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BATMAN #682


Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 24.9%

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Comments

  1. edward says:
    December 2, 2008 at 1:18 am

    this should be quite interesting

  2. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    December 2, 2008 at 1:20 am

    Fresh off the heels of probably the best Batman arc in a long time (at least in my eyes)…..Cant wait to see what Alfred has in store for us.

    I love Alex Ross but I gotta admit, that might be the worst cover he’s ever done and the ugliest I’ve ever seen.

  3. Avatar photo Kory says:
    December 2, 2008 at 2:01 am

    "Written by Grant Morrison"….Ugh.

  4. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 2, 2008 at 2:41 am

    If this gives us some answers to RIP, I’ll forgive last week’s "conclusion" (a bit) … Like, DC or Morrison need MY forgiveness …. lol.

    The cover doesn’t look too promising, though. Last time there was a psychedelic trip-fest cover, we were introduced to a homeless man who hung out with Bruce & we still don’t know if he was real or not … 

  5. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    December 2, 2008 at 4:54 am

    Batman is always trippin these days.  He’s high on drugs more than Jim Morrison.  I can’t wait to see how all this pans out!  Fuck, looks like I have to wait until Thursday! 

    According to DC Comics dot com, there are actually three issues of Batman coming out this month!!  Now that’s what I’m talking about!

    Too bad All Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder got pushed back again!!  That would have made for a really really great month!!!

  6. Avatar photo Animalvader1 says:
    December 2, 2008 at 7:05 am

    yep, not getting this….and I feel good about it.

  7. Templar says:
    December 2, 2008 at 8:18 am

    Heh.  I just saw the preview of the "what if" page from this issue.  It shows "what if" something other than a bat had come in the window.

  8. Avatar photo JumpingJupiter says:
    December 2, 2008 at 10:21 am

    That’s an awesome cover!

  9. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    December 2, 2008 at 1:09 pm

    Cover is not bad, but I have never really been a fan of Alex Ross. 

    Loved RIP, can’t wait to read this issue.

  10. Avatar photo Kory says:
    December 2, 2008 at 1:58 pm

    I’ll say one thing about the cover, it certainly stands out.  Which is the point I guess.

  11. Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
    December 2, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    I love this 60s homage cover.

  12. Avatar photo Theoran says:
    December 2, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    @WadeWilson

    Morrison said in an IGN interview that, "Final Crisis is where we see the final fate of Batman." So there’s your conclussion . . . . . I guess.

     

     

    / no issues with cover

    // covers gives me the munchies though

  13. Avatar photo JedeyeSniv says:
    December 2, 2008 at 6:16 pm

    Really looking forward to this. Hopefully it’ll shut up all the fatbeard bitching about bat-continuity. Not that I particularly care about it, I just enjoy them as great Batman stories. Seriously, if you don’t think this is one of the best Bat-stories ever, you’re on harsher drugs than brucie was halfway through the arc…

    and @ WadeWilson – does it matter if Honor was real or not? I’m personally of the idea that he was, but I think getting worried about a little ambiguity is rather missing the point.

  14. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 2, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    The marquees on the cover make me think of Bladerunner for some reason. I like it, but a little too red – that’s just me. 

    This story’s got me. I remember saying how cool it was when Bruce started losing it before RIP. It just seemed so uncharacteristic of him, and somehow sparked a new era. Then I was confused for six months (and counting). Really wish I had the time and finances to read Morrison’s entire run.. hmm, Christmas?  

  15. Avatar photo cutty says:
    December 3, 2008 at 12:49 am

    People have been making judgements just based on R.I.P., but for me, this story really started right after the Rhas Al Ghul arc.  Sure, Morrison’s entire run ties together, but its been one continuous descent into madness (for batman and the reader) since issue #672.  Morrison’s got a lot more story to tell, I can’t wait to see where this goes…

  16. Avatar photo micahmyers says:
    December 3, 2008 at 1:04 am

    @wade wilson: honor jackson was a real person in the first issue of the arc who tells batman he had a kind face and batman gives him a roll of a hundreds. he then hallucinates him after being drugged, and finds out that honor died after buying hundreds of dollars of smack.

