Comic News And Reviews

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Cameron Stewart, Chris Burnham, Frazer Irving (artists), Alex Sinclair and Frazer Irving (colorists), Mike Marts (editor)

The Story: We see Thomas Wayne in 1765 summoning the demon Barbatos. We then shift forward to now, where Dr. Hurt is facing Batman, Robin, and DC’s spoiler for the whole Return of Batman miniseries. Problem is, Hurt’s got a lot of help, Dick has been shot in the head and the Joker is the wild card (so to speak).

Publishing Issues: I gotta get this out of the way before I do the rest of the review. On my way to my LCS, I was thinking of what a great thing it was that DC had taken its time to fully explore the implications of the death of Bruce Wayne and how I liked how they were taking their time to bring him back right. I thought the same thing contentedly as I read this issue, until I got to page 15, where suddenly I see two Batmans, one of whom is Bruce Wayne. I rubbed my eyes, flipped back a couple of pages, and find that the build up and explanation offered is….”You came through the fireplace.” WTF? OK, I don’t read most of the message boards for a reason. I want to be able to read each comic on its own terms, creator to reader, no intermediary. I think that’s honest. It took me a while to connect some of the whisperings I’d heard about publication schedules and finally realized that this issue occurs *at least* later than The Return of Bruce Wayne #6, if not later. So, I’m not going to get into my frustration, but needless to say, I felt a bit like someone had told me who the killer was before I’d finished my popcorn in the movie. Totally, totally not cool on DC’s part. I don’t care what their editorial/creative problems are. If some fraction of DC’s comics routinely get delayed for one reason or another, DC should build that into their business plan, especially on something as coordinated as an event. Now I don’t even want to read ROBW #6. Nice work, DC.

What’s Good: First part of the book (Thomas Wayne in 1765), was very moody and cool, classic Morrison. And visually impressive, even if that artist’s style isn’t 100% to my taste. The fight between Batman, Batman, Robin and the 99 Fiends was dynamic, but I never felt like anyone but the fiends were in real danger. It felt a bit like filler. Despite this, Damian certainly stole the show. Check out the visuals and the outcome of his fight with the guy with the flame thrower! The Hurt/Batman conflict in the Bat Cave continued the fun, and Pyg was twisted and depraved in central Gotham. The ending with the Joker was unexpected, tone-perfect and satisfying.

What’s Not So Good: The eclipse of Dick Grayson. Dick and Bucky (for the same reasons) have become two of my favorite characters in comics. But as soon as Bruce appeared on the stage, Dick was transformed from the menacing Dark Knight into the deferential teenager, like the growth and maturing he’d done (not only as Night Wing, but as Batman) hadn’t occurred. Emotionally disappointing for me, because I like Dick better as a character than Bruce. Other issues I had included the relay race visual feel on offer with three artists on a book. The denouement (the creation of Batman Incorporated) didn’t sit right with me either. It felt tacked on and sudden. It wasn’t the appropriate denouement to have (in fact, a true denouement didn’t really occur, other than for Dick to comment that his head was sore). After 2-4 years (depending on how you count) of uncertainty, I needed a bit more of an emotional slide to bring me down. And, my last complaint, of course…the publishing schedule that ruined The Return of Bruce Wayne.

Conclusion: If you can get over DC’s editorial/publishing snafu, this issue will do a lot to bring some closure, but some of its transitions are a bit jagged. It’s a clay-footed beauty of an issue.

Grade: B

-DS Arsenault

Filed under: DC Comics Tagged: | Batman, DC Comics, Grant Morrison, Bruce Wayne, Alex Sinclair, Comics, DC, Reviews, Joker, comic books, Comic Book Reviews, Black Glove, Weekly Comic Book Review, comic reviews, Chris Burnham, Batman and Robin, Dick Grayson, DS Arsenault, Damian Wayne, Professor Pyg, Mike Marts, Cameron Stewart, Return of Bruce Wayne, Frazer Irving, Thomas Wayne, Dr. Hurt, Batman and Robin #16, Batman and Robin #16 review

View the original article here