Titles I’m most likely to pick up this Wednesday:

BATGIRL #9
I might be alone in this, but I really enjoy Batgirl. I’ve never heard of Bryan Miller before, but he’s really been impressing as of late, delivering simple and fun stories that read like the comics I used to read when I was a kid. The art isn’t too shabby either, Lee Garbett has been getting better since I first saw his work in Batman #682 and 683 and I’m looking forward to his contribution to Return of Bruce Wayne.

BATMAN #698
It seems that there’s no shortage of Bat-titles this week with Tony Daniels kicking off a new, two-part arc in his Batman run with special guest artist Guillem March. I’d have to give it to Daniels, his Battle for the Cowl was one of the worst comics I read last year but he’s really turned it around with his ‘Life After Death’ arc. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s a perfectly serviceable Bruce Wayne story which is where most of my problems with this issue lie considering it‘s Dick Grayson under the cowl. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see an improvement in this arc.

BRIGHTEST DAY #0
The Brightest Day finally rolls out with it’s zero issue with Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi writing and Fernando Pasarin drawing. This looks like it’s going to be DC’s biggest release this week, so you’ll definitely be seeing a lot of hype on their blog, The Source. I’m not too sure if I can commit to a bi-weekly series, but I’d definitely recommend it to everyone interested in getting into the DC Universe.

FLASH #1
Arguably, DC’s second biggest release this week following the Brightest Day is Geoff Johns’ second offering this week The Flash. I’m not really feeling Barry Allen right now, Rebirth failed to catch my attention but I generally liked his usage in Blackest Night. I’m still picking it up though but I’m only giving it one shot to grab my attention, so I’m hoping that this will be good. Oh, and don’t forget to ask about the Flash promotional rings from your LCS.

THE UNWRITTEN #12

My favorite ongoing from Vertigo and easily my top pick for best book of the week right now. I picked this up when the first issue came out for a dollar and I’ve been picking it  up ever since because of it’s really intriguing concept. It felt like the perfect companion piece to read after Final Crisis’ central theme about the power of stories and how they affect humanity. I honestly can’t wait.

What I’d pick up if I had more money:

DOC SAVAGE #1

PUNISHERMAX #6

MARVEL SELECT IRON MAN 2 ACTION FIGURE

So – what did I think of all of them? Hit the jump button to find out.

Amazing Spider-Man #626, written by Fred Van Lente, art by Michael Gaydos

Taking place right after Joe Kelly’s spectacular issue with the Rhino, this issue, an interlude from the Gauntlet, has a lot to live up to. The story stars the new Scorpion, Carmilla Black former SHIELD agent. This issue was alright, if not unspectacular. I think this is my least favorite of Van Lente’s Spider-Man work especially considering the fact that he penned that fantastic Sandman arc a month or so ago. The art by Gaydos wasn’t my cup of tea, but it’s serviceable. Overall, I’d say that this issue is decent but ultimately skippable as it’s ties to the overall Gauntlet saga are minimal at best.

Batman and Robin #11, written by Grant Morrison, art by Andy Clarke and Scott Hana

Let me be blunt about this, I love Batman and Robin. It’s one of the very few comics that make me curse the very fact that I’m at the last page and have to wait another month to see what happens next. From the beginning of this issue with Dr. Hurt to the cliffhanger ending with a special guest star this issue had it all. One of the, if not, the best release this week. Pick it up.

Green Lantern #52, written by Geoff Johns, art by Doug Mahnke

Yeah, yeah I know. I’ve read and finished up with the Blackest Night already, but I somehow let this one slip through the cracks. This continues Sinestro’s [short] tenure as the bearer of the White Light and it also finishes John Stewart’s zombie Xanshi plotline. It’s not as good as the last issue, but it’s definitely better than most of the other titles from the Blackest Night. It’s a shame that this couldn’t be the main book of the crossover.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Dustin Weaver

I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this issue. I mean, yeah, the creative team is fantastic and the premise is intriguing but I was initially put off by the fact that this series might be grounded in Marvel’s rich history which I’m not very familiar with. Surprisingly, it wasn’t history-intensive and it was very enjoyable. I found that this was up there with Batman and Robin as one of the best releases this week, it’d be a disservice not to pick this great series up.

Spider-Man: Fever #1, written by Brendan McCarthy, art by Brendan McCarthy

‘A human soul? Prepare it immediately. I will have it with custard.’

If that snippet of dialogue appealed to you in anyway, pick this up. This is crazytrippyfunawesome at it’s finest. It’s not for everybody, though.

Ultimate Comics X #2, written by Jeph Loeb, art by Arthur Adams

Another pleasant surprise from Jeph Loeb, nothing really special over here. If you read the preview, you can probably guess what happens next in this issue. On the art side of the equation, Adams provides some pretty nice looking art, but I don’t think it’s good enough to be worth the admission fee.

I’d say that this issue has the most amount of hints and teases of the future of Grant’s run. It didn’t happen immediately because we didn’t see any of these things come into play until he launched Batman and Robin. Because of that, there will be spoilers for Batman and Robin in this post.

The issue begins with a brief origin story for Damian Wayne, the new Batman. It’s nothing really out of the ordinary, although we do learn that it’s his fault that a ’Batman’ dies and this becomes his ’Thomas and Martha Wayne’ moment.

Of course, while the Batman here isn’t identified, it definitely feels like he might be Dick Grayson. I’ve touched about this a bit in a recent post, but I think I failed to give the most compelling piece of evidence as to why it might be Grayson and not Wayne kicking the bucket.

That’s Commissioner Gordon, Barbara Gordon, in the panel right there. Judging by the way she talks about the person who died and her previous relationship with Dick, it isn’t much of a stretch to believe that she might be referring to him in that panel right there.

