Although the series, and notion, of Batman Incorporated isn’t going anywhere with the reboot it is disappearing for a little bit. With that said we have the ‘final’ issue of the first volume (sans a double sized one shot apparently coming out this Fall, but nothing mentioned in the solicitations) this week and it’s got a lot to live up to from the incredible seventh issue. Grant Morrison seems to finally be giving us the title that was hinted at when first announced: An action packed, somewhat Silver Age return to Batman but still having those big ideas to tell the stories. For the ‘last’ issue of this run we have the debut of something called ‘Internet 3.0’….Now that’s a Morrison idea if I ever heard one.

Here’s the thing about this issue, and it’s ultimate downfall: The art. Geez whiz….How can I explain this without going into a fit of rage? Well it’s ambitious that’s as much of a positive comment as I can make. Now on one hand, it totally makes sense for this entire issue to be drawn digitally. Hell you can see this type of digital style all over the internet that make ‘webcomics’ based on this program. But on the other hand: It’s almost near impossible at times to tell what the hell is going on. At one time a dog magically appears in the comic and I can’t even fathom how and why it happens. It certainly is a colorful looking comic (which maybe is what Dave Beatty does in this issue, I don’t know the roles are specified) but at times it makes the issue even worse to look at. I feel like I’m gonna go blind when seeing the bright pinks or yellows peppered throughout the comic. Maybe someone will like how this comic looks, I don’t know. All I know is that if this is the future of comic books then I’m out.

The story for the most part is what you expect for a Morrison comic. It’s confusing and sometimes hard to follow. To be fair, if the art was more comprehensible I don’t think the comic would be that hard to understand. I do like the idea of the ‘zombie terrorists’ being malware viruses and it’s nice to see Morrison take a stab at Stephanie (Batgirl). However, her avatar looks so much like Batwoman I’m confused why Morrison didn’t just make it Kate Kane at the end.

I’m sure glad there is more Batman Incorporated in the future. Because if this was somehow the final issue of the series I’d be might pissed. Again it might sound good on paper to make an ‘Internet 3.0’ issue be drawn fully digitally, but the execution makes this one pain in the ass comic to look at. It’s ugly at times and the action from panel to panel makes no sense to me. The story is fine enough for a Morrison comic but the art makes the story even more confusing then it already is. I’m excited to hear the ninth and tenth issues of the first volume being turned into a massive one-shot before 2012. But at the end of the day this is a bad way to end a volume for a big comic such as this.