The summer box office may belong to Tony Stark but the summer box office for comic books looks to be all about Grant Morrison. The prolific writer not only pens the “final” Final Crisis for DC but is continuing his run on one of their flagship titles, Batman, with a huge storyline ominously entitled Batman RIP. Now I’d be quite surprised if DC or their corporate masters really let Grant do in Bruce Wayne right before the release of The Dark Knight in theaters but the title certainly is an attention grabber.
The first issue of this arch opens in typical Morrison style…aka there’s a lot going on. Morrison writes at a pace that is baffling when compared to other comics. In one issue he tells the amount of story that most writers would spread out over three issues. I always feel like I’m missing something but I’m guessing even if I went back and read the last few issues I’d still be confused. That’s just the same route Morrison employed on his epic run on New X-men. You have to take a leap of faith as a reader and once you do Morrison usually rewards. The issue does a great job of emotionally establishing where our main characters are. Batman is a bit bored, Bruce is in love, Robin is looking for his place in the world, Alfred is well Alfred and the Joker is as crazy as ever. I have no idea where this is going story wise but the opening page is the kind of attention grabber that makes me want to see the story through to the end.
Art wise Tony Daniel gives this story the epic weight that the title implies. His art is stunning where you’d expect to be, the opening page, the reveal of the new Batmobile, etc. However it’s the little moments that truly show his art work at its peak. Take the moment shared between Alfred and Robin. Their 2-D body language tells us all we need to know about where Robin is at and where he may be going. The final page featuring everyone’s favorite villain is ready to be immortalized on screen savers and t-shirts around the world.
The last Batman story I read was Morrison’s first on the title where he introduced a brat of a kid named Damian who looked to be Batman’s son. That turned out to be a bit of a let down but if this issue is any indication I’m thinking RIP will RULE. (super cheesy I know but damn it I’m tired)
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