Moving on, the story starts with Batman fighting a rather one-sided fight against a ‘Dollotron.’ These make their first official appearance here, but they officially debut chronologically in here.

From Batman #666(2007)

From Batman and Robin #1(2009)

The dollotrons look like actual dolls now instead of their lumpy faced predecessors. It looks like Professor Pyg improved his technology a decade or so later.  Oh, yes – speaking of Professor Pyg, he makes an appearance in this issue. He doesn’t have his pig mask and he most lost a lot of weight.

From Batman #666

From Batman and Robin #3(2009)

The poem being referenced in the next page is William Butler Yeat’s ‘The Second Coming.’ Written around the end of World War I, it’s rich with apocalyptical imagery and the feeling of looming evil that perfectly sets the backdrop for this story. The slouching figure referenced is most likely referring to the return or ‘the second coming,’ if you will, of the ‘Third Man’ or the ‘Third Ghost of Batman.’

Welcome to Bethlehem.

Another panel I referenced in that Dick Grayson post. A possible allusion to the post-Return of Bruce Wayne status quo?

Batmen and Robin, perhaps?

Little neat thing here, the ‘demon star’ referenced here is Algol from the constellation Perseus. The star is supposed to represent medusa’s head and so it’s name is derived from the Arabic term ‘Ra’s Al Ghul.’

Yes, his cat's named Alfred!

And just so we get this out of the way, it looks likes Grant Morrison made himself Batman.

I'd totally do the same thing if I was in charge of the DCU.

Depending on who you believe, I’m guessing that the ‘devil’ that Damian’s already met is supposed to be Dr. Hurt. Dr. Hurt may or may not be Thomas Wayne, not Bruce’s father mind you – some ‘demon worshipping cultist’ black sheep of the Wayne family, who also may or may not be possessed by Barbatos a bat demon of some sorts. Trust me, it makes more sense when you actually read it.

This scene references five ‘crime bosses’ but strangely he only mentions four. Unless I’m missing something or some odd and obscure reference, we’ve only seen Phosphorus Rex and Professor Pyg appear so far.

Phosphorus Rex from Batman and Robin #2

Batman infiltrates the Hotel Bethlehem where the Third Man has interrupted a summit for climate change. He sends his men after Batman who promptly takes them down violently and systematically. In this scan, we don’t get to see Nikolai’s brother [the man in the first panel]. None of these men, barring Flamingo, have made any appearance yet as of Batman and Robin #10.

This scene shows what makes Damian different from Bruce and Dick – he specializes in cheating.

'The victory is in the preparation'

The last bit of possible foreshadowing in this issue seems to be referencing Barbathos, the bat demon from Dark Knight, Dark City which was referenced again in Batman and Robin #10.

Other than that, there’s not much else to this issue. Damian kills the Third Man and burns his body. Disappointingly the issue ends around there and left  me wanting more from this possible future. There’s really quite a lot of ground left to explore and I really want to see what happens next. Hopefully we’ll be able to see more of Damian’s story when Batman #700 rolls out this June.

So that’s it for ‘Batman In Bethlehem.’ I hope you enjoyed that and I apologize if it was rather late. As usual, I’ll be taking a break for the weekend, but look out for The Wednesday Spotlight this Saturday. And be back here on Monday or Tuesday to check out the International Club of Heroes’ three-issue arc. As always, stay tuned for more.

Now, according to the recent Wondercon, Dick Grayson will be part of the Justice League of America as Batman for at least two more years. On top of that, I think that Grant Morrison’s ‘season two’ of Batman and Robin will still be featuring Dick Grayson under the cowl. I’m rather doubtful of James Robinson’s word with regards to the Justice League of America’s roster because the membership has been editorially driven as of late. I think it’s had four major revisions since it’s relaunch in 2006 – that’s a lot if you were wondering.

So as of right now, I’m guessing that we’re getting at least one more year worth of stories with Dick Grayson under the cowl. Supposing his tenure as Batman ends there, what happens next? I share four possible ideas that might play out under the cut. Oh, and please be warned that there will be spoilers for Batman and Robin.

1.) He dies at the end of his run as Batman.

Ah, yes – why not? There are hints of either him or Bruce kicking the bucket in Batman #666, Damian’s ‘Thomas and Martha Wayne’ moment if you will, that convinces him to take up the cowl of the Batman.

Now it’s not the first time his death was pitched. In the pages of Infinite Crisis, he was considered dead until the decision to kill him was met with resistance from DC Editorial and subsequently changed with a last minute revision to add him in a later scene.

But why does he have to die? One of the reasons I thought of was that there was no other place that the character could go anymore. He was created as a sidekick and given the ‘sidekick promise’ of one day replacing Batman. Now that he’s reached the top, I don’t really like the idea of him going back to where he once was. It’d feel like a regression, in a way.

Another reason is that he makes Bruce Wayne look rather old. Bruce seems to be perpetually frozen in his mid- to late-thirties, while Nightwing looks to be slowly yet surely catching up with him. I’ve seen estimates from 22, which is alright, to the late 20’s, which is rather too old.

But to be frank, I’d prefer him alive. It feels rather selfish to kill off a character for your story as it forces an entire shared universe to lose one character. He has ties to almost everyone in the DC Universe and losing a character like Dick makes the DC Universe a little less richer.

Also, I’d imagine that the fan backlash would be tremendous. If you thought Ted Kord’s death caused an uproar, I’d like to see what you call the hell that will be unleashed if they decide to kill Grayson off.

2.) He returns to being Nightwing.

