#lgreads

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Batman and Robin Vol 1: Batman Reborn

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Finally! We have arrived to Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn. I have been looking forward to reading this! This book is writen by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quietly and Philip Tan with Jonathan Glapion. The trade paperback I read of this contains Batman and Robin #1-6.

Some context for people, after Batman was thought dead by everyone DC had their Batfamily books all have the moniker Batman Reborn. This helped cement the idea this was a new status quo for the batbooks and created some cool new dynamics and titles. One major new dynamic was a refresh of the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. At the end of Battle for the Cowl we saw Dick Grayson take the mantle of Batman and now we see that he has chosen Damian Wayne as his Robin. This was a great way for the typical brooding Batman and cheerful Robin to be turned on it's head. Instead we have the chipper Dick as Batman and the brooding Damian as Robin, changing some of the fundamental elements of the duo.

The stories in this volume are pretty great. It starts with the duo taking down some baddies in their new batmobile, which I will get to in a minute. After catching Mr. Toad they end up having to go to the GCPD to protect him from henchmen of Professor Pyg who sent them to kill him before he could tell the police anything. This is the first time we really see the new Batman and Robin fight baddies together and it doesn't go well. Dick expects Damian to listen and respect him while Damian thinks he has a clear understanding of how things work. Mr. Toad ends up croaking and neither see who did it. Dick yells at Damian telling him he is expected to listen and have limits. This causes Damian to run off.

Meanwhile, at the B plot, Professor Pyg captured a man and his daughter. Now Pyg is a messed up man. He takes people's faces and attaches them to someone else, then proceeds to brainwash them, effectively making them a new person and a perfect doll. While the man did succumb Pyg the daughter was not yet mind controlled, though she did get a new face which is hard to remove. Where the girl just so happens to be is where Damian went off to deciding he could stop Pyg on his own. He obviously couldn't. Though while there he does talk to the girl and promises her to get her out. While trying to escape with her he ends up getting into a fight with Pyg and gets separated from the girl. Just before Pyg can finish Damian Dick arrives and saves him and stops Pyg. The two agree to work together again, but the young girl was picked up by Jason Todd the Red Hood.

Red Hood makes the girl his sidekick and she becomes known as Scarlett. The two terrorize the streets of Gotham, killing the criminals. They end up confronting the new Batman and Robin while trying to kill the Penguin. Dick and Damian save the villain but not before the other criminals in Gotham could call in a greater threat. Later, the duo are caught by Red Hood and Scartlet, stripped, and are gonna be revealed to the world who they are. Luckily the boys get out of their ropes before they are revealed. The team of the Red Hood and Scarlet are ambushed by the greater threat mentioned above, named Flamingo. Flamingo is a skilled fighter who easily takes care of Todd and Scarlet. When Damian and Dick get outside to fight him they are able to subdue him but Damian is shot in the spine paralyzing him from the waste down. Jason then takes the chance to kill Flamingo and is then arrested. At the end we see Damians now paralyzed body being taken by Talia to fix him up. We also see Scarlet driving off, the new face finally falling off so she can start anew.

The art in these issues are good. I have to credit to the fact that in these 6 issues the first 3 were handled by Quietly and the second 3 were by Tan with Glapion. It is seamless between the two arts. Also Tan makes someone as ridiculous as Flamingo actually intimidating.

I wanna talk about the new batmobile. I love this thing. It was a vehicle that Bruce did not finish before he died. Damian then finished it. The thing is the perfect batmobile for me. I know it's not as iconic as other ones, however this is distinct and can fly. It has a lot of room and is able to fly itself back to the cave and hover. Perfect for chasing criminals.

Downsides of this story? Well I don't much enjoy Jason's costume change back to the suppository looking helmet that the classic Red Hood wore. I personally think the biker gang costume works better. Additionally, I dont like his hair being red and saying that the only reason it was black was because Bruce made him dye it to look like Grayson.

Honestly, this story is good. It has great team building moments for Dick and Damian. It also moves them from Wayne Manor to the penthouse in the city. I would recommend this book in a heartbeat. It is an easy read that is just pure fun.

Now I think I will read the next book!

