Stephanie Kay
Oct 13, 2007, 09:55 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6846"_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6846&stc=1&thumb=1" hspace=10 align=left alt="Batman #657"></a> Reviewer: Zach Ayotte, zachzealand@gmail.com
Story Title: Batman and Son Part 3: Wonderboys
”Ah…Memory Lane.”
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Andy Kubert
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Inker: Jesse Delperdang
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Associate Editor: Michael Siglair
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Andy Kubert
Editor In Chief: Dan DiDio
President: Paul Levitz
Batman Created by: Bob Kane
Published by: DC Comics (www.dc.com)
Over the course of his crime-fighting career, Batman has always had a weak spot for young abandoned black-haired boys. Above all others, they are the ones who have been invited farthest into the secret life of Bruce Wayne. They have made it deeper than the criminals, deeper than the women (in most ways), and deeper than most other crime fighters. Now there is a new black-haired boy entering Bruce Wayne’s life, but rather than rescuing an orphan, Batman may be bringing this boy home to daddy for the first time.
Two issues ago, Grant Morrison introduced us to Damian, the boy that would be Batman Junior, and while the character has had a minor role in the past two issues, he becomes a major player in Batman #657. Although I find Damian’s presence in this book more of an annoyance than a threat, his role in this story shows Morrison’s understanding of Batman as a character. Batman’s weakness consistently has been the young dark-haired orphan, or put another way, himself. He has consistently saved and sheltered characters who resemble himself, emotionally and to some degree physically. Luckily for him, in the past, all of his young orphans have had a similar moral leaning. By the end of this issue, it is clear that Damian does not share Batman’s moral stance. Watching Morrison play with Batman’s tendency to open-arm young orphans plays with an interesting part of Batman’s character and is an interesting twist on the father/son dynamic that has often played a role in Batman’s life.
While I liked the idea of Batman’s weakness for sheltering young orphans being turned against him, I found this issue to be an inconsistent read. The story did not always flow well and in some places felt jagged. The issue opens with Batman bringing his son home to the Bat Cave for the first time which, as an introduction to this issue, works well, but as part of a larger story arc is disappointing. Issue #656 ended with a tired and beaten Ninja Man-Bat-restrained Batman being held at sword point by his son. The situation was not hopeless but it was definitely a “same bat time, same bat channel” moment. The moment was abandoned, though, leaving the reader to assume any number of things happened between issues #656 and #657. The cliffhanger ending is one of the most established ways to end mid-story arc issue and is quite successful, but when it is used more for effect and less as a part of the story, it can cause the transition to be jarring and anti-climactic. In the case of this issue, it also confuses situations and character motivations. The final page of the last issue suggested a degree of peril that is not present when issue #657 begins. As a reader, I found myself wondering how the story went from Damian holding a sword to Batman’s throat to Batman giving Damian a tour of the Bat Cave.
Later in the book, Batman leaves to battle The Spook who, according to Robin, has kidnapped a group of people. This scene was interesting but felt out of place. There was little lead-in and almost no context for the confrontation and as a result it did not flow smoothly. I had to reread the scene where Commissioner Gordon’s undercover agent was exposed and still do not understand why it was a necessary addition to this issue. It felt like a small part of a larger story that the reader had not been given.
One element of this story that is interesting is the fact that, while Bruce Wayne is the millionaire playboy with access to countless women, it was Batman’s indiscretion that may have given him Damian. It is an interesting mix of Bruce’s life and Batman’s life. An illegitimate child is a Bruce Wayne style drama but it is one that now plagues Batman rather than Bruce.
Andy Kubert again does a nice job of penciling this book. He proves once again that he, like all the Kuberts, is a talented artist and a solid storyteller. His larger panels were very nicely handled, especially the two full-page panels near the end of the book. Jesse Delperdang and Andy Stewart give us nice work with their inks and colours. The Spook and the sewer scenes stood out as well handles pages. If I had any complaint about their work in this issue it would simply be that I wish it were a bit darker.
I am a huge fan of Grant Morrison and usually enjoy the things he does with his books. I did enjoy some of the ideas in this book, but found it inconsistent and a little light at times. For me, Batman is a very dark character and is best when handled that way. While there are a few very dark scenes in this issue, I found that a lot of it read like Batman’s Adventures in Babysitting. Morrison and Kubert have two issues left in their run and I’m still up in the air about it. If nothing else, I hope next time Batman remembers to bring some bat-protection, because man I hate that kid.