I don’t dislike this idea as much as I dislike killing him off but I don’t really like it either. Sure, Nightwing was a great identity. But I really feel that he’s done it all under this guise. He’s established himself as his own man, protected his own city for awhile, established his rogue’s gallery, and even proved to the rest of the Batclan that he is the only one, right now, capable of filling the gap that Bruce left.

I feel that there’s no good reason for him to go back to the identity. He’s doing perfectly well as Batman right now, sure he’s made his mistakes but he’s handled all of them rather gracefully. The dynamic he has right now is something different, it’s something new. He’s done it before, sure. I’m sure there were plenty of stories before that have him wearing the Batman costume. But those were different. In those stories, he tried to replace Batman and failed just to show that Bruce Wayne is irreplaceable.

This time however, he’s doing it differently. He’s not trying to replace everything Bruce brought to the table, instead he’s filling in the gap that Bruce left by doing his own thing. He doesn’t have Bruce’s mind or detective skills, but he displays fantastic leadership skills and the willingness to cooperate with other people.

It’s just really refreshing to see, so why not just keep him as Batman? But what of Bruce Wayne? This leads me into my third idea.

3.) Dick stays as Batman with Bruce taking on the role of a mentor.

Very Batman Beyond-ish, I know. What can I say? I’m a sucker for nostalgia. This feels rather similar with what Marvel is doing with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, hell you could say that the storylines in both Batman and Captain America have been eerily similar lately but that’s another discussion in itself.

I like this idea because it keeps Dick as Batman and lets Bruce do something else. He could, for example, be mentoring Damian, do the ‘detective part’ of the job. There are plenty of ways they could get Bruce to slip into the background for awhile and let us readers get more of what we’re currently enjoying.

Of course, there will still be complaints from the fans who want Bruce back in the cowl. I think the best, and perhaps my favorite idea, to make everyone happy would be:

4.) Batmen and Robin

There’s a panel in ‘Batman in Bethlehem’ that has two Batman costumes and a Robin costume posed together in a trophy case. Of course, this might not mean anything, but it would be very cool if we had two Batman patrolling the night instead of just one.

Bruce could keep Batman and Detective Comics while Dick and Damian continue their dynamic in Batman and Robin. He could even continue making appearances in Justice League of America since he’s more inclined to working with teams. I’d say that everyone wins in this situation. The fans get Bruce back in the cowl and Dick finds a new place in the DC Universe.

Now people might argue that it might ‘cheapen’ the name of Batman if more than one was running around. But with three Flashes running around and five Earth-based Green Lanterns, I’d say that the DC Universe has more than enough room for two Batmen. I’m sure the citizens of Gotham would definitely be pleased.

But what of his past mistakes and failures? Do they still haunt him? According to these issues, yes they still do.

Batman #664, takes place directly after the conclusion of Batman and Son. This does make me wonder when the Clown at Midnight takes place chronologically. Bruce Wayne meets with Jezebel Jet in a ski lodge called the La Flegere. A quick Google search and the place actually exists, surprisingly.
One of the most important scenes in this issue takes place here. In this scene, Bruce and Jet are talking about their parents – whom they both lost at an early age. She wants Bruce to know that she understands but replies that ‘He got over it.’

Those are his Batman eyes at the bottom panel, folks.

Initially, I was put off by this scene. While others might think it’s about time Bruce got over his parent’s death and progressed as a character, I’d say that it says more about his character if he never got over their deaths in the first place. However, after reading RIP, I see that this scene is even more significant than that. This is the point where Bruce realizes that there was something off with Jezebel Jet as he states here in Batman 681:

This makes me wonder, was Bruce lying about getting over his parent’s death? Any ideas, readership?

The second part of this issue begins with Batman back in Gotham. Coming to the aid of a couple of prostitutes and a pimp, Batman takes down a couple of crooked cops from the GCPD. He learns that the pimp in question, DeShawn, has been supplying the GCPD with women who, after they come in for a visit, never come out.

Several things to note of the scene above, a.) more ‘Zur-en-arrh’ scrawled on the walls although they’re obscured by the characters. They make more prominent appearances in this issue but I’ve decided not to include them, and b.) the address of WayneTech seems to be a reference to DC Comics unfortunate old address: ‘666 Fifth Avenue’ or it might be a reference of things to come in Batman #666.

Batman investigates the place and encounters another man dressed in a Batman suit who bares an uncanny resemblance to Bane, who if you’re not familiar with the Knightfall saga, broke Batman’s back and almost retired him in the 90’s. Of course, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that his appearance might jostle a couple of feelings of fear and doubt in Batman.

So, what exactly is this Black Casebook that Bruce is talking about? The Black Casebook is where all of Batman’s ’sci-fi’ cases go into. All of his supposed encounters with aliens, monsters, vampires and beasts all go into the Black Casebook. I’m guessing that all of his adventures from the 50’s and the 60’s that were reincorporated are found in the Black Casebook.

DC, capitalizing on the run’s popularity, released a companion paperback called ’Batman: The Black Casebook’ which reprints all the old stories that inspired Grant’s run on Batman. According to the solicitation, the stories contained in the trade paperback are  Batman #’s 65, 86, 112, 113, 134, 156 and 162, Detective Comics #‘s 215, 235, 247 and 267, and World’s Finest Comics #89. I might do a separate piece on these stories later.

The impostor Batman beats Batman down and steps on his back with a resounding KRAKT accompanying it. It’s interesting to note that ‘KRAKT’ was the same sound effect they used when Bane broke Batman’s back the first time, pretty neat allusion.

The original KRAKT moment.

The next issue, 665, picks up with Batman down and out. He can barely stand after the trauma he suffered to his back. Also, at this point I’m sure you’ve noticed that the thought boxes they used for this arc are different from the rest. I’m not sure what they’re meant to signify if they mean anything at all.