[lgaz]

The Great Damian Reading

Hello everyone! I make it no secret that Damian Wayne is my favorite character and I have decided I want to read through everything he has been in from his first appearance in Batman 655 (no Son of the Demon doesn't count and I won't be reading it) all the way to today. I have read all of this before but never in order.

I thought I would share my thoughts about each book as I go. I also will be reading the books that are needed for framing of context. So this will be my reading order:

Batman and Son

Batman Resurrection of Ras al ghul

Batman RIP

Final Crisis

Battle for the Cowl

Batman and Robin 1-12

Streets of Gotham vol 1-2

Teen Titans Team Building

Batman Time and the Batman

(RoBW = Return of Bruce Wayne and B&R = Batman and Robin)

RoBW1, B&R 12, RoBW 2, B&R 13, RoBW 3+4, B&R 14, RoBW 5, B&R 15, RoBW 6, B&R 16.

Streets of Gotham vol 3

Batman and Robin vol 4

Batman Incorporated

Batman and Robin new 52 vol 1-3

Batman Incorporated new 52 vol 1-2

Batman and Robin new 52 vol 4-7

Robin Son of Batman volumes 1-2 (including robin war)

Teen Titans Rebirth

Super Sons

Some of these I am more excited for than others and I am aware that I may miss an issue Damian is in here and there. However, I think I am hitting the major stuff and it should be fun.

A few things to note. I am reading these in the trade paper backs with the exception of the stuff from rebirth. I will note the issues I am reading during the time. I am aware I should read Flashpoint as a major framing of continuity but no Batman means no go. We all know what happened in Flashpoint I do not need to read it again.

I will post each time I finish reading a book and tag it with #LGreads #LGreadsDamian

I will also have links on this to get to each review when I am done. (I use the term review lightly I have no idea how in depth I'll go)

Now if you will excuse me I am off to read!

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Batman: Battle for the Cowl

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

Continuing on after the exhausting Final Crisis brings me to the next stop on my Great Damian Reading, Batman: Battle for the Cowl. This book is written and penciled by Tony S. Daniel. The version I read is the hardcover collection that collects Batman Battle for the Cowl #1-3 and Gotham Gazette #1-2, though I will not be talking about Gotham Gazette due to it being an unnecessary tie-in.

So the plot of Battle for the Cowl is pretty simple, Batman is dead, how can Gotham cope with this loss? The answer is, it doesn’t. Tim and Dick are doing their best as Nightwing and Robin to try to ensure that Gotham still is protected, but that is easier said than done. With the absence of Batman, Two-Face and Penguin are engaging in a turf war to control the whole city, with the Black Mask also terrorizing the two without them knowing. Realizing they can’t handle the whole of Gotham’s rogues by themselves, Nightwing and Robin create The Network, a group of Batman’s allies including Huntress, Batwoman, Catwoman, Knight and Squire, Batgirl, and others. Even Damian Wayne is trying to help, but I’ll get to that later.

Part of the large struggle in this story is that Dick is not willing to take over the mantle of Batman. Though he doesn’t explain it until later on, he is refusing the cape and cowl because Bruce told him not to be Batman. Dick is trying to honor the last request of his mentor and friend by not being Batman. However, Tim and Alfred assume that Dick is afraid of taking up the mantle. To add to the problem Jason Todd, whom at the time is still against Batman, has decided he needs to fill the void of Batman by becoming a murderous Batman. Seeing no other option Tim decides to take up the mantle of Batman and track down Jason. All of this leads to an epic final fight between Dick and Jason deciding who should now be Batman.

While this is a book that was better than I remembered I do find a few issues with it that I must point out. First is Damian. I cannot find where it is he came back to the city. Last time we saw him was at the end of Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul when he went off with Talia. I am willing to overlook this though because most likely he returned to Wayne Manor when he heard the news of Batman being dead. The other strange part of Damian is why is his personality so different in this story line? All of a sudden he is much more easy going and weaker than usual. We even see him pick up a girl in a stolen Batmobile and flirt with her, an odd choice at this point of Damian’s history.

The next flaw, which I use lightly here, is in Dick and his not telling of why he won’t be Batman. I think Tim and Alfred would understand if he told them that Bruce didn’t want him to be Batman. Instead, we get a colder, more distant Dick that does stick out. I understand this is a difficult time in Grayson’s life but this does seem like an odd choice.

