batman was turned into a weapon by Darkseid and turned it around so that he created himself, with roots going back to the beginning of mankind.

This is one of the greatest things ever written.

 

[Random]

I wish there was more discussion about this and the entirety of Morrison's run so far.

I mean, guys - Batman was turned into a weapon by Darkseid and turned it around so that he created himself, with roots going back to the beginning of mankind.

This is one of the greatest things ever written.

Give me money to buy it

 

[Dancanread]

I wish there was more discussion about this and the entirety of Morrison's run so far.

I mean, guys - Batman was turned into a weapon by Darkseid and turned it around so that he created himself, with roots going back to the beginning of mankind.

This is one of the greatest things ever written.

At some point I kind of want to reread his whole Batman run through RIP to Final Crisis and ROBW so I can absorb it better, but it's hard to gear up the energy to do it. I'm so torn about Morrison's work.

I'm really digging on Batman, Inc, but even with that - you know how when you're a kid the first comics you read were just random samplings of anything that were smack dab in the middle of continuity and you didn't always know what was going on or who everybody was? That's how I feel reading Morrison, but I HAVE all the issues and I STILL feel like he's got his own thing going on that we're not all privy to. There's a hint of self-indulgence and being different just for its own sake that permeates everything. A lot of the time it's like he's writing for himself, and not the reader, and screw you if you can't keep up. I don't want to have to do research in order to enjoy my comic. The guy is undoubtedly a talent, and his ideas are unique and INCREDIBLE. I just wish the execution was more accessible, and that he showed an ounce of concern to catch people up.

I don't know, maybe my standards for the medium are too low. I mean, why shouldn't comics have their own Ulysses? Maybe if he hadn't been THE main chronicler of the character for so long. I can just picture someone trying to get into Batman for the first time, picking something up of Morrison's in the past few years and being completely lost. The deep and complex continuity might be great for us, but ultimately bad for the business.