Favorite stories in Morrison's Batman run so far

[ViewtifulJC]

I've recently re-read the entirety of Grant Morrison's Batman epic, and it's really quite something read together like that. It's a compulsive read, deconstructing, reconstructing, and celebrating the world of Batman, and it keeps building on ideas and themes taken from even the first story 60 issues ago. The amount of content he's able to pack into every issue is commendable as well; there's rarely an issue you read and think you're waiting for the good stuff to show up because this one's a little slow. It shifts tones from ugly, dark and gritty to colorful, funny adventures and everything in-between. There's some bum issues here or there, and I don't have the intention to ever read a Tony Daniel/Philip Tan-drawn issue of anything again, but there's so much good stuff here it's hard to complain about the bad. I came up with a top ten list so far, feel free to chime in with your own favorites:

10. Time and the Batman (Batman #700)



This issue focuses on three time periods, old school Batman and Robin, new school Batman and Robin, and 666 Damian Batman, with a mysterious Professor Nichols and his unconventional death tying them all together. The story isn't without it's faults, as some unfortunate artistic errors confuse the story more than it should(why is there a bullet hole on future Nichols, Kubert!?), and I HATE that Quitely couldn't even be bothered to finish his little eight page story, so while we got one great lookin' fight sequence with B&R vs the Mutants, Scott Kolins does some bizarre artwork that completely robs what should be some instantly iconic montage panels of their power. But even these blunders can't shake the story's entertainment value, which is full of the wacky ideas and great dialog that has become a hallmark of this series. My particular favorite being the beginning story, where we find Batman avoiding flaming arrows from Egyptian royal guards, and Joker screaming for Nichols to get him out of there("The crucifixion! The Children's Crusade! Vietnam! JUST SEND ME SOMEWHERE FUNNY!"). This is a very apt anniversary story, and it gets to a central theme of Morrison's run, which is a celebration of Batman in all his many forms. Whether it's Bruce, Dick, Damian, Terry, or someone else entirely, the point is clear: where there is evil, there will be Batman.

9. Batman and Son (Batman #655-658)



The story that started this entire Bat-Epic is a very good one(for the most part), and probably the most conventional of the entire run. And by "conventional", we mean "Morrison conventional", which means it opens with Gordon falling off a building laughing himself to death, Joker killing Batman(in front of a bunch of disabled kids!), said Batman waking up to shoot him in the face! The story actually improves upon re-reads now that most of Morrison's run is out there; so many of the ideas Grant would go on to develop start here: Zurr-En-Arrh, his evolution of the Joker, Damian, Talia, Jezebel Jet, etc. Andy Kubert draws this one, and although I have a preference for Adam as far as Kuberts go, Andy does a great job with this one. The standout issue for him(and this story) being, of course, the big art museum issue of #656. The juxtaposition between the on-panel action and the background art plays brilliantly, and Andy's action storytelling chops on full force with Batman vs the ninja manbats("an alarming twist!" gets me every time). Despite all the craziness of ninja bat commandos or giant Bat-rockets, some of the best material in story is just some of the characters interacting. Morrison has a GREAT Alfred, maybe the best I've read; his interplay with Bruce is consistently hilarious and on-point. Jezebel Jet makes a strong impression from the very first panel, as she and Bruce shares an instant, very charming chemistry. Things would end badly for Jezebel, but right here she's wonderful.

So there's a lot of good(I didn't even get to mention a lot of the Damian stuff I liked), but the main reason it's down here on the list is that weak sauce ending. Talia's motivation for her entire scheme is so weak, so wafer-thin, it makes the entire premise seem unearned and flaccid. That inconclusive sudden ending didn't do it any favors, either. It's a very good Batman story before that, but the bad ending always leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth after reading it.