I think there’s an allusion to Jeph Loeb’s Hush arc over here:

Of course, Batman’s batrope was CUT in Hush, so I might be grasping at straws here. In any case, Batman’s helped by one of the prostitutes to ‘Finger and Fourth’ where he has an escape tunnel to his penthouse in Wayne Tower.

As he rests, Bruce has a rather prophetic nightmare where he sees ‘The Three Ghosts of Batman,’ the cop with the gun from the start of this run, the monster Batman who he just faced awhile ago, and another one concealed in the shadow. Damian tells him that ‘The Third Ghost is the worst of them all’ before he wakes up.

Tim’s expression looks like mixture of concern and disappointment – he’s still probably hung up on the Damian revelation from Batman and Son. It also doesn’t help that Bruce said ‘Damian!’ immediately after he woke up. This gets Tim rather riled up to prove himself and he decides to take on the impostor Batman himself.

Meanwhile, Batman as he struggles to make his way up, talks to Alfred about the Black Casebook.

I’m not sure if the adventure Bruce is talking about was featured in the Black Casebook TPB as I don’t own it, but I’ll try to look into it when I make the post about it. Before he heads out, Bruce asks about Tim’s whereabouts and much to his disappointment finds out what Tim decided to do.

I’m guessing that other than Bane, this is Bruce’s biggest fear - losing another Robin.

Batman intervenes at the right time and saves Robin before he could get seriously injured. Robin secures the women inside the impostor’s lair as Batman battles with him. He wins and begins interrogating the impostor about the whereabouts of the ‘Third Man’ or the ‘Third Ghost of Batman.’ The GCPD cut the interrogation short and threaten Batman. You might recognize some of the officers here, especially the one with freckles – he’s the same cop in the beginning of the story.

Yes, he blew up a Batmoblie for a distraction.

I wasn’t planning on adding this scene, but it’s a nice exchange and it’s foreboding in a way:

This isn't over.

The issue ends, much like how it begins, with Bruce and Jezebel Jet. As they kiss, it appears that someone else is watching them. When I first read this, I thought it was one of Talia’s men because of a scene with her that I didn’t include in this post. However, now that I’ve read all my way up to RIP, I figure it’s a member of the Black Glove.

So that’s it for these two issues, I might take a two-day break before posting the next part, which is one the issues that I’m really excited to tackle again, Batman #666, ‘Batman in Bethlehem.’ A look at a possible future and the things to come in Batman, Batman RIP, and Batman and Robin! Hopefully you’ll join me for that, stay tuned for more.

Scans from:Batman #664, 665, ‘The Three Ghosts of Batman’ and ‘The Black Casebook’ written by Grant Morrison, art by Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang

Batman #681 ‘Hearts in Darkness’ written by Grant Morrison, art by Tony Daniels and Sandu Florea

Just like in The Wednesday Spotlight, click on the comic’s name to be brought to a page with it’s cover art and solicitation text. Also, the solicits in the links might contain spoilers for future DC events and for the Blackest Night as well, so caution please.

THE BRIGHTEST DAY

The Brightest Day is DC’s follow up to their last big event, The Blackest Night. It’s a 26-issue, biweekly maxiseries written by Geoff Johns and Pete Tomasi – the writers responsible for the Blackest Night. The art team, as far I know, will be a rotating cast of artists much like 52 and Countdown. However, unlike 52 and Countdown, DC seems to be pulling out all the stops and giving us some of the best artists in their roster of talent for the series.

They’re not picking people who are just fast, they’re picking people who are good as well. As of the first two months, the solicited art team is ‘Ivan Reis, Pat Gleason, Adrian Syaf and Scott Clark & Joe Prado.’ Two of those names you’d be familiar with if you’ve been picking up the Green Lantern family of titles, while the other two seem to be DC’s rising talents much like Marvel’s ‘Young Guns.’

The Brightest Day will be following the story of the twelve newly resurrected heroes and villains from the aftermath of the Blackest Night. It’s most likely going to be the ‘spine’ of the Brightest Day event with most of the important events happening in it’s pages. So it’ll definitely be a must read for people who want to get into the thick of the DC Universe.

As for me, I’m neither excited nor wary of the series. The Blackest Night’s ending didn’t really do much for me but the concept and the talent involved, plus the 2.99 price tag are definitely inviting. I’ll have to wait and see on this one.

GREEN LANTERN

Despite having it’s roots in the Green Lantern mythos, the Brightest Day is more of a DCU story than it is just a Green Lantern story. That doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing the Green Lantern titles get involved with the Brightest Day.
Geoff Johns and Doug Manhke continue their run on Green Lantern and will hopefully be able to make use of the momentum they’ve built up after the stellar issues they’ve put out over the past few months. Their work on the title was much better than the Blackest Night itself, and I’m definitely going to be looking forward to more. Their side of the Brightest Day will be about the mysterious White Lantern that was found in the aftermath of Blackest Night and who will get to wield it. Any guesses to who it might be? I’m calling Deadman.

Green Lantern Corps will be getting a new writer, Tony Bedard of REBELS with art by Adrian Syaf for the very first arc. Tony Bedard’s a solid writer. I enjoyed his work on Batman Confidential and I really liked what he did with Starro the Conqueror in REBELS. Commenting on his collaborator, I’d say that Syaf’s alright in my book. He has this faux Lee thing going on and I think it’s pretty impressive that he’s contributing to Green Lantern Corps and Brightest Day at the same time. However, I’m not that interested in the Corps anymore, so I’ll probably pass on this, but don’t let that put you off on this book, it looks very promising.