The art in this book is great. After Batman R.I.P. I believe Tony Daniel became one of the best artists in the business and he does not disappoint here. My favorite part of this art is his use of light and dark. To me this is pointing out Dick’s inner conflict about becoming Batman. It also can make the tense scenes in this book feel more intense. Overall, Mr. Daniel knocked it out of the park in this book.

Batman: Battle of the Cowl is by no means my favorite book in this series, but it does a lot to set up the future of Batman. Without this story Damian would never become Robin, Tim wouldn’t become Red Robin, and Dick wouldn’t become Batman. This set’s up the rest of the Batman Reborn saga and is a fun short read. I would recommend it if you can handle some odd character choices during this quick read.

Next up on the reading will be seeing the birth of the new Batman and Robin.

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul

Continuing on my Great Damian Reading I found myself at Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul. This is a crossover book between the following issues of Batfamily books:

Batman Annual #26

Robin Annual #7

Batman #670

Robin #168

Nightwing #138

Detective Comics #838

Batman #671

Robin #169

Nightwing #139

Detective Comics #839

Detective Comics #840

This book is written by Paul Dini, Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Fabian Nicieza, and Keith Champagne. Pencils by David López, Jason Pearson, Tony S. Daniel, Freddie E. Williams II, Dom Kramer with Carlos Rodriguez, Ryan Benjamin, and David Baldeón. If that seems like a lot of names welcome to comic book crossovers.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

I want to say right away in this review that this book is something I remembered as a lot better than it was. One of the main issues I have with this book is that that book is not as focused as I would like. While this is to be expected in a comic book crossover it still can take away from the experience of this title. For example, the main plot of the story is that the League of Assassins wants to put Ra's al Ghul's life essence into Damian so that Ra's may return to life. On the way to the plot we also have to deal with the romance between Bruce and Talia, Tim Drake's horrible life experiences in the last year, Nightwing needing to make life or death decisions, etc. While this does make sense because this title ran through all of these books it does stretch the story out in ways that did not seem necessary. Even with all of that said there are some positives in this book.

The first major benefit to this book are the parts with Tim. At this point in Batmam history Tim had lost his best friend (Conner), Dad, and girlfriend (Stephanie Brown) all within one years time. Added on to this is Damian entering Bruce's life and making Tim question his part of the Bat family. Seeing him seriously consider joining with Ra's just for the chance to bring his loved ones back to life does make sense for Tim. It takes Dick's trust, and punches, to get Tim to seriously consider what he is doing. For this time in Tim Drake's history I appreciate seeing that Tim is human and does consider it.

Another point I love in this story is Damian showing how much he wants to be like his father. This is the first time we really see him go away from Talia and start to see him branch out as the eventual family member we will grow to love.

I want to talk about the art in this book though because that is the biggest mixed bag for me. We get some pretty good pencil work from Tony S. Daniel, though some of his work in this book is still off. Then we get some chibi art that does not fit in by Jason Pearson. The worst is probably the faces drawn by David Baldeón, though he does draw some nice backgrounds.

Simply put this book doesn't need to exist but it does add some nice facets for the future. This book gives more reason why Damian would end up joining Batman. Additionally, the character moments for Tim are a major benefit. The biggest impact though is showing more of Talia being willing to split from Ra's which will be important as Morrison's run continue.

Now I am off to one of my favorite Morrison books...

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Final Crisis

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

Hello, welcome to my review of Final Crisis. Remember a few reviews ago I said there are 5 books I'm not excited to read in my Great Damian Reading? This is one of them. The version of Final Crisis I read was the new version of the trade paperback. This collects Final Crisis #1-7, Superman Beyond #1-2, Submit #1, Batman #682-683, and a few pages from absolute Final Crisis. This is the book that I would recommend using for reading through Final Crisis due to it having the most content, unless if you can afford the upcoming Final Crisis 10th Anniversary Omnibus. This book is written by Grant Morrison with art by J.G. Jones, Doug Mahnke, Carlos Pacheco, Matthew Clark, Jesus Merino, Marco Rudy, Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci, Norm Rapmund, Rodney Ramos, Walden Wong, Derek Fridolfs, Rob Hunter, Mark Irwin, Don Ho, Lee Garbett, and Trevor Scott.