8. Batman and Robin Reborn (B&R #1-3)



I remember the hype for this story. Morrison/Quitely, one of the greatest creative teams in the history of the medium, kicking off a new era of Batman. I could not WAIT to get my hands on this damn book. It's one of the few floppies I own, since I had to have the book immediately. Now, in 2012, divorced from the hype, "Batman Reborn" is a very entertaining Batman story, although I'm not quite sure it's a great one.

Batman and Robin's tone and atmosphere is one of it's greatest strengths, a mix of Adam West 1960s Batman kitsch with David Lynch bizarre darkness. Gotham is a neon city of high life and oddities, all day-glo colors and fast movement. Dialog is terse, concise, and sharp, the story barreling ahead at 120 MPH. Not a line of dialog is wasted, and sometimes it's even less than that. Fight scenes are incredibly choreographed, some of the best I've ever seen, fused with character drama, with actual sound effects coming out of the environment(Damian gets thrown into a wall, the cracks in the wall spells "SMASH") and unique panel layouts keeping it interesting. Pyg is fully introduced here, and he's got to be one of my terrifying and weird new Batman rogues of the past decade, his bizarre ramblings and disgusting behavior even Damian can't stand("Dude...you just redefined 'wrong'.")

It's not all fun and games though; the strongest emotional cords are hit in the middle issue, with Dick and Alfred's conversation about how to be Batman. Dick tries to be Bruce, and it's just not working. He's constantly overshadowed and burdened by the presence of the Batsuit(there's this REALLY great panel where his face is obscured in darkness, with the bat ears over his head), and Alfred gives him this perfect answer of how to think of Batman, as a role like the next James Bond. "The show must go on". It's a perfect bit of storytelling economy and characterization.

But the price of all this high-speed adventure means things may go a little TOO fast, TOO hypercompressed. There's one tendency of Grant that I don't like, when he breaks a part a sentence to show how fast the characters are moving. "Get" in one panel, "Him!" the next. I get what he's trying to do, but I don't think it translates well into a comic book, especially if you're like me and like to look at the panel for a few seconds before moving on to the next one. There's also another element that affects several of Morrison's arcs, where he adds an extraneous doomsday element to give the story bigger stakes, but doesn't really develop it. The Doll-o-tron bomb/disease plot is undercooked and underdramatized, a big bad event that kinda happens in the peripheral, and you rarely get a sense that it's this big deal that affects all of Gotham. More over, which this change to concise, fast storytelling, a lot of the depth fans enjoyed about the first act of Morrison Bat-epic isn't here. Pyg rambling aside, there's not too much to pick out and think about for annotations.

So a little too pedal to the medal that it misses a lot of the scenery, but it doesn't stop this story from being a damn fine example of what pop superhero comic storytelling can be: inventive, humorous, exciting, and heartfelt.

[ViewtifulJC]

7. Batman vs Batman (B&R #7-9)



I don't think this is a largely popular story among the fanbase, but it's definitely one of my favorites. Like Batman and Robin Reborn before it, this story works on a lot of the same strengths, namely the great eccentric mix of lighthearted adventure and darkly serious material. It takes a deft hand to nail the dramatic beats of Batwoman's death with the cartoony awesome of EVIL ZOMBIE BATMAN vs Dick-Batman with electric Batman gauntlets, but here it is!

A big reason I'm such of fan of this story is because the inclusion of Knight and Squire. Essentially the Batman and Robin of the UK, these two are some of my favorite Morrison characters, and I LOVE that he's been slowly building their history over the course of his work(starting back in JLA Classified #1-3). Here, Grant and his amazing artist Cameron Stewart do a lot of world-building for these two, including a fully-formed Rogue's gallery!

One of Grant's great strengths is that he can give you the sense that new characters have lives and history outside of the story through just a few lines of dialog, and that's perfectly illustrated here. There's an entire world of super-heroics across the Atlantic running parallel to Batman's American adventures that we just hadn't seen yet, complete with fully realized characters masterfully created through spare bits of dialogue. It's the kind of stuff superhero comics should thrive at.