Pete Tomasi, Green Lantern Corps former writer, will be getting a new assignment: ‘ Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors’ starring Guy Gardner, one of my favorite Green Lanterns. Nothing has been solicited so far, perhaps we’ll get some information on this title when the July Solicits come out in two week’s time.

NEW TITLES

Several new titles will be making their debut with the Brightest Day and one of the most anticipated titles coming out is The Flash with Geoff Johns and Francis Manupal on art. I’m not too hot on the current incarnation of The Flash and his reintroduction in Rebirth wasn’t very good either. I liked how he was used in The Blackest Night, but that’s it really. The main draw for me are The Rouges, The Flash’s villains. They’re definitely more compelling than Flash himself and I’m definitely more excited to see how they factor in the first arc: ‘The Dastardly Death of the Rogues.’ On a plus note, Manupal’s art is really pretty so at least I know it’ll look good.

Another title debuting is the second volume of Birds of Prey by Gail Simone and  Ed Benes who had both previously worked together on the title before it‘s cancellation. I’m not that interested in this title, Simone’s work on Wonder Woman hasn’t really wowed me and her recent work on Secret Six wasn’t as compelling as her older stuff. Ed Benes, on the other hand, isn’t that good of an artist to draw me into picking up a title. It’ll be solid, sure, but I don’t think I’ll be grabbing it when it comes out.

Green Arrow is getting a reboot with a shiny new #1 issue this July. People haven’t really been enjoying the direction of the character with Rise and Fall and I can’t really blame them. However, Geoff Johns has been rather vocal about the script for the first issue by JT Krul, calling it one of the best comic scripts he’s read, that plus really good looking art by Diogenes Neves is more than enough to get interested.

Another bi-weekly miniseries will be making it’s way to shelves on May, Justice League: Generation Lost. It features the return of Keith Giffen on the Justice League International however instead of longtime collaborator, J.M. DeMatteis, he’s being joined by Judd Winnick. I love the JLI, but I’m kind of iffy on Winnick’s involvement so this might be a pass.

To people who miss the classic team of Giffen and DeMatteis, fret not for they will taking over Booster Gold with art by Chris Batista. This title is something I’m really excited for. Other than Green Lantern which was already on my pull list, this is the only title that I’m one-hundred percent sure to be picking up when the Brightest Day rolls in. Pick it up, you won’t regret it.

So, that’s it. These are the titles that I think will be worth a look come the Brightest Day which officially begins in two weeks’ time. Did I miss something? Why don’t you guys tell me on the comments section below, I’d love to hear what you think. As usual, stay tuned for more.

Other than Death Strikes at Midnight and Three, this issue seems to tie-in a bit to Morrison’s Arkham Asylum, A Serious House on Serious Earth which, quite honestly, is one of my least favorite of his works on Batman. However the connection to Arkham Asylum is tangential at best, so it’s not really required reading to understand this story.

Anyway, this issue is primarily about The Joker’s death and subsequent rebirth into a new personality. So let’s get started shall we?

Now if you haven’t read Arkham Asylum, Morrison suggests that the Joker doesn’t have a real personality. In fact, he has what his psychiatrists call ‘super-sanity’ where he can’t really adjust himself to the rigors of everyday living and instead creates brand new personalities to cope with this.

Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the issue in question. It begins with clowns attending a funeral. All of them have one thing in common, they all worked with the Joker before.  Over the course of the funeral, the clowns slowly begin to feel sick.

Notice the black and red roses they used for the wreath.

The black and red roses are a binary compound of sorts that only become lethal when they come into contact. The venom is a new strain of Joker toxin, so I’m sure you can infer what happens to the clowns next. The roses aren’t the only black and red reference you’ll see in this issue, in fact it makes use of the color scheme quite a bit as you’ll later see.

While this isn’t really important nor is it symbolic or anything but I like how Morrison has continued the trend of naming Gotham landmarks after people who’ve done iconic work on the character. In this example below, we see references to Jim Aparo and Bill Finger.

Batman notes that all the clowns were part of a group called the Boys of St. Genesius. St. Genesius of Rome was the patron saint of actors and comedians. The Genesius reference also connects it to Joker’s Five Way Revenge from Batman #251. The plot of the story itself is very similar to Batman’s Five Way Revenge with The Joker killing off his old henchmen.

Interestingly enough, during ‘Joker’s Five Way Revenge’ the Joker was in the midst of a transition from his ‘Prankster’ period to the personality he has today so I’m supposing that every time Joker recreates himself he kills everyone he was associated with. Fantastic.

I can’t really put my finger on it, but this story feels more like Morrison’s older work with the character rather than his current work right now. Perhaps it’s the connection to Arkham Asylum or perhaps it’s the dark and muddled art or perhaps it’s just me, I don’t know.

Anyway, moving on – Batman pays Joker a visit in Arkham Asylum which doesn’t really go well. Joker’s verbally unresponsive because of the damage done by the gun shot to his face and now requires a speech therapist. As Batman questions him, the Joker answers him by blinking out a message in morse code, check it out.

Now, I’m no expert, but if I understand Morse code properly, spelling those letters out would just entail erratic blinking. Dr. Arkham makes note of it himself. Perhaps Batman’s just forcing himself to come up with a pattern, come up with a meaning to the senselessness that the Joker’s presenting to him. It’s a dynamic that Morrison explores in RIP when Joker claims that Batman has apophenia, a condition where one searches for patterns and connections from seemingly unconnected data. This might be a manifestation of this right here. Of course, this could also be just a jab at the fans who take these things like this way too seriously. What do you guys think?

From the image above, Batman concludes that the speech therapist Joker had was Harley Quinn whom he immediately hunts down. Meanwhile, one of Joker’s henchmen, specifically one of the midgets in the gimp suits from The Killing Joke, was found dead. Victim of the same strain of Joker toxin.