  17. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 3, 2008 at 3:21 am

    @Theoran — Thanks, mate. I hope you’re right! 🙂

    @JedeyeSniv — It matters to some people (I’m one of them), yes. To other people, no. I just like to know what I’m reading. Please feel free to enlighten me on the point that I’m missing in writing things deliberately unclear.

    @micah — Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re not. My point is that it’s unclear. Half the people who read this say he’s real & half say he’s not, (& you could say the same thing about A LOT of RIP), so, who knows who’s right? 

  18. flapjaxx says:
    December 3, 2008 at 6:44 am

    @WadeWilson: I think "the point" (as if there’s just one) of unclear stuff like whether Honor Jackson is real is just for the reader to exercise their imagination and draw their own conclusions based on the "clues" we’ve been provided. In other words, I’m not sure even Grant Morrison could give a definitive answer about who Honor was, exactly how he got there, or how "real" he was. I admit that the vagueness does clash with the other reality-based detective work that the reader can do within the story (like catching how similar Hurt and Pierce look, or suspecting that the Black Glove might have lowered crime in Gotham). But I think the story works better if we’re not so intent on finding definitive answers as we are just having fun thinking about the ideas and how they play together.

    It’s a shame they’re going to slightly ruin this great cover by slapping a "Final Crisis" logo on its lower right quadrant.

    And to anyone who actually takes the time to go to this page just to fulfill some kind of weekly requirement of saying "I hate what Morrison’s done on this title" (besides increase sales and generate more discussion and investigation than any other title in years?): You guys deserve the atmosphere you put yourself in.

  19. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 3, 2008 at 8:28 am

    And I just remembered why I didn’t start Batman sooner: the Ressurection of Ra’s and all the negative hype surrounding it.

  20. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 3, 2008 at 8:33 am

    @flapjaxx — You said: "I‘m not sure even Grant Morrison could give a definitive answer about who Honor was, exactly how he got there, or how "real" he was." Dude, that’s my whole point. Some people dig that, some people don’t. Just because I don’t like it, doesn’t mean I don’t get it.

    And you said: "But I think the story works better if we’re not so intent on finding definitive answers as we are just having fun thinking about the ideas and how they play together." I think you’re totally right. I agree that’s how it’s written. I’m just saying, it doesn’t work for me. It’s like telling a joke without the punch-line, or reading a whole novel & the last page is blank except for a question mark in the middle of the page … I dunno, maybe you guys are right & I have missed the point. lol.

    And I comment on pretty much all books I buy, negative or positive, I’m just honest. I’m not just commenting here to hate on G-Mo. When he was writing stuff on Batman I liked, I said so. I liked pretty much his whole Batman run up until the 2nd half of RIP. So, I’m not a full time hater, just part time. 😛

  21. Avatar photo JumpingJupiter says:
    December 3, 2008 at 8:52 am

    "The answer is, there is no answer"

    That is sooo, like. Profound!

  22. Avatar photo Kory says:
    December 3, 2008 at 9:26 am

    I sense there is a lot of people buying into this Grant Morrison "I’m too cool for the room" persona he has cultivated.  I love a good mind bending story, but I don’t like when artists do abstract things just for the sake of being abstract, and I especially don’t like it when fans get on this "oh, you’re too dumb to get it" high horse.

    JumpingJupiter pretty much summed up my feelings: "The answer is, there is no answer"

    That is sooo, like. Profound!

    That’s it for me.  I’m staying out of this one this week.  I’m sure someone will respond to me trying to convince how this is the greatest thing ever, or how I’m not educated enought to get Morrison’s high concepts, but I won’t respond, so it will all be in vain.

  23. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    December 3, 2008 at 9:47 am

    @Kory-If you don’t like it, then you don’t like it.  No one is going to try to convert you since you have clearly already made up your mind.  Some people like Morrison and some don’t, but its pretty unfair of you to just generalize that we all fall for his "I’m too cool for the room" persona.  The more accurate reason is because most of us just like his brand of storytelling. 