Besides all that though, this is still a distinctly Batman story, with Dick breaking his own word and trying to bring Bruce back in a Lazarus pit. Of course, it aint actually Bruce, but DARKSEID ZOMBIE BATMAN, which leads to some thrilling fight sequences and tense scenes with wheelchair-bound Damian and Alfred having to fight off a crazed Bruce Wayne. Major props to Cameron Stewart, for two great, free-flowing Batman fight scenes where two Batman in identical suits fight each other, but there's NEVER any question which is Bruce and which is Dick.

The biggest blunder being that...bizarre speech bubble mix-up between Batwoman and Dick-Batman. And it's not just once, but twice in the same issue! That's just straight up unprofessional on DC's part. But I can put that aside, but there's many little things I enjoy about this story: the Bat-Zombie's twisted flashbacks, the great King Pearly scene where he secretly helps Batman with the domino chains, Alfred with a cricket bat(Morrison has the best Alfred, I'm tellin' you), Damian's fake-confusion to hide their secret identity from Batwoman("Who are these terrible people and what on Earth is going on!?"), Dick's eternal smiling Batman, etc. I wish we got more Batman and Robin stories of this caliber.

6. Batman Inc. Vol.1 #3-5



Yeah, I don't think there's a title for this story, but this is clearly a three-part narrative, and I treat it as such. To refresh your memory, this is from the first year of Batman Inc where Bruce tries to recruit El Gaucho into his army of Batman. The Batman Incorporated might be Grant's strongest material, and this story is a perfect example of why. It's combines the colorful/bizarre tone and pacing of the Batman and Robin era, with the depth and intrigue that came from the Bruce Wayne section, all with wonderful artwork here by Paquette and Burnham. Once again, Grant can give us hints of a world beyond Gotham with El Guacho aka Santiago Vergas, who's essentially a modern-day Zorro(no wonder Batman loves the guy). You get a sense of his history, his day-to-day life, the super-assassins and villains he has to fight("This will be Scorpiana fifteenth attempt to kill me"), and it's all very entertaining. There's a bit of a rivalry that's pretty awesome as well; one great scene is when Bruce Wayne steals Santiago's thunder with the tango of death, much to his displeasure, and there's always this great lookin' fight between the two that Burnham draws the HELL out of.

This is a densely-packed story, with several different big bads for our heroes to go up against, an absolutely wonderful backstory section on Kathy Kane drawn and colored to perfection, dynamite fight sequences, mysteries to think about, words to ponder over, great new characters(The Hood's roguish James Bond characterization is incredibly charming); this one really has it all. The only real bummers for me happened in the third and final issue, in which there's a confusing sequence of events with Daedalus, that's hard to read what actually...happen or didn't happen, when the fake-out happen or whatever. It's odd. Also, again, Grant's tendency to suddenly up the stakes rears it's head, where a meta-bomb introduced in the last few minutes of the plot that could blow up the world! It's like a James Bond movie and in the last few minutes of the climax, the bad guy is like, "Oh, did I mention I have a giant laser satellite that's gonna destroy London? Because I guess that's kinda important". I mean, it's a big deal, but it's not built up like a big deal.

But that's just how this story works: full of so many ideas it just runs out of time to get them all out. The vast majority of them work with flying colors to tell a densely-packed, hypercharged superhero story.

5. Leviathan Strikes



Two stories for the price of...well, no, actually they did charge extra for this one. Well, you get what I mean! Batman Inc's delays were just crazy(which has killed a LOT of momentum in this book, sadly), so they decided to just do both the Cameron Stewart story and the big season finale in one special.

The Stewart section is a lot of fun, in a Heathers/Mean Girls kind of way. Stephanie Brown gets sent to a private school for girls, but it turns out this school is actually a training ground for sexy teenage ninja commandos! With teachers that include Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Madonna!