Oh, goodie! More red and black!

Batman uses Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the supreme meditative state to try and make sense of the pattern left by the Joker. From what I understand after a quick look around the Internet, nirvikalpa samadhi in Buddhist philosophy occurs when one acknowledges everything as one and therefore perfect so as to intuit the ‘perfect reality’ of everything. This is probably a crude definition but it’ll fit our purposes. Basically, if how I understood it is correct, Batman’s taking up everything and acknowledging that everything fits or that everything is just a small part of a bigger clue or pattern. Again, this gives more credence to Joker’s claims of apophenia.

We move back to The Joker in Arkham. He’s eagerly awaiting to be born again, to transcend this personality and become something quite different. As he does this he scrolls through a list of things that make him laugh, all of them rather morbid and dour. Here’s a little bit of the rather long list he ran through:

I’d like to point out the sombreros though. The Joker says it again just before he kills El Sombrero which is pretty neat.

The Joker continues his mad rebirth, as he escapes custody and enters an operating theater. I’d try to explain, but I’d rather let the original text speak for itself as it references his ‘super-sanity,’ his lack of a real personality, and his acknowledgement of his different personalities.

I’d say it’s the best explanation of how the Joker works. It’s rather brilliant that it’s able to reconcile his multiple characters over the past 70 years through the simple addition of his lack of a real personality.

The Joker completes his rebirth and dubs himself ‘Thin White Duke of Death’ most likely a David Bowie reference. Although I can’t say I got it the first time around. With his new personality and his new look, The Joker waits for the final piece of the puzzle – Harley Quinn.

Of course, Harley thought that her ‘puddin’ wanted Batman so he could kill him at the stroke of midnight, but Batman reveals to her that it was her who he wanted all along. To complete his transformation, he has to kill the last part of his old self just like he did in ‘Five Way Revenge.’

Batman explains it all.

Batman saves Harley from the Joker and scuffles a bit with the Joker. During the scuffle The Joker discusses their special dynamic much like how Alan Moore and dozens of other Batman writers have been for the past decade or so since the Killing Joke. Also, the keen and informed will notice a little stab at Frank Miller at the bottom of the text.

He wants the goddamn Batman to get the goddamn joke.

This issue finishes up with Morrison summing up the Batman and Joker dynamic. Hell, even the chapter title seems to make a statement about this: ‘The Unbearable Inevitability of Batman and The Joker.’ And he’s right, Batman and Joker will always boil down to this critical moment where both of them realize that they just can’t kill each other.

The Joker sums it up pretty well: ‘Where would the act be without my straight man?’ The issue ends with Batman dragging the Joker back to his padded cell with Harley asking ‘Don’cha love me no more?’ to punctuate The Joker’s sudden, dramatic and bizarre metamorphosis.

It’s rather poignant, the way these writers, not just Morrison, have summed up their little dynamic. From the movies, to the cartoons, to the comic books The Joker and The Batman will always be locked in an unending battle of wits that will always, inevitably end in the same way. The inevitability feels Sisyphean in a way.

Anyway, I suppose that’s all I have to say about this issue. If you didn’t read it before or just skipped over it to get to the good parts of the hardcover or trade paperback I’d say get to reading this chapter. It’s flowery and over reliant on metaphors, I’ll give you that. But it’s quite possibly the most interesting depiction of how the Joker works and what makes him tick.

The next part of this series will be looking into the ‘Three Ghosts of Batman’ and ‘The Black Casebook.’ I’ll be looking to have that up in a couple of days or so, so look out for that. I really hope you enjoyed that rather lengthy post and I do hope you’ll join me again in a couple of days. Anyway, as always, stay tuned for more.

Scans from: Batman #663, ‘The Clown at Midnight‘ written by Grant Morrison, art by John Van Fleet

Batman #680 ‘The Thin White Duke of Death’ written by Grant Morrison, art by Tony Daniels and Sandu Florea

Arkham Asylum, A Serious House on Serious Earth written by Grant Morrison, art by Dave McKean

Just like in The Wednesday Spotlight, click on the comic’s name to be brought to a page with it’s cover art and solicitation. Also, the solicits in the links might contain spoilers for future Marvel events.

THE HEROIC AGE

So, what is the Heroic Age in the first place? Well, according to Marvel it’s an ushering of a new era of heroism after their dark days that began with Avengers: Disassembled and ended with SIEGE. So what they’re trying to do is to bring their shared universe into a brighter and bolder age beginning with the release of Avengers #1 this April. Another thing Marvel released in their press release was that every title that will be under the banner of the Heroic Age will be accessible to new fans which is good news for people like me who aren’t really familiar with the Marvel Universe and for people who are trying to get into monthly comics.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s dig into the Heroic Age and check out what new titles might be worth picking up shall we?

THE AVENGERS

The Avengers title will be the driving force of the Heroic Age and is probably going to be the main book that they’re going to be promoting. The main draw for fans is that this title will be bringing back Marvel’s ‘big three,’ namely Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man, together again in an Avengers title. The roster will also be bolstered by some of Marvel’s more popular characters like Spider-Man and Wolverine and old characters that have always been associated with the Avengers like Hawkeye.

Brian Michael Bendis will be on writing duties and John Romita Jr. will be on art duties. Bendis has been associated with The Avengers title since 2004 but despite that, I don’t think he’s the best choice for a book like The Avengers because from what I’ve read from him he’s never really shown proficiency in writing the powerful characters that comprise the Avengers. On the other side of the equation, John Romita Jr’s art is pretty kinetic. I like his work with Spider-Man and he’ll definitely make the inevitable fight scenes really dynamic to look at. My only complaint are his covers. They’re very bland for the book that’s supposedly Marvel’s new flagship title.