  24. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    December 3, 2008 at 11:50 am

    I got to admit, I’m definitely buying this issue for the story, not the cover.  Wait, I always do that.  LOL

  25. Avatar photo JumpingJupiter says:
    December 3, 2008 at 12:55 pm

    He said a lot of people fall for that not all. I’d say that’s fairly accurate.

  26. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    December 3, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    No, thats not accurate at all

  27. Avatar photo gnanniv says:
    December 3, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    Let’s take a poll.

    Who falls for the “persona” and who likes it for Morrison’s brand of storytelling?  

    Remember you can only pick one.

  28. Avatar photo JedeyeSniv says:
    December 3, 2008 at 5:59 pm

    Very tempted to try my pitch to Kory for why he should be digging this, lol. If you don’t like it by now man, you never will. Just bear in mind that if you’ve been reading all along and you quit now, you’re essentially missing the ‘end’ of the story.

     @gnanniv – I find this a harder question to answer than you might originally imagine! I’ve been reading GMoz for many many years now, and I love the stories he tells, they just hit my sweetspot every single time. But at the same time, I have been enjoying Morrison as a persona more and more in recent years as well. The guy as an A1 bullshit artist, and I mean this in the best possible way. He talks a great talk, and even if the two rarely synch up, both are enjoyable forms of entertainment XD I like how in some interviews, they’re just like compressed bursts of hyper-Morrisonisms, where he just reels off a crazy list of stuff he’s thinking about and -pop- a little mushroom cloud goes off in my brain.

    If I had to choose, I’d go with storytelling I’d guess. Without that, he’d just me Mark Millar *shudder*

    Also (longest post in iFanboy history, sorry), I have been flicking through Moz’s run tonight after bugging my excellent gf to read the new issue, and have noticed some great stuff in there. Bruce really did notice Jet’s duplicity very early, the line he references in 681 was actually in 664, and Bruce gives her the oddest look which reads excellently with hindsight. 

    And, at the start of RIP you had the BATMAN AND ROBIN WILL NEVER DIE!!! splash page, cutting away to six months previous. In 681 right at the end, ‘six months later’, le Bossu is carving up a cop and screams "BATMAN AND ROBIN ARE DEAD!, cut to the batsignal. That’s some ace tying up of the story right there. Resolution smesolution! XD

  29. Avatar photo JedeyeSniv says:
    December 3, 2008 at 7:12 pm

    ha. i think i’ve got it. #666. Damien vs Demon-bats, the third ghost, sent by ‘the devil’. heh.

    Damien: "Maybe it’s time to wake up and smell the sulphur. 

    I know the devil exists, or at least something exists which might as well be the devil.

    I’ve met him.

    But I wonder if his royal highness, the anti-christ, knows anything about the bargain I made at the crossroads the night the Batman died.

    The victory is in the preparation, as dad used to say…"

    So there y’go. It is the devil, it was in the run all along. We thought at the time he was referencing some imaginary story, but from the brief timeline Damien gives in 666 it appears he might meet ‘the devil’ fairly shortly.

    -pop-

  30. Avatar photo doolittle says:
    December 3, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Does Alex Ross’ Batman look kind of fat and old to anyone else?  Look at his face.  It’s like he’s Walter Matthau under there.

     That said, I hope Kelly Leak is the new Batman.

  31. Avatar photo gnanniv says:
    December 3, 2008 at 7:38 pm

    @JedeyeSniv – Ha, I get it.

    The Devil’s in the details.

     

  32. Avatar photo Chris Rohling says:
    December 3, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    I personally liked RIP.  I feel most of the complaining has been about not being spoonfed the story.  Yeah it was a bit confusing, but like someone mentioned earlier, a little ambiguity isn’t a bad thing.  I’m still confused on whether doc hurt was satan or… the sunt guy or whatever the hell he called himself.  I have a feeling that everything will clear up really soon.  Maybe i should reread the arc before diving into this one. Even though I’m still a bit confused by this arc, I still enjoyed it from the get go.  I was looking for something different and intense, and that’s exactly what i got.

