Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Chris BurnhamDC has a solicit for this issue but… well, it’s wrong. Forget consistent solicitation, Grant Morrison does what Grant Morrison wants.
As much as I love Grant Morrison and his first Bat-Epic (from his run on Batman to the end of his Batman & Robin), I’ve been hesitant about Batman Incorporated. The individual stories have been fun enough, but the overall idea of Bruce’s global war on crime has been hard for me to swallow. Did this issue change my opinion, or does the core idea continue to remain a bit farfetched? Follow the cut and see.
So far, every Batman Incorporated issue I have read has left me with the same general thought: “Well, that was fun. Still, it wasn’t as awesome as that time when Bruce caused his past self to become Batman! Remember that?” When a writer works with character he or she has had an extensive run with already and takes that character in a vastly different direction, you will always have that problem. It isn’t fair, but it’s true. I became more interested in Incorporated with the previous issue, when a much larger, overarching plot was hinted at, but even then I wasn’t sold.
Then this issue happened.
Batman Incorporated #6 is essentially an issue’s worth of Grant Morrison explaining to those who were hesitant to accept it why and how Batman Inc. works. And, like anything that Grant Morrison tries to explain, he does it through a story that jumps from place to place while still containing a cohesive and exciting narrative. Every single doubt that I’ve had about the concept behind Batman Incorporated was addressed and put to rest – and believe me, I had many of the same concerns as you. I couldn’t explain it to you in quite the same way – I’ll still probably need another issue or two before I completely “get” it – but I certainly feel like I’ve got a much better understanding of what Morrison is trying to do. If you’ve been skeptical about Morrison’s franchised Batman idea, give this issue a shot. Unless, of course, you just don’t like Morrison at all.
This issue isn’t just meta-textual explanation, though, using the story of small-time villains the Average Joes (including Joe the Plumber, you crafty Scotsman you) to center what is otherwise essentially a comics equivalent to a clip show. It’s a hell of a clip show, though: Two instances of Alfred being awesome? Check. A great scene that further defines Gordon’s relationship with the two different “main” Batman? Check. Tim Drake getting an excellent role that may get me to pick Red Robin up again? Check. Unexpected guest stars? Extra check (who might the new Wingman be, hmmm?). More importantly, though, this is the first Batman Incorporated issue where we get to see the team work on a global scale, and it works oh so well. That being said, the global operations were more oriented towards building up for what’s to come, so I can only imagine how great it will be to see in action once we reach the end of this grand-scale story.
Like the majority of Grant Morrison’s Batman work (minus Tony Daniel’s non-R.I.P. issues, which sucked), Batman Incorporated continues to be a visual treat, even without Yanick Paquette. Artist Chris Burnham continues to stand in for the originally solicited Paquette, and I don’t mind one bit. Burnham is one of those names I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of lately. His style is clearly influenced by a lot of big name artists without being derivative, and even if his style might be a bit too similar at points, there’s no denying that he has a great grasp of proper technique. His figures are all solidly built, his proportioning and foreshortening are nearly flawless, and his sense of motion is the ideal for action-adventure comics. Once he lands on a solid, consistent style, he’s going to be a real threat for those bigger-name artists that can’t meet deadlines.
Final Verdict: 8.7 – Buy It!