The story easily switches tones from lighthearted goofiness to weird darkness(thanks to Pyg's son), and it's all illustrated by the talented hands of Cameron Stewart, who draws some of the prettiest girls in comics. My big complaint with this story is the ending feels rushed. Everything builds up to this big climax, but I guess they just ran out of space, because we don't get to see a lot of it. I would have loved to see Gaga and Rihanna up there get in the fight, but they leave. The relationship between Stephanie and her one friend at the school ends abruptly, and the entire ninja girl fight happens off-panel! Boooooo!

The second story is the "season finale" of sorts to Batman Inc's first year, and it's a doozy of a read, especially the first time when you have no idea what the hell just happen. It's full of dramatic reveals, satellite explosions, cliffhangers, bat-robots, faceless James Bond-esque henchmen, hallucinations, puzzles, double-crosses, TRIPLE-crosses, and once again, a last-second meta-bomb reveal that could destroy the world! Overstuffed? You betcha, but it's terribly exciting and ambitious. Burnham absolutely KILLS this one as well; I think he's second only to Quitely on all of Morrison's Batman partners in bringing his scripts to life, and we are so blessed that he's drawing the final 12 issues. This story brings a lot of things to head, closes off some story threads, and probably kicks off the final stretch of Grant's Bat-Epic, and for that it's commendable.

Individually, I don't think either of these stories would be above the last two, but combining them under one roof let's me cheat a bit, and I REALLY like the second story, so here we are.

[ViewtifulJC]

4. Batman Inc. Vol.2 #1, 3-4



Again, don't have a story title for this one, and my ranking of issues seems a little arbitrary, but in my my mind this is a 3-part story, centered around Damian and the assassins that want to kill him. #2 is an interesting-enough read, but it's all backstory, a history lesson, and not as fun as the Kathy Kane one at that. And #5 is awesome, but that feels like an epilogue, or a special intermission before the big craziness of #6-8. Anyway, that's how I see it.

So pre-ramble out the way, I can focus on this story as it is, and it's amazing. I really can't overstate how good Burnham is here and how lucky we are to get twelve full issues from him. There's so many wonderful sequences here: the Damian ring of violence with the Mutants, the Bat-Cow reveal, the absolutely masterful set piece battle at the House of Assassins, using the buildings as panels for Batman and Robin's conversation...every page works. Every PANEL is great. The man is a superstar.

Again, Batman Inc is the best part of Morrison's run, because while it's ALWAYS fun, it effortlessly ties more succinct dialog, snappy character moments and subtle, yet huge plotting into a single issue than other current Batman authors have managed in 15 issue runs so far. There's this perfect economy of storytelling on display here, Grant will use exactly the right words to advance his stories, hit the character beats, makes it accessible for new readers but is always building on the past sixty-something issues. There's cameos and fun side bits, like a dead ringer for Bueno Excellente, or the pitch-perfect characterization of Matches Malone, the dialog-free action beats of Damian invading the House of Assassins, the double-talking henchmen("Understand!?"), the great subplot with Lux Lumina, or goddamn I'm just rambling now. I love this story, and if it wasn't for that forced, out-of-nowhere dramatic ending with Batman giving up Damian, it'd be perfect.

3. Batman in Bethlehem (Batman #666)

One of the rare single issue stories in Morrison's Batman run is one of his finest, showing a dystopian future where Damian must take up the mantle after his father's death and become Batman. On the surface, this is just a cool-as-hell story, once again showcasing Grant's storytelling economy in creating a fully-realized world in a single issue, on top of exciting fight sequences and great dialog. Seeing the way Damian does things, the world he guards, his relationship with Alfred the cat or Barbera Gordon the commissioner is intriguing, and in a twisted kinda way makes sense. This is the full other side of the spectrum, a continuation of the dark, nihilistic stories that came in Frank Miller's wake for the Caped Crusader, taken to it's ultimate conclusion.