  33. Avatar photo eagle6002 says:
    December 3, 2008 at 8:30 pm

    Here’s a pretty nice interview on ign from mike marts:

    http://comics.ign.com/articles/935/935393p1.html

    Marts: "I’ll say that some questions will be answered in these two issues. Other questions will definitely be left unanswered for some time. But I will also say that these two issues will definitely pose some new questions that readers weren’t expecting upon finishing Batman RIP. " 

    I guess we won’t get a definitive answer on this arc for a long time. 🙁 

  34. Avatar photo Chris Rohling says:
    December 3, 2008 at 9:11 pm

    @ eagle.  I think that’s a good thing.  I don’t want all fo it right now.  A good story usually takes time to unravel.

  35. Avatar photo Kory says:
    December 3, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    Okay, I said I wouldn’t post again in this thread, but I can’t resist. 

    I see comments by people saying that they don’t want answers now, they want to wait and have it slowly play out, yet all I hear is complaining about how slow the arc in JSA is playing out and how nothing is happening in New Krypton. 

    My head is spinning from the double standards.  I don’t understand fans sometimes.

    I’m done ranting now.

  36. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 3, 2008 at 9:57 pm

    @Anson17 — I hate to be "spoonfed" a story. But I also don’t want the story put into a blender then dumped on the plate & the writer saying "Guess what I put in the blender?" & then not telling …

    @gnanniv — I need a 3rd option if I have to choose. 😛

    @JedeyeSniv — Was #666 even in continuity or like an Esleworlds type story?

    @eagle6002 — The news in your post made me groan, out loud, lol.

     

  37. Avatar photo Crippler says:
    December 3, 2008 at 10:33 pm

    Wow.  Wasn’t expecting this at all….  RIP isn’t the story I thought it was. 

  38. mmalone27 says:
    December 3, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    This snuck up on me. It may just be brilliant.

  39. Avatar photo comicdork37 says:
    December 4, 2008 at 12:45 am

    @Crippler: AGREED!!!

    Although I didn’t care for RIP I will be picking up this issue and the next as I am hoping (fingers crossed) that it will clear some things up and the premise of Alfred telling Batman’s history is intriguing to me. After that I’m done with this Bat-craziness.

    The one positive thing I can say about RIP is that it made me realize a few things about the types of comics that I like to read. 1. I bought into Morrison’s persona (whoops, but not any more) 2. His storytelling style is not for me (I need to be spoon fed to a point I guess). 3. If I spend 10 times as much time online trying to figure out what I just read, I shouldn’t be reading it. 4. I hate event books and I love one-shots, stand-alones, annuals, finite story arcs, etc (basically stuff that wraps up nicely and has a definite beginning and end without having to read the next arc/event/etc).

    Thanks for the education G-Mo. 

  40. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    December 4, 2008 at 1:10 am

    @comicdork37 – It is not Alfred. It is the Lump in the guise of Alfred. Bruce is reliving it all in super fast time all the while the Lump is aiding in Bruce to reveal everything there is to know about the Batman.

    As for the comments concerning Batman #666. Everyone should really go back and read this single issue right after RIP. It really does help.

  41. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    December 4, 2008 at 1:14 am

    Ah, geesh! I think I shouldn’t be posting that in this type of thread. Sorry gang. you might want to remove my last post. I apologise to everyone for being a dumb ass to post spoilers in this manner. I know better. Sorry.

  42. Avatar photo JedeyeSniv says:
    December 4, 2008 at 6:57 am

    @Wade – yeah, 666 is in continuity, at least as much as a future-issue can be. It certainly is one of the keystones to the entire run, both thematically and now apparently it’s chock fulla clues as well.