OVERALL:
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Buy issues of Batman online now from X-WORLD and save! ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=109&cat=BATMAN+)
Story Title: Batman and Son Part 3: Wonderboys
”Ah…Memory Lane.”
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Andy Kubert
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Inker: Jesse Delperdang
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Associate Editor: Michael Siglair
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Andy Kubert
Editor In Chief: Dan DiDio
President: Paul Levitz
Batman Created by: Bob Kane
Published by: DC Comics (www.dc.com)
Over the course of his crime-fighting career, Batman has always had a weak spot for young abandoned black-haired boys. Above all others, they are the ones who have been invited farthest into the secret life of Bruce Wayne. They have made it deeper than the criminals, deeper than the women (in most ways), and deeper than most other crime fighters. Now there is a new black-haired boy entering Bruce Wayne’s life, but rather than rescuing an orphan, Batman may be bringing this boy home to daddy for the first time.
Two issues ago, Grant Morrison introduced us to Damian, the boy that would be Batman Junior, and while the character has had a minor role in the past two issues, he becomes a major player in Batman #657. Although I find Damian’s presence in this book more of an annoyance than a threat, his role in this story shows Morrison’s understanding of Batman as a character. Batman’s weakness consistently has been the young dark-haired orphan, or put another way, himself. He has consistently saved and sheltered characters who resemble himself, emotionally and to some degree physically. Luckily for him, in the past, all of his young orphans have had a similar moral leaning. By the end of this issue, it is clear that Damian does not share Batman’s moral stance. Watching Morrison play with Batman’s tendency to open-arm young orphans plays with an interesting part of Batman’s character and is an interesting twist on the father/son dynamic that has often played a role in Batman’s life.
While I liked the idea of Batman’s weakness for sheltering young orphans being turned against him, I found this issue to be an inconsistent read. The story did not always flow well and in some places felt jagged. The issue opens with Batman bringing his son home to the Bat Cave for the first time which, as an introduction to this issue, works well, but as part of a larger story arc is disappointing. Issue #656 ended with a tired and beaten Ninja Man-Bat-restrained Batman being held at sword point by his son. The situation was not hopeless but it was definitely a “same bat time, same bat channel” moment. The moment was abandoned, though, leaving the reader to assume any number of things happened between issues #656 and #657. The cliffhanger ending is one of the most established ways to end mid-story arc issue and is quite successful, but when it is used more for effect and less as a part of the story, it can cause the transition to be jarring and anti-climactic. In the case of this issue, it also confuses situations and character motivations. The final page of the last issue suggested a degree of peril that is not present when issue #657 begins. As a reader, I found myself wondering how the story went from Damian holding a sword to Batman’s throat to Batman giving Damian a tour of the Bat Cave.
Later in the book, Batman leaves to battle The Spook who, according to Robin, has kidnapped a group of people. This scene was interesting but felt out of place. There was little lead-in and almost no context for the confrontation and as a result it did not flow smoothly. I had to reread the scene where Commissioner Gordon’s undercover agent was exposed and still do not understand why it was a necessary addition to this issue. It felt like a small part of a larger story that the reader had not been given.
One element of this story that is interesting is the fact that, while Bruce Wayne is the millionaire playboy with access to countless women, it was Batman’s indiscretion that may have given him Damian. It is an interesting mix of Bruce’s life and Batman’s life. An illegitimate child is a Bruce Wayne style drama but it is one that now plagues Batman rather than Bruce.
Andy Kubert again does a nice job of penciling this book. He proves once again that he, like all the Kuberts, is a talented artist and a solid storyteller. His larger panels were very nicely handled, especially the two full-page panels near the end of the book. Jesse Delperdang and Andy Stewart give us nice work with their inks and colours. The Spook and the sewer scenes stood out as well handles pages. If I had any complaint about their work in this issue it would simply be that I wish it were a bit darker.
I am a huge fan of Grant Morrison and usually enjoy the things he does with his books. I did enjoy some of the ideas in this book, but found it inconsistent and a little light at times. For me, Batman is a very dark character and is best when handled that way. While there are a few very dark scenes in this issue, I found that a lot of it read like Batman’s Adventures in Babysitting. Morrison and Kubert have two issues left in their run and I’m still up in the air about it. If nothing else, I hope next time Batman remembers to bring some bat-protection, because man I hate that kid.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/batfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/batfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/batfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/batnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/batnone.jpg
Buy issues of Batman online now from X-WORLD and save! ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=109&cat=BATMAN+)