Note for those who are Damian fans this book has no Damian in it, but it sets the context for everything to come.

I also apologize for this review being all over but this book is so I find it fitting.

I will be straight forward with you, I do not like Final Crisis. This book is a convoluted mess of a story that takes some jumps in logic to get to the ending. While this is normally something in Morrison's work I can get past and even like, he jumps the shark here. Like most DC crisis books this book does give us some major changes to the DC Universe, though not as big of changes as Crisis on Infinite Earths or Infinite Crisis.

The story follows the death of the New God Orion and Darkseid's rise to power. At this point in DC the New Gods were reborn into human host's, right after Darkseid had learned the anti-life equation which would allow him to pretty much control everything. Orion was shot, with a special bullet running back in time made of radion energy. The heroes of the DC Universe start to investigate this but many misfortunes come their way. Batman is abducted, Martian Manhunter is burned to death, and Superman is preoccupied helping Lois because she is on her death bed. Additionally the reborn Darkseid has been recruiting people and using the anti-life equation on them to control them. All of this is so close together in this story that it gives you no time to reflect on what you just read and see how dire the situation is. All of this coupled with Morrison's writing style does make this a very busy book with no rest from the devastation, which can make this a very difficult book to read.

Obviously the story is not the strong part of this book. The real strength this book has is that the art is consistently good. For the amount of artists they had on this book you can't see hardly any difference between the art styles going page to page, with an exception here or there. This is probably one of the best looking comics I have ever read. The consistency from issue to issue is astounding.

The other good part of this is that it feels like it matters. In this story we see Barry Allen, the Flash, return. He had been dead since Crisis on Infinite Earths back in the 1980's. This will lead into what is one of the best Flash stories of Flash Rebirth. Additionally, this is where Batman, Bruce Wayne, "dies" and is what will lead to the changing of Dick Grayson from Nightwing to Batman, again. Also this still has ramifications today because what happened with Bruce "dying" (he was actually sent back in time) is what lead to Barbatos seeing him which was the catalyst for the recent DC event Dark Nights Metal.

Overall, I can't recommend this book unless you are a huge DC continuity buff and even then I would think you have something better to do. I love Grant Morrison but his writing of this event does not stick for me. However, it does have ramifications that do matter so it is not a pointless read. If you do read it enjoy the art and be willing to use Google to help explain some of the things that happen.

Next review will be the Battle for the Cowl.

[lgaz]

Review of Batman and Son

As stated in my Great Damian Read I am reviewing everything Damian. My reviews are not structured in any way. I will just be writing what I think is good bad and I between. I just finished reading the first major Damian book Batman and Son by Grant Morrison with art by Andy Kubert, John Van Fleet, J.H. Williams III, and Tony S Daniel. Batman and Son collects Batman issues 655-658, 663-669, and 672-675.

WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

So this was one of the five books in this read through that I knew I was not excited for. Everything in this book is setting up the rest of Morrison's Batman run, which I actually enjoy quite a bit. From Bruce's new fling with Ms. Jezebel Jet to The Club of Heroes to the Black Glove to the 3 evil Batmen to Talia and of course Damian, Morrison crafts a very busy book. Some of this will pay off pretty quickly, but some of this takes a few books and a crisis to get to. While this is a good read, mostly, it does feel disjointed at points which makes it something I had to read slow to ensure I was getting all of Grant Morrison's unique flare. Morrison is known for playing with continuity quite a bit and making reference to much older stories. He does this a lot in his Batman run in regards to older stories and cases Batman took on, which he refers to as Batman's Black Casebook. The casebook stories are not essential for reading but can be an interesting look through some fun stories of Batman's past. As long as you don't mind Morrison playing with continuity and are willing to go a little slow this is a fun read.

Next thing I want to mention is the art in this book because it is beautiful beyond all reason. My personal favorite in the book is Andy Kubert's work. What I believe set Kubert apart in this work from his colleagues is his attention to detail when doing both close ups and full rooms. He constantly gives a high level of detail and shading that is rarely so masterfully used in comics. The other artists, pencilers, and inkers do a good job but do not live up to the quality that Kubert establishes in the initial part of the book. Despite saying this, the art does main a quality that is breathtaking and beautiful.