    I think that one mistake many people are making is treating RIP as a relatively self-contained story when it’s not really, it’s the last part of a much much larger arc. I can certianly understand the frustrations of readers that have just jumped on for the ‘event’ (which was really just made into an event by DC, I think Moz was always going to end it this way though).

    I’m so psyched for this issue though, I’m really glad to hear that some people are enjoying it.

  43. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    December 4, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    I just finished reading this one.  It was confusing, but not half as bad as the issue before this one.  I will definitely read this one again before I I bag/board it and put it in the trunk.

     I got another issue of Batman with a variant cover!!  That is two in a row now!!

  44. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    December 4, 2008 at 5:35 pm

    crazy issue.  I liked it.

  45. Avatar photo Jim says:
    December 4, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    6 months ago I didn’t "get" Grant Morrison at all.  Boy, was I wrong.  This issue might be the most brilliant comic I’ve read all year. 

  46. Avatar photo eagle6002 says:
    December 4, 2008 at 7:39 pm

    @ Jim

    Uh, I think its pretty good, but I wouldn’t say that this comes close to being the most brilliant comic this year. Not at all.

  47. Avatar photo cutty says:
    December 4, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    Grant Morrison = David Lynch

    After reading this issue, its a lot more clear – this run is an acquired taste, its not for everyone.  That being said, 5/5

  48. Avatar photo thefreakygeeky says:
    December 4, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    you know im not a hude AR fan but thats a nice cover

  49. Avatar photo VogonPoet30 says:
    December 4, 2008 at 11:48 pm

    I’m going to laugh really hard if Bruce is take out of the picture because of Final Crisis instead of RIP, because that’s where I’m starting to think it’s going.  That said, Batman was put under similar torture in Morrison’s old Rock of Ages story in JLA. It took him years, but he ended up cracking Desaad (Darkseid’s go-to torture guy, fyi) rather than the other way around.

  50. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 5, 2008 at 12:17 am

    "It may just be brilliant."

    "The most brilliant comic of the year."

    "5/5"

    Why? What really defines this historic mish-mash as the ground-breaking piece you accuse it of being? And let me clarify that I did not hate this. 

  51. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    December 5, 2008 at 1:34 am

    @VogonPoet30-Thats what Morrison has been saying all along, that Batman’s fate would be revealed in Final Crisis.

  52. Avatar photo VogonPoet30 says:
    December 5, 2008 at 2:45 am

    That’s news to me.  Not that I don’t believe you, but what interview was that in?

  53. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    December 5, 2008 at 3:08 am

    @VogonPoet30-I remeber reading it in several spots, but the only specific interview I can remember is the one he did for IGN comics way back in August http://comics.ign.com/articles/902/902992p1.html  Its towards the end of the interview.

    Upon closer inspection of the cover (and having it in hand)…I fell in love with it.  The villians remind me so much of the old Adam West show that I almost squeeked with glee. >__<

  54. Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
    December 5, 2008 at 3:09 am

    @VogonPoet30 – Check out here. And here.

  55. Avatar photo micahmyers says:
    December 5, 2008 at 8:18 am

    after reading this i just sat in my chair and basked in the awesomeness of this before reading the rest of my books.

  56. Avatar photo DemonBoy says:
    December 5, 2008 at 9:41 am

    @FACE – For me it was just a feeling I got after reading it.  Some comics I read and just say "That was good" and store it.  Some comics, like this one…I read, then read again and again.  I don’t fully understand it, but I can feel in my gut that it is something different and awesome.

     I’m a Morrison fan and I have trouble quantifying the satisfaction I get from it, I don’t always get it, but I know that I enjoyed it thoroughly.

  57. Avatar photo cutty says:
    December 5, 2008 at 10:30 am

    @At FACE – I thought it was gripping from page to page.  I’ve loved Morrison’s storytelling in Batman throughout his entire run, and this was more of the same

  58. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 5, 2008 at 10:36 am

    Oh, I recognize the guy administering the procedure on Batman now!  Here he is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrBONyFBePc 

    a striking resemblence to Joker’s most recent look also found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTETiB5x-Lw

    HN HN HN HN HN HN HN

    seriously though, best line form this book: "somebody ’round here must be CRAZY!"

