I want you to take this comic in your hands. Go on do it. I’m not trying to trick you or anything, just look at this comic. More specifically the cover (whether it’s Finich’s or Mignola’s), I want you to stare at it. Now if you can tell me with a straight face that either of those covers aren’t the best of the year then I say your insane. One, has Finch drawing the best portrayal of Batman standing in the shadows; the other is Mignola giving his unique take on a classic Batman cover. Right off the back you know you have something special in your hands when the cover has to be critique right off the back.

Grant Morrison really loves time travel and Batman. It shows with this anniversary issue. Now I know people will probably be scared of the fact that there is time travel (per say) in this. It makes it probably all the more confusing for anyone involved reading this. Still if you get it right away (or read it several times) then the issue will be even better once you figure the mystery out. Getting that out of the way, just a great look at the past-present-future of the Dark Knight. All of them are separate stories but are loosely connected. We see Bruce and a young Grayson fight several of their rogues, then Dick/Damien trying to stop a supervillain auction, and another look at Damien as the next Batman. The latter is most intriguing to me because I really want to see if DC has the guts to make this ‘Morrison approved’ future happen. All the stories though gives us the same brilliant Morrison Batman stories. Confusing at times but still gives us enough action and intriuge to keep us reading. His Joker (even in the past and not his ‘new’ self) is a scary mo-fo to read. If there is one thing I had a problem (and it’s a nitpick), I really wish we could’ve seen more of Morrison writing Batman Beyond. That’s all I’ll say cause I don’t wanna spoil it for the rest of you.

Lots of amazing artist in this, really a great use of artists that have worked on Batman in the past. Tony Daniel deals with past Batman, Quitely/Kolins deals with present Batman (Dick/Damien), Kubert deals with Damien Batman, and Finch handles the rest. All of them are really fantastic to look at and provide their unique take on the Dynamic Duo. If you are missing Quitely so badly on his Batman run then here ya go to all the wanting fans. However I do have a problem with the present story. Quitely and Kolins working together doesn’t seem like it would work in transition…..and it doesn’t. Kolins is a great artist no doubt, but the transition is jarring and even getting used to it still was a bit disappointing. It would be nice if Quitely could do the entire story. Then again it’s Quitely so I shouldn’t be surprised. Even with that little hitch (and Kolin’s work is still good so it’s not too bad) this is still a pretty damn good looking anniversary issue.

We get some pretty good back matter in this. If your a fan of maps and details of buildings (looking at you Richards) then you’ll love it. Also some great pages of other great artists doing their take on Batman and Robin. It’s a nice endcap for a really enjoyable and gorgeous looking comic. I feel bad to make this my pick because I felt like I was going to make it anyway after seeing Finch’s cover so many months ago. With the stuff we get inside this comic though…..can you blame me?