“Batman Incorporated” #8 will be one of those issues that many people will enjoy but many people will dislike. Kinda sounds like a Grant Morrison book doesn’t it? This issue is unlike any of the previous Batman Inc books. The story begins with Bruce Wayne presenting a demo of his Internet 3.0 to a group of potential investors. It’s a fully immersive three dimensional virtual world with countless possibilities. But as luck would have it the program is infected by a malicious virus intent on swindling the investors out of their fortunes. Thankfully Internet 3.0 comes with the free “Batman Incorporated Anti-Viral Software” installed. No seriously, I’m not making this up.

Yes, this really sounds absurd but what’s even crazier is that it really worked for me. It’s so different and so unorthodox and I was drawn in by it’s uniqueness. Without a doubt, this isn’t something I would want on a regular basis but it’s a lot of fun considering what Morrison is trying to do. At first, the idea of Batman battling it out in a digital world was hard to latch on to but as the issue progressed, and especially after a second reading, I really found this to be a great experience. We get to see Oracle as a virtual world butt-kicker and get some cool dialogue between her and Bruce as he tries to juggle both his Bruce Wayne and Batman avatars. Then we get a nifty epilogue which directly ties into Morrison’s past Batman work as well as references to Leviathan and what’s to come. It’s odd, quirky, and completely atypical but that’s what made it so satisfying.

Speaking of unorthodox, Scott Clark and Dave Beatty’s digital art style is the first thing that stands out about the issue. It’s a bit jarring at first but I had no problem buying into it and felt it really brought out the feel of a virtual world. Sure, the characters look stiff and sometimes resemble the character models in the original Mortal Kombat arcade game, but when considering their environment, I found it to be effective. Not every panel or color scheme works but for the most part I really like the digital style. Like the story, it’s not something I would want on a regular basis and I feel it’s success is restricted to stories like this.

Many people aren’t going to like this issue and I can understand that. But I found it to be an entertaining change of pace. It’s a solid story that really doesn’t add much to the ongoing storyline until the end. But that’s ok. If I measure an issue based on how much fun it is, then this one success.