    Love it.

  59. Avatar photo Paradiddle says:
    December 5, 2008 at 11:54 am

    Wow, after reading this I thought it would be crucified on here, but it seems to be pretty popular. I gave it a 3/5 myself as I found it disjointed and hard to follow. Still decent, but just not at the same level as the previous issues, IMO. Then again, I did read it in a crowded restaurant while eating dinner. I’ll give it another read this weekend.

  60. Avatar photo VogonPoet30 says:
    December 5, 2008 at 12:55 pm

    @conor and drakedangerz : cool beans.

  61. Avatar photo thescimitar says:
    December 5, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    Finally a monthly book ties into Final Crisis.

  62. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    December 5, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    Uh….Would it be a huge right turn if I said that I was confused by this?

    I mean I praised the last issue to no end….but now I dont know about this one. It was on the verge of being unreadable if I didnt give it a go 5 more times.

  63. Avatar photo Howl4Me says:
    December 5, 2008 at 7:20 pm

    I’m curious to know. Did DC publish a book featuring reprints of tales that might help flesh out this RIP storyline. Marvel does this all the time. They’ll release a special with maybe a new story and a reprint story or two to set up either a storyline or an upcoming event. Stuff like that really helps. As it is, I downloaded a file from a forum I frequent where someone compiled a bunch of Batman storries from the Golden Age and suggested we read it to enjoy the RIP storyline. It helped.

    I’m not a huge DC comics reader, I’ll only read Batman when an event like this is heavily promoted and because I use to read Batman in the ’80s. I’ve enjoyed Morisson’s run (so far) immensely even when I didn’t know what was going on. It’s been like watching a David Lynch movie. You either like David Lynch or you don’t. I’m one of those that do.

    If anything, DC got me reading Batman again. I’ll stick around till he gets boring again. Whenever that might be.

  64. Avatar photo PraxJarvin says:
    December 5, 2008 at 11:53 pm

    I gotta tell you this will always be my favorite issue of Batman from here on out. And it’s not because I love Grant Morrison (He and Kevin smith were the writers on the first two books I bought when I returned to comics in 2001, New X-Men & Green Arrow for the curious.) It’s not because I particularly liked RIP (The ending brought it back together for me, but for a while I felt like the bottom fell out of the series). It’s not because this issue was singularly brilliant (Though quite enjoyable.)

    It’s that Grant Morrison uses a joke from the 1960s Batman movie that I have been using for years to some up the 60s TV show/movie to everyone and I would be shocked if it wasn’t purposive. In the original film, Batman and Robin go to police HQ to meet with Jim Gordon and Chief O’Hara. They are then told about a crime that has the hallmarks of 4 of their most fearsome (and recently escaped!) villains. After figuring how Joker and Penguin were involved (thanks to Gordon and Batman) Robin supposes. "But wait, it happened at sea! SEA! FOR CATWOMAN!" It’s the most ridiculous clue/conclusion combination I’ve ever seen in Batman and fits in with the 60s books.

    And in this issue we get the fabulous "Joker left and ace. Card begins… A-C-." Robin chimes in "Sea." and then we get the "Holy Sea Plane Display!" It made my day. It made me smile. It made me think "Gee, Morrison did make everything ‘in continuity’ in Batman."

    Also, I love the cover to Last Rites as it pays homage to TV show I watched in reruns on  USA back in the early 90s. More so than even the 60s comics, the cover features Mr. Freeze in his fishbowl look form the show and Gorshin’s Riddler. Also Bat-Mite!

    Anyway… Pick of the Week for me. 

  65. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    December 6, 2008 at 1:48 am

    I really think in my heart RIP is not in continuity now. It sorta makes sense when you think about it. Batman and his world got crazy fast in that arc, and it explains the time lapse of RIP and Final Crisis. Maybe Bruce has been stuck in that device all along and imagined the storyline himself.

