Written by: Grant Morrison
Illustrated by: Yanick PaquetteGrant Morrison continues his earth-shattering run on the Batman titles with this exciting, new ongoing series! Featuring; Art by the remarkable Yanick Paquette (SEVEN SOLDIERS: BULLETEER), BATMAN, INC. marks the next stage of evolution for The Dark Knight. This can’t-miss series will star not just Bruce Wayne as Batman, but also a huge number of guest-stars! Don’t miss out on this all-new start to a stunning direction for Batman!
This week brought the beginning of the whole new status quo for Batman, as Bruce Wayne is back and he’s turning Batman into a product designed for world peace. To battle this review out, we’ve got Josh Mocle (a Bat-Morrison fan) and myself (someone who found Morrison’s run occasionally brilliant but often frustratingly convoluted).
Find out what they thought of this hot new book after the jump.
Joshua: Alright, here we go, Steel Cage Match Battle Review 2010, two men enter, two men leave (feeling dirty.) Up this week we’ve got the beginning of the brand new chapter in Grant Morrison’s ongoing Bat-Epic, Batman Incorporated #1
David: Yes, yes we do. Starring Yanick Paquette on pencils too!
Joshua: So what’d you think going into this one, David? You haven’t historically been the biggest fan of Morrison’s Dark Knight.
David: Well, I don’t like it when I feel like the story is a continuity burdened mess. This book? Didn’t feel like that at all. It just felt like a really well told Batman story, to be honest, that worked perfectly into Batman’s new goals.
Joshua: Color me shocked!
David: I know, right?! It might have been because I ran into Brandon (fellow MC writer) and he said it was awful and that I shouldn’t even buy it. Or that I myself was not excited. But it worked for me.
Joshua: Brandon’s just an angry beaver. I won’t lie though.
David: You weren’t a fan were you?
Joshua: Oh no of course I was. My universal love of Morrison may not be as…irrational as some, but its definitely strong. That said, I was pretty dubious of the entire concept when the series was first announced.
David: Understandably.
Joshua: And this first issue doesn’t quite sell me on it either. Close, but not yet.
David: Yeah, it was very, very specific for a first issue about an entirely new concept.
Joshua: Exactly, theres still a lot of selling to do with this one. However, if Grant Morrison is anything, he’s a salesman.
David: Most writers would have an expository first issue walking readers through Bruce Wayne’s big plan. But instead, we’re right in the thick of things of going to train Japanese Batman.
Joshua: And part of me is pretty grateful for that, as I’m usually not too fond of heavy exposition.
David: I agree. It would have been unnecessary here.
Joshua: If this book lets its actions speak for it moving forward, I wouldn’t be surprised.
David: I wouldn’t either. And I really like the new characters worked in as well as the usage of Catwoman. It all worked for me.
Joshua: I gotta say though, I like seeing Morrison actually writing super heroics, as opposed to weird mind benders about the history of the universe and Bat-Gods…as much as I liked that stuff, I like the sort of basic nature going on here. In a way, this book seems to be written with a lot more love, or childish optimism, than his previous stuff. Which, given what Bruce went through, does kinda make sense. After surviving death, wouldn’t YOU be a little giddy?
David: Hell yeah I would be. See, I’m not exactly sure how Bruce’s Omega travels got him to this point of wanting to make Batman global, but I think the execution works. I think I have a rep as a Morrison hater, but I’m not. I think he works way better in more streamlined, straight forward stories. When he does those aforementioned “mind benders” he loses me because I feel like his concepts work but his execution doesn’t. And here, both work.
Continued belowJoshua: I agree, though the concept is much less murky. In a lot of ways it reminded me of about half of his Animal Man run (before all that fantastic but weird fourth wall stuff.)
David: Right. I can agree with that. Or even his JLA stuff. It’s more “hey guys, we know what’s going on, let’s do something about it.”
Joshua: Anyway, how about that Yanick Paquette pencil work?
David: I’m a big fan of Paquette. Always have been. His work here is really nice, I love the detail, I love the storytelling…everything about it works. For me, Paquette is an artist that doesn’t do anything exceptionally well, but he does everything solidly to the point where he’s one of those artists that is always nice to look at but you never think of him as a standout. But consistency stands out.
Joshua: Agreed. Is there any evolution to his work that you can trace here?
David: It definitely feels a bit more dynamic than his work in Young X-Men or his other work, but it feels pretty similar to his Return of Bruce Wayne issue, although I have to say his inker didn’t do him very many favors in parts. What did you have in mind?
Joshua: Nothing in particular. Like you said, he’s one of those artists that historically fell off my radar. Truth to tell, based on the things he’s done before, this high profile of a gig surprised me to see his name on it. Its alot like the Double A player getting called up to the majors. And Morrison has done that a few times now. That said, I think my only issue with him are his faces. There’s just…something off.
David: I didn’t have a problem with his faces, but I just think all of his art is fairly pleasing. Morrison likes him. He was on Seven Soldiers with Morrison. He did Return of Bruce Wayne with Morrison. Morrison is the type of guy where he finds an artist he likes and he sticks with him. It’s weird how that doesn’t earn more respect – quality across the board. But just nothing stands out. I have to say, the best part about the art was the JH Williams III cover, though.
Joshua: Fair enough. Alright, wrapping up, what do you expect from this book moving forward?
David: What do I expect? I think it carries on with more straightforward superheroics as Batman builds an army of sorts. That’s the thing about this book that puzzles me. It’s end game is world peace, right? If Batman does his job right in this book, we’re in a time with no crime.
Joshua: Well, the obvious response to that hypothesis is “what kind of evil pops up to challenge world peace at its very core?” Bruce is upping the ante, I expect the villain community to respond in kind. Which should be fun as hell to read!
David: Right. It’s going to be interesting to read. I think the oddest thing about the book is explained by what I said about Paquette. I liked everything about it. But nothing about it made me think “wow!” But it was definitely worth a buy, I’d say, and I’ll buy the second issue.
Joshua: I’ll be adding it to my next pre-order for sure.
David: What’s your rating for it?
Joshua: I’d go with an 8.7
David: I was going to go with an 8.5. So we’re in the same vicinity.