But beyond that, #666 works as a bridge for the entire run. Every time I re-read it after a good chunk of issues have come out, I get more out of it. The battle between Batman and the Devil, Damain's ultimate fate, his training to kill, the shroud of the Batman's cape has on his sons, the power and symbolism behind the bat...it's like Grant dumped the last issue of his epic run smack dab in the beginning, and has been working around it and through it themetically ever since.

This is a powerful, slick, entertaining, and continuously rewarding issue, and one of the highlights of Morrison's entire run.

2. Batman and Robin Must Die (B&R #13-16)



As hyped as I was for the first few issues of Batman and Robin, I think I was even MORE excited for this one, as you can see by this ranking, my opinion of it is still very high indeed.

One of the biggest strengths of this story is the sinister, tension-filled tone that hangs overhead in the first three issues. A big part of that has to be Frazier Irving's unnerving artwork, but hats off to Morrison for actually dramatizing this doomsday plot. I gave Grant shit for his last-minute big bomb threats, but here, the threat to Gotham feels real, because it's built over the course of the story. We see the effects it's having on Gotham's citizens, we see Gordon fall under the spell, we see the drive to get the city back under control. On top of that, we have the return of Dr. Hurt, who is just so entertaining to read all his lines like Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid; so arrogant and conceited, so confident that he's pulling all the strings.

But the real centerpiece here is the Joker, who has rarely EVER been this good. Grant/Irving's Joker is unpredictable, hilarious, a genius, and flat-out scary. It's utterly compulsive to hang on it's every word and watch him go about his way, planning his every move with clockwork precision despite his obvious insanity(or "differently sane" as he puts it). It's not hard to see why he's the greatest Batman foe.

There's so many big bads and colorful fight scenes and sharp character moments like the last few on my list, but this one is special to me because of how effective of a climax it is. EVERYTHING feels important, EVERYTHING feels like this is the end, this is how all the dominoes are gonna fall, and we are SCREWED

And that's when Batman shows up like a boss, and one of the most satisfying single issues of the entire run happens. Three different artists are jarring, but they're all SO GOOD it doesn't really matter. Cameron Stewart's fight sequence is wonderful, Burnham's pencils are perfect, Irving's Pyg/Joker sequences are terrifying and bizarre. It all works somehow, to form the kind of trimupth superhero ending rarely seen in Big Two mainstream comics.

Just so many good scenes. The intense Damian vs Joker interrogation, the DOUBLE PUNCH of Batman and Robin on Dr. Hurt, "Is that Damian in a robin outfit?", the dominoes that spell "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA", Hurt slipping on that damn banana peel, the unsettling Thomas Wayne intro, the Dr. Hurt origin story that actually uses Milligan's story beats...this is fantastic stuff. This is Batman: RIP the way it should have been.

1. The Island of Mr. Mayhew (Batman #667-669)



Ok, I'm kinda burned out on writing here, so I'm just gonna link to a review that says everything I was gonna say, but better. Needless to say, I love every single thing about this story, and I honestly think it's not just the best Batman story Morrison has ever put his name on, it's one of the greatest Batman stories ever. Period.

--

And that's not even touching upon all the great concepts he brought up in Return of Bruce Wayne, or the cotton-candy confection that is the Mr. Unknown two-parter. Honestly, the amount of ideas and characters developed on this epic narrative, the great dialog and wonderful characterizations('cept his Catwoman, bizarrely), the many great artists we've had along the way, all the while being an entertaining and inventive superhero story...it's hard not to be impressed. And to think, the best may be yet to come! Batman Inc #6-8 looks to be the explosive climax we've been waiting for: Robot Batman vs Ninja Manbats! Batman Inc vs Leviathan! The fate of Damian and Gotham hanging in the balance! All drawn by Chris Burnham! And then after all that we STILL got four issues left, which is a lifetime of story if Grant is feeling up to it.

There's a lot of really great short-form Batman stories, but I think when it's all said and done, Grant Morrison's Batman run is gonna be the definitive long-form statement on the character. It's no wonder he's quitting superhero books after this is over; what else could he say?

