Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Burnham
The Solicitation
• BATMAN, INCORPORATED makes its NEW 52 debut with an all-new first issue!• The series hits the ground running as BATMAN and ROBIN face off against the assassin GOATBOY!• LEVIATHAN'S sinister mission revealed!
Preview
The Comic
Wow, this is actually going to be the first Morrison book that I review for this blog. Interesting.
With Morrison, you either have fans that love him or fans that hate him. I almost never encounter those who are in between. Personally, I like his work. I have We3, All Star Superman, and New X-Men sitting on my book shelf. Morrison has a way of writing that can be hit or miss for me. I can entirely understand how new readers to his work could have a hard time getting into the book as Morrison literally starts strong and tries to keep running with the wild ideas that he has seemingly every other page.
This book does require some knowledge of where the previous Batman, Inc title went, even though it was considered pre-New 52. Which is pretty much like the other Bat-books on the relaunch. Leviathan = Talia Al Ghul. Talia Al Ghul = Damian's mother. Leviathan = out to destroy Batman since Damian chose to stay with him and not with Talia.
There are some strong moments in this book that I really appreciated. The villain's name is Goatboy, and Morrison acknowledges that the inspiration for him came from Bill Hicks, one of my favorite comedians. The premise is that Goatboy killed Damian and shot Batman in the face and now needs the protection of Leviathan. All in all, an entertaining start to the book.
I also liked the introduction of Bat-cow and Damian deciding to go vegetarian, although I hope that the former sticks around for a while and the latter goes away.
The Art
Usually what helps make Morrison more understandable with his approach to comics is if a good artist is paired with him.
We have found a good artist.
The best thing that I like to do after reading the book is just to flip through it. Follow the artwork. Does it tell a story itself that, when you remove the words, can be followed along to a certain degree? That's the important difference between a good comic book artist and a bad one.
My sincere hope is that Burnham can keep it at this level and still make a monthly schedule for the book. One thing that can weigh down a good Morrison story is the constant changing of the artists. I really want Burnham to stay around, this is some good stuff.
The Cover
My retailer loves the Combo-Packs. So instead of that lovely red and black sniper scope design that is going on, we get a black and white version of it. Its not to bad, but the black and red just seems to flow so much better. They both grab your attention and you can tell right away who the book is about and what is going on.
Grades
Words: 10/10
Pictures: 10/10
Recommend: Highly. Is this a good jumping point for new readers? This is about as accessible of a first issue that I have seen Morrison do. There will be questions about a couple of items and where they came from, but this is still something I would give a first time reader of Batman and I would think that they would enjoy it.
Buy Next Issue: I want to, but only if my shop is getting the non-Combo-Pack version. If they are getting that, I'll just play the wait for the trade game.
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