    My brain hurts. >_<

  66. Avatar photo eagle6002 says:
    December 6, 2008 at 2:48 am

    Hm, I just thought of something. Did the person who wrote the original Batman Zur-En-Arrh comic (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_113) intend for "Zur-En-Arrh" to have the same meaning as Morrison’s meaning for it (Zorro in Arkham)?

  67. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 6, 2008 at 3:59 am

    Another G-Mo special — convoluted, fractured narrative, that assumes WAY too much prior knowledge minute details of Batman continuity. This was unreadable to me. I think I got about half of it … but, I could easily be wrong. I really hope the next issue is Morrison’s last on Batman, I’ve had enough of all the vague guesswork shit. This thread has about 4 theories of what happened in this issue, & I can’t be bothered scanning other websites for another 300 theories.

    I also don’t get how this has 44% of the iFanbase POW votes. I must have total oppisite comic book tastes to most people, or at least to 44% of the iFanbase!

  68. Avatar photo rwpos says:
    December 6, 2008 at 9:15 am

    22 pages of art and words, woven around maybe three pages of story.  The frequent cuts between story variations had no connective plot – it was purely random – and no context for the rationale behind any of the various moments was ever offered to the reader.  The art was good, and a few of the brief moments were fun to read (in the same way that a highlights reel is enjoyable) but as a story it was pretty poor.  I know that some people say that every comic is somebody’s first comic, but I sincerely hope that this comic was nobody’s FIRST comic…

  69. Avatar photo JedeyeSniv says:
    December 6, 2008 at 9:51 am

    @Wade – I’ve just this minute read this, was it really that hard to follow? A hyper-compressed look at Batman’s history forced by his imprisonment in FC. There’s a lot of easter-eggs for longtime fans, yes, but it doesn’t require any special knowledge really. The plot twist was only bought up in this very issue. Really, I don’t know how anyone can read this issue and come away with more than one ‘theory’ as to what happened.

    The one thing that really blew my mind was the Batwoman bit, especially with the new Batwoman in DC. Is our Kate Kane the same as this Katy Kane? Did Bruce make her gay?? lol. GM making ALL of Batman’s history into canon really twigs my geek-brain, a lot of the old Batman stories I read when I was around 10 years old, so seeing all of this stuff is strangely nostalgic, even for a relatively young 25 year old.

    Can’t wait to see what happens in next ish though, and I’m so glad we don’t have to wait long for it.

  70. Avatar photo DemonBoy says:
    December 6, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    I picked up the Tony Daniel variant cover and it’s awesome.  Creepy Joker.  I’ve re-read the issue a few times now and I enjoy it more and more each time.  I’m also a researcher by nature and I’ve checked out alot of different reviews and blogs who have really good insight into these stream of consciousness memories.  Also, I was unfamiliar with the character that shows up in the Final Crisis tie-in part, but some basic net research got me caught up.

    Keep it up Morrison!

  71. Avatar photo rwpos says:
    December 6, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    I agree that by the end it was pretty clear that the ENTIRE story was a series of forced recollections, hallucinations, and delusions; that we were treated to a 22-page collage of nonsense that’s simply build-up to the next issue, which I can only pray will actually include some story.  As a study of the flights of fancy and memory-lane journeys that Batman is capable of, well this met the bill.  I just wasn’t really interested in that exploration.  If there was something deeper here, then I fully admit that I missed it.

  72. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    December 6, 2008 at 9:00 pm

    The only confusing stuff about this issue for me was ‘what the hell is going on here?’. Even when the idea that ‘oh this is memories from Bruce cause he’s being tortured in Final Crisis’ hit me….I still didnt realise what was going on fully. Now I get it after processing it in my head and I am loving what Morrison is doing on this title.

    Sorry your not enjoying this Wade, I can understand why you and others are really getting sick of this stuff….But hey we get O’Neil and Dini for the next couple of issues…..Then right back to Morrison.

  73. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 7, 2008 at 9:43 am

    @JedeyeSniv — I understand this was meant to be all over the place, a jumbled walk down memory-lane, so when I said it was unreadable, I just meant I didn’t enjoy reading it. it was like a chore, getting through it. I would say it WAS hard to follow, when almost every panel jumped to a different scene & different point in time. It wasn’t easy (for me) to know what order things happened in, etc. Look how many different theories there are as to what happened in this issue. Obviously I’m not the Lone Ranger, here.

    @Champ — Is it confirmed that Morrison is coming back? 

  74. Avatar photo rwpos says:
    December 7, 2008 at 9:59 am

    @WadeWilson – Not only is it not clear that Morrison will be back (although it does appear to be DC’s general plan), when you read the interviews linked by Conor in his 12/05/09 @ 3:09 AM post, Morrison refers t RIP and Final Crisis as his grand finale with DC, which seemed to suggest that as of months ago he was leaning toward NOT coming back.  Obviousy plans change, but until I see a solicitiation showining his return I’ll remain skeptical.

     

  75. Avatar photo Kory says:
    December 7, 2008 at 10:01 am

    Morrison writes next issue, after that who knows. 

  76. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 7, 2008 at 10:07 am

    I was checking this out again last night while, let’s say, ‘my mind was open to complexities’ and I just couldn’t help but laugh at the panel that has Alfred lifting a severely over-sized crown. Tell me, was there any logic in that or was that just exaggeration on behalf of the subconscious? and.. what’s the red gadget Bruce’s got in his hands? 

    @Wade – i wanted to acknowledge the comment you left me in my review and make sure you got it so i’m leaving it here.. when i wrote said review i had seen you mention reading the entire run and still not fully grasping it and maybe i should have acknowledged that all things would not likely be realized with a complete reading. regardless, readers of the entire run still have an advantage over those who haven’t

  77. Avatar photo rwpos says:
    December 7, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    @Face – I’ll assume that when you refer to "the entire run," you mean everything since Detective Comics #27, and include the 1960’s Adam West TV series as well.

  78. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 7, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    Can someone tell me what trades collect Morrison’s run on Batman? I’m a little confused by the gap that seems to fall after Batman and Son.

    @rwpos – 🙂

  79. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    December 7, 2008 at 11:34 pm

    @FACE: The trades are ‘Batman and Son’ and ‘The Black Glove’, with ‘RIP’ coming out sometime next year. Read them in that order to get the gist of his run….I noticed they branch off ‘Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul’ as a seperate trade. Possibly cause it’s a mini-event in the Bat books, but it could mean something else. I feel the ressurection happenend after Batman and Son, but the stuff afterwords (Black Glove and RIP) happen in it’s own continuity. Making me feel that those issues take place in Bruce’s head.

  80. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    December 7, 2008 at 11:57 pm

    @rwpos — Thanks, mate. If Morrison does come back, I might have to drop Batman & break my unbroken run of the title that’s around 20 years right now. Thanks for making my favourite character no fun to read Mr Morrison.

    @FACE — Some things in RIP would definitely make more sense to people who read all of Morrison’s run, you’re right. It was kinda weird for DC to market RIP as this huge single event aimed at people who don’t even read Batman, & then not only make it one chapter in Morrison’s run, but not even the LAST one. But, I guess if we like or not is irrelevant to DC, so long as we buy it. $$$Cha-ching.$$$

    Also, FACE if you are just reading Morrison’s run to try to catch up on RIP, you could skip the Ra’s Al Ghul crossover & not miss much. It was kinda like a big company crossover inserted into the middle of his run by the editors (to sell books) & felt pretty out of place with the rest of it. 

  81. Avatar photo FACE says:
    December 8, 2008 at 9:04 am

    @Champ/Wade – thanx!! a girl i know works at Borders and is getting me 40% off both books. consider it an early christmas present to myself. and serious thanx for the heads up on the Res of Ra’s storyarc.  

  82. Avatar photo WadebeforeSlade says:
    December 8, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    You can probably get them cheaper at Amazon or Instock Trades, just an FYI.

     

     

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