Other than the Avengers, there will be three other Avengers titles coming out namely Secret Avengers, New Avengers and Avengers Academy. New Avengers will be written by Bendis with art by previous collaborator Stuart Immonen. Featuring a lineup of ‘street-level’ heroes like The Thing, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Luke Cage, I’d say that this book will be playing to Bendis forte. Plus, Immonen’s art is fantastic, I loved his work on Ultimate Spider-Man and Nextwave: Agents of HATE so if you asked me, this is the Bendis book to look out for.

Secret Avengers is, well, a secret. Marvel hasn’t released a lineup, a cover, or a solicitation that isn’t vague so there’s not much to say about this book. It does have a stellar team of creators, namely Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato so there’s that. I’d like to wait and see what the lineup is before committing to it.

Avengers Academy seems to be the spiritual successor of The Initiative, I’m rather unfamiliar with the creators Christos Gage and Mike McKone and I haven’t really heard much about the Initiative so I can’t say much about this title. But, I guess if you read and enjoyed The Initiative this is The Avengers book to pick up.

OTHER TEAM BOOKS

Other than the Avengers, look out for Atlas by Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman. Atlas continues Parker’s work on The Agents of Atlas which was pretty much lauded on the Internet. Admittedly, I didn’t read it when it first came out but I might consider reading this if I have the funds to do it.

Want more Jeff Parker? Check out Thunderbolts which is undergoing a roster shift and new direction under Parker and Kev Walker. It features one of the most oddball teams I’ve ever seen with Thunderbolt mainstays Moonstone and Ghost, Crossbones, Juggernaut and bizarrely Man-Thing rounding roster with Luke Cage of the Avengers leading it.

MARVEL’S ASTONISHING IMPRINT

Marvel is also starting up a new imprint of standalone miniseries that are supposedly accessible and done by high-profile creators. First off is Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine which unites Marvel’s two most popular characters in a six-issue miniseries from the mind of Jason Aaron with art by Adam Kubert. Next up is Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis which looks to be the continuation of Warren Ellis’ run on X-Men with Kaare Andrews on art. Of the two, I’d definitely try out Spider-Man/Wolverine purely because Warren Ellis’ take on the X-Men hasn’t really thrilled me and because has Jason Aaron on it who’s one of my favorite Marvel writers.

OTHER TITLES OF INTEREST

While it might not be a new title, I’d like to bring everyone’s attention to Matt Fraction’s upcoming run on Thor with art by Pasqual Ferry. I’ve read a bit of Fraction’s Ages of Thunder one-shots, not enough to give a clear cut opinion on it, but definitely enough to get me interested in this book. From what I read, Fraction has a good grip on the character and the art by Pasqual Ferry is the icing on the cake. For those weary about picking this up, I’d suggest looking for the upcoming Free Comic Book Day issue coming out this May 1st I think. It’s a one-shot featuring Iron Man and Thor and it’ll definitely give you a better idea how he’s going to write Thor before you actually spend money on it.

Other than that, nothing else really catches my eye from the current Heroic Age solicits. Do you think I missed something that‘s bound to be a smash hit? Tell me what you think in the comment, I’d really appreciate that. Anyway, the second half of this post covering the Brightest Day will be posted after I finish my Grant Morrison post on Monday. So, perhaps Tuesday, I guess. Anyway, as always, stay tuned for more.

It’s time for a new origin story already? This looks a little early for a movie tie-in but with Joe Casey on writing duties and Phil Noto on art who’s complaining? While it certainly does look promising, I don’t find a compelling reason to read it right away and the price tag is pretty steep for a story I‘ve seen quite a few times already, so I might wait for the trade on this one.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #11| written by GRANT MORRISON, art by ANDY CLARKE AND SCOTT HANNA |$2.99

Need I say more? Oh, and if you haven’t checked out the first six issues of this series, the deluxe hardcover edition of Batman Reborn is out this week as well.

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #43|written by SAM KIETH, art by SAM KIETH |$2.99

To be honest, I haven’t really enjoyed Kieth’s take on the Dark Knight. The artwork feels muddled at times and the story is rather on the weird side. That’s saying a lot since I enjoy Morrison’s work! I’m sure he has his fans and they’ll certainly want to pick this issue up.

DEMO VOL 2 #3| written by BRIAN WOOD, art by BECKY CLOONAN |$2.99

I’ll be honest with you, I never read the first volume of Demo. But I picked the last issue, ‘Pangs’ on a whim and I was blown away. The preview for this issue definitely looked interesting so I think I’m going to give this issue a try.

INVINCIBLE RETURNS #1| written by ROBERT KIRKMAN, art by RYAN OTTLEY, CORY WALKER and FCO PLASCENCIA |$3.99

Another thing I’ll be honest with you about, I’ve never read Invincible. But after all the buzz it gets on the Internet, I’ve decided to give it a shot with this ‘jumping on point’ that will lead into their big event, The Viltrumite War. If you’ve never read the title before but were always interested in giving a shot, pick this up.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1| written by JONATHAN HICKMAN, art by DUSTIN WEAVER |$3.99

In my opinion, this is the biggest release of the week. I’m not sure how to feel about this, I love the concept but I’m not sure how much I’ll enjoy this based on my unfamiliarity with the Marvel Universe. I will admit though, it’s hard to say no to Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver, so I guess I’ll have to make the decision when I’m at the store.

ULTIMATE COMICS X #2| written by JEPH LOEB, art by ARTHUR ADAMS |$3.99

Jeph Loeb’s first issue on Ultimate Comics X was a pleasant surprise, real good art with a story that was pretty good considering this was the guy responsible for Ultimatum. For people not interested in the Ultimate take on the X-Universe, I’d suggest checking out Uncanny X-Men #523 for the second chapter of Second Coming instead.

