After a fun, action packed first issue, Batman Inc. wraps up it's first arc with the creation of Batman Tokyo, and I could not have loved this issue more. Fast paced action littered with humor, detection and great, subtle characterizations all added up to a comic that, while basically a chase/fight issue, felt as big and bombastic as we expect a Morrison book to be. What it wasn't, thankfully, was as convoluted and congested as his previous work with the character has been. THIS is the Batman I've been waiting for since Grant took over.

I wrote a review... wow, a few years ago now, for an issue of Thor where I talked about how much I enjoy seeing these larger than life characters express respect and admiration for one another. One of the best and most resonant moments in this book featured Bruce Wayne, after all the fighting is done, offering to Catwoman "That kid has what it takes, doesn't he," or something to that effect (sorry, don't have the ish in front of me. He's referring to the young man who he's just named the Batman of Japan, and this little character moment showed us a lot about Bruce's new attitude toward his mission and let us in his head a little. He seemed slightly proud of the kid, and simultaneously excited at the prospect of his crazy scheme actually working, spreading his legacy across the world and ensuring that Batman will live on forever.

Maybe I read too much into that, but for me that little panel really got me invested in Bruce as a character, a phenomenon that may be without precedent.

Oh, and the art's great, too.