There is an issue in this book that I am unsure how to feel about. Batman #663 titled The Clown at Midnight is an issue that is is completely written in prose. While the subject of the issue is extremely interesting it can be a daunting read. Couple this with the terrifying artwork by John Van Fleet and you have a short story that can be difficult to read and very unsettling. A lot of this issue does feel like it is harkening back to Morrison's older work titled Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (this is not required for reading but is a creepy and disturbing Batman book worth anyone's time).

Some noteworthy issues in this are Batman #655 the first appearance of Damian Wayne and Batman #666 which is the first appearance of future Damian Batman.

Overall this is just an okay read as a book. It does a lot of set up for the future but can feel too disjointed for a comfortable read. This isn't book I would tell you to rush out and buy, but I do believe you should read it.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go resurrect a certain man...

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Shazam! New 52

WARNING SPOILERS FOR NEW 52 SHAZAM AHEAD

So today I’m covering something a little different. This week we will see Shazam! #1 by Geoff Johns come out and he has mentioned that will be continuing from here he left off with Shazam in the New 52. During the New 52 Justice League run Johns wrote Shazam as a backup story. These backup stories were in issues 7-20 with issues #0 and #21 being focused on Shazam. The story was written by Geoff Johns with art by Gary Frank. My hope with this is that by recapping what happened in this that you will be better prepared to read Shazam’s first ongoing series in almost 20 years. Note I will be calling him Shazam because that is what he is called in this story, I do know the character was originally called Captain Marvel.

The story starts with Doctor Sivana watching screens of people recounting their encounters with the Wizard Shazam, note this is a different character than the superhero Shazam. Sivana states that all these people having experienced meeting the wizard means the old legend of Black Adam must be true. If it is true then magic must be real. Later in the story we find out that he wants magic to help his family, but it is not explicitly stated what is wrong with his family.

Next we move to Billy Batson, a 15 year old orphan. He is talking with two adults, Mr. and Mrs. Vasqueze, who are looking to foster him. After hearing Billy tell them about what he likes and more about himself they decide he would be a perfect fit for their family. Billy appears to be excited about the news and his social worker says how she can drop him off at the Vasqueze’s house later. We find out here that Billy has just been acting this whole time. Really he thinks the couple are idiots and is happy they fell for his act. Really he would prefer to be on his own but there is no such luck as if he ran away it would look bad on his social worker.

Later he is dropped off at his new home, though he is less than enthusiastic about it, and gets to meet all his new foster siblings, Mary, Freddy, Pedro, Eugene, and Darla. Billy, of course, starts his relationship with the other kids, who all appear to be teens of different ages, horribly. He tells them all that they are not actually family, which breaks Darla’s heart and makes Mary very mad at him. The other kids are quick to forgive and forget, as Mary says it’s a waste of time to stay mad, and they all go to school together. At school the foster family gets bullied but Billy steps in and beats up the kids that were bullying his new family. This gets Billy in trouble and his records of his bad behavior get revealed to his foster parents. On his way out of the school Billy stands up to the bullies father who responds with threats to Billy.

That night Billy sneaks out of the house, with Freddy following him to see what’s going on. He finds out that Billy snuck out to a zoo to see a tiger named Tawny. Tawny is the earliest thing Billy can remember besides his mom and dad, it is not stated what happened to his parents but he apparently have a website membership to help find his parents. Freddy informs Billy how all the kids thought he was so cool for standing up for them. They then decide to go to the bully’s house to try to mess with the father’s car. Billy then has Freddy hide and is chased by the father and kids. He escapes onto a train car that takes him to the Rock of Eternity, the home of the Wizard Shazam. The wizard initially doesn’t think giving Billy powers would be a smart idea because he is not completely pure of heart, but he does see some good in the boy and gives him the powers of Shazam. These powers include lightning, flight, super strength, durability, and a few other powers that he can use by saying the word Shazam. When he says the magic word he becomes adult sized with a costume as well. Billy then reunites with Freddy and the two go off and fool around the city, and stop some crimes in the process.