Other notable releases this week include:

FLASH SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS 2010 #1
PHILLIP K DICK’S ELECTRIC ANT #1
SECRET SIX:  DEPTHS TPB
SPIDER-MAN FEVER #1
SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN #5
WEIRD WORLD OF JACK STAFF #2

This won't end well.

Actually, it’s also interesting to note that even Tim feels threatened by Damian’s presence. He feels that Damian might take what he worked for as Robin away from him just because he’s Bruce’s son. Irrational, yes, but he’s a teenager. He’s confused and a little insecure of his position in life – which is pretty normal for his age.

On a side note, while Damian was looking around the Batcave, he unveils the Batmobile that Bruce was working on in the first part of Batman and Son.

Compare with the image of the Batmobiles below.

While it isn’t completely assembled yet, notice how it looks more like the current ‘flying Batmobile’ now being used in Batman and Robin and not like the one Tony Daniel designed for Batman RIP. Bruce even comments that the Batmobile he uses in RIP didn’t turn out exactly the way he imagined it to be. Any guesses why? Did Morrison dislike Daniel’s design and decided to ask Frank Quitely to create another, newer Batmobile for Batman and Robin?

Daniels' on the left and Quitely's on the right.

Moving on with the story, Bruce gets fed up Damian’s behavior and reprimands him. What I liked about the scene was how Bruce knew what the problem was with Damian – he knew Damian wanted respect and he knew that Damian wanted to prove himself worthy.

Kubert's art makes this scene.

Of course, in what might have been a trait he got from his father, Damian decides to take matters into his own hands. When a police operation to catch a third-rate villain called the Spook goes awry, Batman intervenes as part of Gordon’s backup plan. Something’s not quite right with the Spook though, as Batman soon discovers.

Robin returns to the cave to find Damian, alone, practicing with his sword. In this next scene, we see a bit of Damian’s insecurities. He clearly wants to show that he is more than capable of doing what Bruce does every night. He also wants to show that he can do it better than his ‘rival’  Tim Drake.

Crime lost.

Again, more of Damian’s insecurities. Despite the fact that he’s a very capable warrior, trained from day one to become the heir apparent to the Al Ghul empire, at his core he’s still a child who wants to prove himself to his parents and take what he believes to be rightfully his.

Damian steals a costume from the display case Tim crashed into and meets his father on a rooftop in Gotham.  Bruce already knows that it was Damian who beheaded the Spook. Damian offers his help for ‘Only you and I can stand against my mother.’ Bruce tells Damian that he already has a partner, but Damian answers that ‘He quit, there’s a new Robin in town.’

Originally, I wasn’t going to include this picture of the final page of the story, but I suddenly noticed  the costume of ‘The First Batman’ from Detective Comics #235 in the background! Another Silver Age throwback that we will see used again later in this run.

It's the one on the left.

Compare with the costume above.

The next chapter of this story, Batman #658 - ‘Absent Fathers,’ picks up where we left off with Tim bloodied on the cave floor. Batman rushes to his aid while Damian tries to defend his actions.

Meanwhile, Talia Al Ghul has kidnapped the Prime Minister’s wife from the Pop Art Gallery exhibit, which you might remember from Batman #656, and is demanding Gibraltar, ‘the perfect tactical outpost,’ in exchange for her life.

Bruce agrees to bring Damian with him to keep him out of trouble on the condition that he agrees not to kill. While I don’t think it was intentional, I got a Dark Knight Returns vibe from Bruce’s talk with Damian. What do you guys think?

The vibe the speech gave off really reminded me of DKR...

But I doubt that was what Morrison was going for.

Oh, and to answer Damian’s question…

BATROCKET!

As they descend towards their destination, Damian asks Bruce what his father was like. Bruce’s answer foreshadows a lot of things to come in Grant’s run and is probably the first hint we get about what to expect in Batman RIP.

Of course, Batman foils Talia’s plot, saves the Prime Minister’s wife and has Kirk Langstrom with the British Army discussing Anti-Man-Bat tactics. However, there’s more to this than meets the eye as Talia reveals the real reason why she brought Batman here.

Notice how she refers to Bruce as her ‘beloved‘ in the scene above and compare it to what she refers to him as when he declines her offer.

Very Ra’s like, wouldn’t you say? Another thing I’d like to point out is that later on in the sequence Batman tells Talia that ‘human lives are not a game.’ If you check out Batman #680, Dr. Hurt explains to everyone that every year he invites the richest people in the world to ‘play a game with human lives.’

The submarine they’re on gets blown to smithereens by torpedoes. Batman escapes while Talia and Damian’s bodies are nowhere to be found, a trope I’m sure many of you are familiar with by now. Of course, this isn’t the end of Damian Wayne, we’ll be seeing him and his mother again during the Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul, if I choose to feature it.

After this post, I’m taking a short break for the weekend so expect the next post in this series next week. Don’t fret though, I’ll be starting a new series of post previewing upcoming comic book releases this Saturday or Sunday so look out for that. Coming up next is Batman #663, ‘The Clown at Midnight’ the most unique issue of Grant’s run as it’s entirely in prose. Look out for that on Monday, maybe. Once again, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.

Scans from:

Batman #657, 658, ‘Wonderboys’ and ‘Absent Fathers’ written by Grant Morrison, art by Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang

Batman #676, 680 ‘Midnight in the House of Hurt’ and  ‘The Thin White Duke of Death’ written by Grant Morrison, art by Tony Daniels and Sandu Florea

The Dark Knight Returns written by Frank Miller, art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson