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BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 (OF 6)

The most anticipated series of 2010 is here! Superstar writer Grant Morrison tackles his most ambitious project to date with THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, a special six-part series that chronicles the return of the original man behind Batman’s cape and cowl! Each issue spans a different era of time and features the dynamic artwork of one of today’s artistic juggernauts, starting with Chris Sprouse (TOM STRONG) on the extra-sized issue #1 and Frazer Irving (SEVEN SOLDIERS: KLARION) on the 40-page issue #2!

Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art by FRAZER IRVING
Covers by ANDY KUBERT
Variant cover by FRAZER IRVING

Price: $3.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 1.0%
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Comments

  1. Avatar photo RoiVampire says:
    May 24, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    YES! Let’s fudging do this!

  2. Avatar photo ctrosejr says:
    May 24, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    Were we supposed to know what that thing was at the end of issue #1?

  3. Avatar photo DarkKnightJared says:
    May 24, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    @ctrosejr — No, I’m sure that’s going to be explained in the following issues.

    And I can’t wait to see Batman punch some Puritans in the face. 😀 

  4. Avatar photo Qpeeples says:
    May 24, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    Is this shipping twice this month?  Seems like I just read issue #1?

  5. Avatar photo RoiVampire says:
    May 24, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    I think that was just a random creature from the past that leaped through time with Bruce

  6. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    May 24, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    @Qpeeples

    1 and 2 were bi-weekly, but I think it’s monthly from here on out. 

  7. Avatar photo WheelHands says:
    May 24, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    Can’t wait to see Puritan Batman slice up that kraken.

    That ranks pretty high on the list of sentences I never thought I’d say. 

  8. Avatar photo PraxJarvin says:
    May 24, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    Really looking forward to this. I am hoping in one of these issues he’ll bump into a past version of Max Mercury.

  9. Avatar photo JimBilly4 says:
    May 24, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    People seemed really split on the last issue, but I really liked Caveman Wayne walking through all the Bat-stuff without entirely knowing why it was resonating with him. It felt fun rather than cliche or too easy. Was odd that he took the penicillin though. Is he remembering bits and pieces or is there more Bruce there than we have been led to believe? Since he will actually be communicating with English speakers this issue, we might get a little more insight into his head.

  10. Avatar photo rift1128 says:
    May 24, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    Ugh… Frazier Irving… bummer. 

  11. Avatar photo JesseG says:
    May 24, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    I’ll check it out because I love Frazier Irving, but if this isn’t a 4/5 book then I’m probably done with this series.

  12. Avatar photo oldmanlogan88 says:
    May 24, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    after looking at the preveiw im digging the Frazer Irving art

  13. Avatar photo mikeandzod21 says:
    May 24, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    Ever think Frazet Irving gets tired of drawing colonial pilgrims?

  14. Avatar photo HailScott says:
    May 24, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    Yeah, well, Unknown Soldier gets cancelled and Bruce Wayne is an angry Pilgrim. And so it goes.

    On the bright side, this issue cannot possibly be any worse than the last one.  

  15. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    May 24, 2010 at 9:34 pm

    Did not think all too much of issue #1 but it is Morrison on Batman so how can we go wrong?

  16. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    May 24, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    Hooray for Frazier Irving!

    Can’t wait to see where Morrison goes with this. Bruce fighting witches (possibly?) sounds like an Elseworlds title…

  17. Avatar photo wallythegreenmonster says:
    May 25, 2010 at 12:00 am

    From the preview, the art looks underwhelming, and the story looks really weird full of alien stuff. I dunno bout this…

  18. Avatar photo USPUNX says:
    May 25, 2010 at 12:49 am

    Read issue 1 and loved it but I haven’t read any Bat books for almost a year. Is there anything worth reading to get caught up? I don’t even know why Bruce is lost in time and has no memory. I know the Anti-Monitor killed him in Final Crisis but that’s it.

  19. Avatar photo gnanniv says:
    May 25, 2010 at 2:01 am

    @USPNX – A Correction. Darkseid hit Batman with his omega sanction. The death that is life.http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pSm1yraKR-o/SbkVTl3DKTI/AAAAAAAAATs/jrL9JCuiweU/s400/Untitled-29-30.jpg

    I would say that all of Morrison’s run is worth reading; Batman and Son, Batman:The Black Glove, Batman:RIP, Final Crisis, and Batman and Robin.You don’t have to read all of that to get caught up, though that would do it.

    Batman and Robin has probably the most direct tie to Return and would you give you enough background moving forward. There is a Batman and Robin hardcover out and another one to come out in November, both together cover the first 12 issues, and issue 13 will be the next single issue out.

  20. Avatar photo balsalm says:
    May 25, 2010 at 2:15 am

    The first issue ended with a cliffhanger so i’m excited about this.

     Hope it’s as fun as the first issue.

  21. Avatar photo Urthona says:
    May 25, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Loved this team on Klarion…should be great.

  22. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    May 25, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    I thought the last issue was ridiculous (& this whole time travel idea). Batman is totally the wrong character for this type of thing, unless it’s still 1965 & no one told me.

    But, (as usual) I’m obviously in the minority thinking this way.

  23. Avatar photo USPUNX says:
    May 25, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    @gnanniv: thanks. I did read the trades of Batman and Son, and Black Glove so maybe I’ll reread those and get some of the other stuff after.

  24. MikeHaseloff says:
    May 25, 2010 at 8:13 pm

    @WadeWilson You’re absolutely right! That’s conventional thinking and I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong if you’re processing TIME TRAVELLING BATMAN as a singular concept contradictory to the best Batman as a man fighting at his peak on the streets. However, there are a lot of little concessions made around Batman, even in his little corner of urban Gotham, which make this a completely reasonable continuation of those adventures, only made moreso by the surrounding [Morrison written] stories that have led to this point. Anyone keeping the last few years’ stories in mind will surely benefit from throughlines, even if it’s not mandatory reading.

    There are a lot of dimensions to be appreciated! Almost the entire gamut of what comic books do!

  25. incredibledave says:
    May 25, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    The preview for this showed some kinda wonky looking faces from Irving

    However it did show Bruce fighting a kraken, Bruce being taken care of by a creepily obsessive woman and Superman and co travelling to 10 minutes before the heat death of the universe.

    Sounds good to me! 😀

  26. Avatar photo DarkKnightJared says:
    May 25, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    On the preview…yeah, the Vanishing-Point stuff is a bit off face-wise, but the Bruce parts were really well done. 

  27. Avatar photo jobob247 says:
    May 26, 2010 at 10:51 am

    K , i’m the first to go on record when gmo destroys my will to live with his writing. I thoroughly enjoyed #1…… We’ll see how this goes. 

  28. Avatar photo cutty says:
    May 26, 2010 at 1:18 pm

    I wasn’t very impressed with #1 but I’m really glad I stayed on.  Absolutely loved this, especially that it’s starting to tie in with what Morrison started years ago on BATMAN

  29. Avatar photo wallythegreenmonster says:
    May 26, 2010 at 3:50 pm

    I’m a lifelong Batman fan. i had to put this book down at the store. Irving needs to go back to Art School and take anatomy lessons…draw from life. He has heads too big for bodies. Ugly hands, inconsistent faces. He disguises a lot of his artistic shortcomings through his great color and graphic textures, but its really just dressing up a turd. 

    The first issue left me feeling underwhelmed, its disappointing such a poor effort is being given to a series and character that deserves so much better. I took that $4 and bought some lunch. 

  30. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    May 26, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    I love Morrison’s bat-shit (bad pun, sorry) take on Bruce as of late. I love Irving’s art.

    None of this was good though in any shape or form.

    Art was atrocious for the most part. Faces (especially Bruce’s) were ridiculous. Anatomy was all wrong and the colors were….if that is digital coloring then I fear the distant future of comics. Irving does great things with the surreal, like the ‘alien’ and the monster in this. But then it’s taken away with a laughably bad take on Superman.

    Then the story……If it wasn’t too bizarre then it was boring as hell. The story, within a story, here was just not even worth mentioning. I’m all for this story and I like the concept of it. But for the first time in many years, Morrison really did a poor job on a comic. 

  31. Avatar photo magnum240 says:
    May 26, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    I liked it. The end.

  32. Avatar photo wallythegreenmonster says:
    May 26, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    well then i guess that settles it. 

  33. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    May 26, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    I love all this timeline zaniness.  Keep ’em coming.

  34. Avatar photo gnanniv says:
    May 26, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Art was inconsistent at points, but otherwise outstanding. Story was not what I expected, but still very enjoyable.

  35. Avatar photo Spoons says:
    May 26, 2010 at 8:54 pm

    I was not really impressed by the art of the first issue, wasn’t bad just serviceable.  That’s in contrast to this issue which had great art by Irving.  His style is a bit less clean then when I last saw him on "Seven Soldier: Klarion the Witchboy" and I think the better for it. I also loved the Vanishing Point stuff.

  36. Avatar photo PraxJarvin says:
    May 26, 2010 at 9:08 pm

    I’m not gonna lie I was really confused this issue… and not from the writing. Was I the only one struggling to figure out which one was Bruce and which one was Malleus? You can’t go around dressing everyone and coloring everyone the same flat colors and not indicate which is which without some visual clue. I loved Iriving’s work on Klarion, here it seemed sketchy and the coloring was muddy in places. That said the Vanishing Point stuff was great both writing and artwise except for a dodgy face on Superman. The writing and Vanishing Point saved this issue from a lower ratinf ro me. 4/5

  37. Avatar photo JumpingJupiter says:
    May 26, 2010 at 9:39 pm

    So basically G-mo mind-raped everybody in Final Crisis and it flew. So now he’s brain-raping everybody with Batman. And it’s selling.

    Do I kind of got that right?

    If so. I can’t say I’m against that.

  38. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    May 26, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    @Prax: You’re dead on with the art making the characters hard to figure out. I lost Bruce a couple of times in the pages. Also, the dark coloring didn’t help either.

    Re-reading the book again, I still think it’s a bad issue. Maybe not as confusing as first thought. But if their was analogies to Bruce’s modern era then I didn’t see them or they were lazy in general. On a whole the story with Bruce and Annie was boring.

  39. Avatar photo cutty says:
    May 26, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    @TNC – out of curiosity, what’s the over/under on number of times you read an issue? 

  40. Avatar photo dryan says:
    May 26, 2010 at 10:15 pm

    I dug it. Some of the art was great but it was inconsistent. Especially the coloring of Superman in a few panels. I’m very curious to see where the story goes.

  41. froggulper says:
    May 26, 2010 at 11:25 pm

    ANNIE was a riff on ZatANNA. On other sites, people catch things like that. I hope some of you guys here did.

    I read the issue 1.5 times.

  42. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    May 26, 2010 at 11:32 pm

    @cutty: With Morrison, I say I re-read it about 3 times. Usually get it by the 2nd re-read, but mainly more just because how much I usually like his writing.

  43. Avatar photo Bryce31 says:
    May 27, 2010 at 1:01 am

    I like the first issue, this one wasn’t as strong.

  44. Avatar photo captbastrd says:
    May 27, 2010 at 1:36 am

    Of course "Mordecai" and Malleous looked alike; it’s a subtle hint that you only get for following the story ’til the end that they’re related. I had trouble with it at 1st, but after going over it a bit I was okay with it, and now that I realized the reason for their similar appearance: fucking brilliant.

    I loved this issue and the art was gorgeous; I’m very excited for Irving’s work w/Morrison on Batman & Robin #13. 

  45. Avatar photo JesseG says:
    May 27, 2010 at 1:59 am

    Yeah. This was wicked. Irving is a very talented dude and Morrison is telling a really intriguing story. I don’t know what exactly is going on here cuz I have only read Batman and Robin before I jumped onto this, but I enjoyed issue 1 a couple weeks ago, and this week  I enjoyed issue 2 even more. 

  46. Avatar photo Howl4Me says:
    May 27, 2010 at 4:19 am

    I’m very unfamiliar with the DC universe, but I enjoyed this and last issue a lot. I thought the story on both were really straightforward. Hell, I even thought of Zatanna when reading of Annie and my only knowledge of Zatanna was last week’s debut of her new series and a graphic novel I read some years ago. Nice to know I wasn’t alone on that. Loved the far future stuff with the Archivist being taken over by Bruce’s consciousness (is that what happened?) Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to look up who Doctor Hunter is.

    Great stuff. A solid 4/5.

  47. Avatar photo rift1128 says:
    May 27, 2010 at 11:46 am

    I hate Frazier Irving… Ruined a good issue. 

  48. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    May 27, 2010 at 11:49 am

    @captbastrd-The problem wasn’t that they looked similar because they were related, the problem was that they were dressed similar and so it was difficult to figure out who was talking at times.

    I enjoyed this issue much more after a second read. Not as strong as the first, but I certainly like where Morrison is taking this. Glad it isn’t just a meaningless romp through time and then Bruce eventually ends up back hom. Adding the Vanishing Point storyline and Final Crisis threads really helped tie it back to his overarching Batman story. Good stuff, 4/5

  49. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    May 27, 2010 at 12:18 pm

    Outdated concept + pretentious gibberish = this comic.

  50. MisterJ says:
    May 27, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    I liked the writing a lot.  Fun time-thread stuff.  Came a little close to the ‘loom of fate,’ though.

    The art, not so much.  

  51. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    May 27, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    Bruce had a strap containing pouches going down across his chest. Malleous didn’t. The dialogue also made it pretty clear who was the "detective" and who loved to drown and burn people. Simple really.

  52. Avatar photo captbastrd says:
    May 27, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    @drakedangerz

    No, I agree, I was very confused at first. But now I see that we’re kind of supposed to be confused, the way "Mordecai" could be confused with Malleous to the point where he’s thought to be part of the Wayne family tree… which he is, but much later. 

    Granted, I may be A) completely confusing the story as it was presented in the most recent Batman & Robin arc and B) making excuses for the art (as well as C) making a lot of ABC lists today), but I think there’s at least something to what I’m saying here. 

  53. Rustyautoparts says:
    May 27, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    @TNC I haven’t read this, but it sounds like you’re describing Batman and Robin #6, and I have a hard time believing this issue is that bad. I’ll get back to you when I get this in hardcover.

  54. Avatar photo PraxJarvin says:
    May 27, 2010 at 6:02 pm

    @Captbastard, Yeah my issues were with the scenes were Mordecai and Malleus were standing together and talking – the bandoleer Roland mentions wasn’t always visible. I get that they’re supposed to look similar in the face. As I said, if the dialogue wasn’t making up for the unclear art, it would have been worse. Heck I even gave the book a 4! 

  55. incredibledave says:
    May 28, 2010 at 12:22 am

    Soooo….. this comics was weird.

    There was a whole bunch of dramatic moments (IMO) but the plot was kinda confusing and the art was awkward in places (I didnt even notice that skeleton hidden in the shadows on my first read through, and I got Bruce and the villain mixed up at time).

    In a way I think the first one worked better because it didnt try and address why any of it was happening, it was the barebones of who Batman is drapped over an interesting setting with some amazing art. Where this was trying to tease a cosmic-ish story.

    Personally I’d like to see the following issues either give enough information about the cosmic level stuff so I can follow it, or keep it more restrained and just tell a one-shot story.

    I guess we’ll see

  56. Avatar photo RKB says:
    May 28, 2010 at 2:30 am

    Anyone else feel like Irving’s stuff was a lot like Daniel Acuna?

  57. Avatar photo JaqueNargg says:
    May 29, 2010 at 11:34 am

    I guess it makes sense that we would confuse Malleus and Wayne, as they are of the same family. This was slightly confusing, and the art was kind of muddy in places but I gave it a 5 just because I am very intruiged at where this is going.

  58. Fractal514 says:
    May 29, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    So, we justifying the confusion here by saying, we’re supposed to be confused?  Oh ok, I get it now, so when I read a book and don’t like it, can I justify it by saying I’m not SUPPOSED to like it? 

  59. Avatar photo JohnVFerrigno says:
    May 29, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    I thought the story was ok. Wasn’t particularly "new-reader" friendly, but still enjoyable. I hated the art. I culdn’t even tell who Bruce Wayne was at points. i was halfway through the book before realizing he was one of the pilgrim looking dudes. If the main character of your comic is not instantly recognizable, especially as iconic a character as Batman, you have failed in your art duties. 

  60. Avatar photo Onic says:
    May 29, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    Wow, either most of you have never read a Grant Morrison comic or you’ve just forgotten what it’s like, BECAUSE IT’S ALWAYS FUCKING CONFUSING.

  61. MisterJ says:
    May 29, 2010 at 8:27 pm

    @Fractal-There are plenty of pieces of art (be it comics, movies, plays, books, etc) where you do not know what the hell is happening for the first third or even more.  This is like that.  If there are people still saying that they are confused by the end of issue four, then that is a problem, but so far, this is what GMo is always like.  Sometimes it comes together, sometimes it doesn’t.

  62. Avatar photo PraxJarvin says:
    May 29, 2010 at 9:16 pm

    @Onic I think much of the comments have been geared to the art not being clear WHEN IT SHOULD BE, not the writing or any intentional look-a-like thing being confusing.

  63. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    May 30, 2010 at 1:18 am

    All this did was make me really worried about Batman and Robin 13-15, since Frazier Irving’s doing that.

  64. Avatar photo kennyg says:
    May 31, 2010 at 2:22 am

    I think the story is pretty decent, but they did something similar with the return of Cap over at Marvel recently. But the art kinda blew. Some of the coloring and drawing of the past times were good, but it was very inconsistent. As others have mentioned, it was hard to tell who was who in many cases. The stuff with Superman, Booster Gold, GL, and Rip Hunter was just awful – the worst art I’ve ever seen in a big-name comic. The worst Superman I’ve ever seen. What was up with that one panel of Booster Gold’s face being so long? Who is he supposed to be, Ralph Dibney? Now, maybe they’ll try to explain it away as time distortions from the collapse of Vanishing Point and all, but even that could be done better and with more skill. My 11-yr-old can draw better!

  65. Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
    June 1, 2010 at 12:52 am

    Frazer Irving is fantastic.

  66. Cedric says:
    June 1, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    Agreed, perfectly fit for the dark atmosphere in the pilgrim-age

  67. Avatar photo kennyg says:
    June 1, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    @ Slockhart – I had similar feelings about his upcoming work on "Batman & Robin." But I saw an add showing what I assume to be his art touting him and Morrison on the title, and it looked pretty good. Sort of like what we’ve gotten so far on the book but not a copy of anyone in particular. So it could be OK. I’m hooked on the story anyway, so they got my money regardless. :-/

  68. Avatar photo JimBilly4 says:
    June 10, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    Put me down for: Art was Gorgeous. Although Superman did look a little weird. And Malleus and Mordecai got a bit confusing, but even before I realized they were related I thought that was semi- on purpose. They were dour pilgrim men whose eyes you couldn’t even see. They intentionally lived in a society where one man blurred into another. I like when my art makes me work a little. And I don’t know how Bruce ended up at the end of time in some sort of bio-construct librarians body, but that was cool too.

  69. mattfox7669 says:
    June 14, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    Awful just plain bad.  I hate the fact that I have pre ordered most of this series.  Thank god I did not pick up the Vanishing Point Mini.

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