Meanwhile, Doctor Sivana has been bestrode the ability to see magic which led him to be able to awaken Black Adam. Adam, who believes that he is the rightful champion of the wizard, knows that he does not have the full power from the wizard and must kill the other person with powers, that now being Billy. Eventually, Black Adam and Doctor Sivana make their way to Philadelphia, where Billy lives, and awaken the Seven Deadly Sins of Man (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Sloth, and Lust) which are all personified. This all cultivates in a fight between Black Adam and Shazam where Shazam gets beat easily.

Billy is able to escape the fight by running into a crowd and turning back into his child form. Meanwhile, back with the rest of the foster kids, the father of the bully’s is at the Vasqueze’s house looking for Billy insisting that he destroyed his car, which is true to an extent because Billy did destroy the car as Shazam. The Seven Deadly Sins then possess the father turning him into a giant evil monster, but the foster kids escape. Freddy informs the kids about Billy being Shazam and takes them to the zoo where Tawney the tiger is, assuming that Billy is there. The kids inform Billy that he is not alone and that they are family.

After trying to get back to the Rock of Eternity, Billy decides that he needs to fight Black Adam and says the magic word to turn back into his superhero persona. When Adam threatens the other members of Billy’s family though, Billy learns he is able to give some of his powers to the rest of the kids, turning them into the Shazam Family. The kids go and try to help people in need in the city while Billy fights Black Adam. During this fight Shazam learns that his power is not limitless because when he grants Tawney some power to help him defeat Adam the rest of the family starts to lose power. Billy decides the one way to fight Black Adam would be to turn back into his kid form and goad the tyrant to turning back into his human form. Adam falls for this and turns back into his human self and quickly ages, because he was from ancient times and the only thing protecting him from aging was being Black Adam, and dies. With that the Seven Deadly Sins flee from the father’s body and the day is saved.

We see the next day Billy waking up and coming downstairs to be greeted with a Merry Christmas. When the other kids ask him if he is going to stay, he happily responds with “Where else would I go?” We cut to Doctor Sivana who has returned to where Black Adam tried to enter the Rock of Eternity. He is begging to be let in and hoping that magic could save his family, despite the fact it has started to eat away at his body. He is greeted by a magical bug monster named Mr. Mind who says he can help Sivana in an ominous way.

There you have it! That was the story of Shazam from the New 52. It is a very different Shazam story I think, at least compared to the pre-new 52 Shazam/Captain Marvel. I do enjoy seeing Billy get a little growth in this story and I understand trying to make it more modern to reflect a child that has experienced trauma in his life. I do miss some of the sweetness Billy used to have before the New 52, but I think I could get used to this Billy. Also of course Gary Frank’s art was amazing so that was a big plus for this story.

My next book I will cover will be Streets of Gotham, I just wanted to cover this one for the new series this week. Thanks for reading!

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Batman & Robin Vol 2: Batman vs Robin

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!

Welcome back to the Great Damian Reading! I am very excited for the book I got to review for this. This time I read Batman & Robin: Batman vs Robin. This trade collects Batman & Robin issues 7-12 and was written by Grant Morrison with art by Cameron Stewart, Andy Clarke, Scott Hanna, and Dustin Nguyen.

Some context to start this off the first 3 issues of this book are called “Blackest Knight”. This is not a tie-in to the massive event titled Blackest Night. The reference is here to be just that, a reference. You do not have to read Blackest Night to understand this story at all, though I do recommend reading Blackest Night it is a good book.

So the first story of the trade jumps right in where Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn left off. Damian is currently out of commission due to being paralyzed from his fight with the Flamingo, but more about that in a bit. The main focus of this is Dick going to London to find a Lazarus pit. He is hoping that if he puts Bruce’s body in it that it will bring him back to life. If the plan would work then the original Batman would be back. Dick puts this as his duty because he and Bruce always had an understanding that they would save each other. Too bad the plan doesn’t work that well. Turns out the dead body they have is a clone of Bruce that only has his bad memories, which are extremely fractured, and is as unstable as they come. Teaming up with Knight, Squire, and Batwoman, Dick fights the revived imposter Batman. This doesn’t work the best as this Batman gives them the slip and kills Batwoman.

Meanwhile, we see Damian’s spine being replaced by Talia’s scientists. Though she is not pleased with the route he has decided to go down, being a hero and working with Dick Grayson, she remarks this must be a phase he is going through and that soon he will be back to being on the side of the Al Ghul’s. Once Alfred brings Damian back, now with a new spine but wheelchair bound, he discovers that the body of Bruce is missing and comes to conclusion that Dick must have done the unthinkable, tried to bring him back to life. Soon his suspicion is confirmed as the imposter Batman shows up and promptly gets the best of him and Damian. Luckily, Dick and Batwoman, who was revived in the Lazarus pit, come and save the day putting an end to the fake Batman. Dick mentions that this means Tim Drake was right, Bruce Wayne is still alive.

So these three issues are fun, but I do have a small problem with. Despite giving his reasoning of needing to save Bruce, Dick recently had just taken issue with Tim wanting to revive someone in the Lazarus pit back in The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul. Not only does Dick try to revive Bruce but he succeeds in reviving Batwoman and the imposter Batman. I get that some time had passed and not all of that story was written by Morrison, but this does make Dick seem to be hypocritical in this story. I do understand that they needed to reintroduce Bruce somehow but this just feels wrong to me.

The next story in the volume is a small detective romp. Now that Dick has discovered that Bruce is alive the mystery is where he is, or when is he? Dick mentions that the Justice League has a theory that Bruce was displaced in time when hit by the Omega Sanctions, see Final Crisis for more information. During this story the mystery of Bruce’s location is put on full display. Damian and Dick search Wayne manor assuming that if Bruce was displaced that he would have left clues in the manor for them to find. During this we get one of my favorite interactions between Dick and Damian. Damian is noticeably upset because he knows that if Bruce returns the partnership between the two would be over. He wonders if Bruce would even let him stay as Robin. While Dick does joke about this it gives us a chance to see the real human side of Damian, who is visibly upset.

While looking for clues, Damian almost attacks Dick for no reason. Luckily, the two get separated. Dick finds some more clues and Damian goes outside where he gets into a fight with some bad people trying to take a book from the manor. Damian is shocked though because he finds that he is not in control of his body. He quickly realizes that this is mother’s doing. During his last visit with her he decided he would not be her weapon against the batfamily. She did not appreciate this and put a controlling device into his spine so he would have to obey her commands. Talia got Deathstroke to pilot the boy and had him fight against Dick. Through his force of will, and electric overcharge, Damian is able to break out of his mother’s control. He and Dick then go pay her a visit, which ends with Damian telling her that he has decided to become a hero permanently. She tells him that he is now an enemy of the house of Al Ghul. Towards the end of this issue it is confirmed that Bruce is time displaced, and now the dynamic duo must wait for his return.

So the first major strength that I have to point out about this trade is the art by Cameron Stewart. His art injects the comic with most of life. The emotion that he is able to display is so sincere yet obvious enough to where anyone can understand it. Honestly, until I had reread this trade his art wasn’t on my radar, but now I have to say he may be one of my favorite Batman artists. Simply beautiful.

One negative, for me, is the pacing of the detective story. I find it drags at points and moves too quickly at others. The action is so fun and intense but I wish it could have been fleshed out more. I do think some of the looking for clues could have been cut back on because it is a bit of bore during. Despite this, Grant Morrison’s mission in the story he was telling was continuing which I can appreciate.

Well that just about does it for this “review.” Next time I’ll be hitting the Streets of Gotham.

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Batman R.I.P.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

Welcome, dear readers, to my review of Batman R.I.P. written by Grant Morrison with pencils by Tony S. Daniel. This story collects Batman issues #676-683 with the prologue from DC Universe #0. One thing to note is issues 682 and 683 are Batman Last Rites which will appear again in Final Crisis.

I need to note that this is one of my favorite Batman stories so I am bias for this review and I apologize that I cannot come at this 100% objectively.

The story of Batman R.I.P. is pretty crazy to be honest. Essentially Bruce has made himself a backup mind just in case he ever came across a mental attack on him. This plays a major part in this story because the Black Glove, see Batman and Son, are planning the downfall of Batman. The Black Glove is essentially a group of rich assholes who decide they want to be evil for fun. Of course the biggest challenge for this rich organization would be to break Batman. They try everything, including weapon grade crystal meth, to break Bruce. However Bruce's backup personality the Batman of Zur-en-arrh keeps him safe.

Before I continue to gush about the story let me talk about the art. Until this point I was not a believer in Tony S. Daniel. While his art was good it was not my taste. However, he comes into his own in this book. His art is a stunning testimonial for how comics are a serious art form. I know the inkers have a major part in why this looks so good, but denying that Mr. Daniel's pencils are not the base for this incredible book would be a hard argument. Everything from the pencils to the striking colors make the art in this book some of the best in the genre.

Continuing with the story we do get some Batman cliches such as Jezebel Jet secretly being part of the Black Glove. Another cliche we see is that this organization of villains hire the Joker and underestimate him leading to their downfall. Of course one of the villains also pretends to be Bruce's dad, trying to make this more personal. In this case it does work out alright, but I do have to say Buce dating someone who isn't what she seems is such a major cliche.

We get so many kick ass moments in this that show Batman as a crazy man. A few of the old stories from the silver and golden age are referenced as Bruce experimenting to try to understand the insanity of Joker. He achieves this through an isolation chamber and other punishments to the mind. In addition we see Batman break out of a coffin after he was buried alive. Bruce has prepared for this type of attack and while it does beg to question what Batman can't do it does remind me of why I love Batman.

Note for you Damian fans this book is on the list because it helps set up into Final Crisis and those two books set up for Damian actually becoming Robin.

In short I love this book and would recommend it to any Batman fan.

Now to have my own crisis.

[lgreadsandreviews]

Review of Batman and Son

As stated in my Great Damian Read I am reviewing everything Damian. My reviews are not structured in any way. I will just be writing what I think is good bad and I between. I just finished reading the first major Damian book Batman and Son by Grant Morrison with art by Andy Kubert, John Van Fleet, J.H. Williams III, and Tony S Daniel. Batman and Son collects Batman issues 655-658, 663-669, and 672-675.

WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

So this was one of the five books in this read through that I knew I was not excited for. Everything in this book is setting up the rest of Morrison’s Batman run, which I actually enjoy quite a bit. From Bruce’s new fling with Ms. Jezebel Jet to The Club of Heroes to the Black Glove to the 3 evil Batmen to Talia and, of course, Damian, Morrison crafts a very busy book. Some of this will pay off pretty quickly, but some of this takes a few books and a crisis to get to. While this is a good read, mostly, it does feel disjointed at points which makes it something I had to read slow to ensure I was getting all of Grant Morrison’s unique flare. Morrison is known for playing with continuity quite a bit and making reference to much older stories. He does this a lot in his Batman run in regards to older stories and cases Batman took on, which he refers to as Batman’s Black Casebook. The casebook stories are not essential for reading but can be an interesting look through some fun stories of Batman’s past. As long as you don’t mind Morrison playing with continuity and are willing to go a little slow this is a fun read.

Next thing I want to mention is the art in this book because it is beautiful beyond all reason. My personal favorite in the book is Andy Kubert’s work. What I believe set Kubert apart in this work from his colleagues is his attention to detail when doing both close ups and full rooms (see the image below to see a full Kubert room).

He constantly gives a high level of detail and shading that is rarely so masterfully used in comics. The other artists, pencilers, and inkers do a good job but do not live up to the quality that Kubert establishes in the initial part of the book. Despite saying this, the art does main a quality that is breathtaking and beautiful.

There is an issue in this book that I am unsure how to feel about. Batman #663 titled The Clown at Midnight is an issue that is is completely written in prose. While the subject of the issue is extremely interesting it can be a daunting read. Couple this with the terrifying artwork by John Van Fleet and you have a short story that can be difficult to read and very unsettling.

A lot of this issue does feel like it is harkening back to Morrison’s older work titled Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (this is not required for reading but is a creepy and disturbing Batman book worth anyone’s time).

Some noteworthy issues in this are Batman #655 the first appearance of Damian Wayne and Batman #666 which is the first appearance of future Damian Batman.

Overall this is just an okay read as a book. It does a lot of set up for the future but can feel too disjointed for a comfortable read. This isn’t book I would tell you to rush out and buy, but I do believe you should read it.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go resurrect a certain man…