The delays are unfortunate because they've really killed the hype for this series. Snyder's Batman sells almost THREE TIMES as many copies as Batman Inc does. You'll never see Batman Inc in a lot of Best of 2012 comic list. It almost seems forgotten. "Oh yeah, Morrison still doing Batman? How quaint." I know I did a lot of writing here but I just wanted to show my passion for this series, and inspire some of you readers to write about your favorite stories in this run as well.

[maxpower00044]

666, Time and the Batman (DamianBats part), Batman Inc. Vol 2. # 5

[cactusmaac]

Batman #679.

[InformationGeek]

Favorite? Batman and Robin Must Die.

My second favorite... ah... umm... hmmm... Hard to say. Batman and Robin Must Die is so incredible but everything else in the run is so... average. They all sort of swirl together for me where I can't tell what truly could be second best. I could say The Island of Mr. Mayhew, but that's just alright ultimately.

[nepenthes]

Fantastic post, Viewtiful. Makes me want to read everyone of these stories again right now.

[Officersmile1466]

The first arc with Professor Pyg is pretty amazing "I like to work to music. Sexy disco hot"

I don't think it started off well but I really loved that arc in issues 7-9 of B&R with the zombie batman who became a pretty funny parody of Frank Miller.

The space medicine issues with the third man just before RIP are great.

Island of Mayhew was bizarre the first time round but after re-reading it was absolutely amazing. Williams blasted the story out of the park with that one.

The Chris Burnham issues of INC vol 1 are all amazing. Vol 1 felt really disjointed but it was clear that the series was really on fire when Burnham was on art duties.

Can I say all of Vol 2 of INC (Minus the zero issues)? Those five issues are all equally amazing. Especially considering that while telling one narrative, each one is a single type of story. 1 is the Batman and Robin team up done right. 2 is an astonishing examination of Thalia. 3 is a film noir story. 4 is a super hero team up against assassins and 5 is an absolutely astonishing work of genius of how absolutely everything can go completely horribly wrong for a batman.

My absolute least favorite issue though? The last issue before RIP kicked off with a nine eyed ninja guy. Horrific art, terrible story and a general sense of simply killing time.

[YMCMB]

Island of Mister Mayhew was perfect, Dr. Hurt's reveal wearing (not) Mayhew's face was one of the coolest moments in the entire run.
I've loved pretty much all of Inc so far, btw you didn't like Morrison's Catwoman characterization? I really liked her in those first 2 issues.
The Space Medicine/Batman Dies At Dawn issues with the Sleeper ghost of Batman were so creepy, but great.
And the climax of Batman and Robin was another high-point of the run.

[Filip]

1. Batman R.I.P.
At the time it was released, I was really itching for the next issue, while Morrison was casually pushing fan's buttons and throwing red herrings left and right like it was no tomorrow. Black Glove enlisting Joker among their ranks, Batcave shutdown, Bruce going through his city with the eyes of a lowlife man and Hurt promising the death of Batman really had me fear for the Batman and his family. Fast-paced, frenzied, horror vibes with the touch of delirium really make this masterpiece the jem of his run.

2. Batman and Robin Must DIE!

History repeats itself and Hurt comes back to finish the game with young boys, who're filling up for the time displaced daddy. City on the brink of tearing itself apart, new batmobile shot down from the sky and Pyg loose upon the citizenship, it all sounded so deviously pale, but Hurt forgot who's he playing with, and that was his biggest mistake.
"Give yourself a big hand, Black Glove! It's all getting way too serious for me." may be my favourite cliffhanger ever.
Oh. And Frazer Irving.

3. The return of Bruce Wayne #2

Frazer Irving, witch hunters, blind ignorance of the medieval times, Super squad at the end of everything and amnesiac Bruce battling space-time-curse-octopus in the cave waterfall. It sounds too overcrowded, but it is beautifully balanced with the death of an innocent at the end and then history passes away to the next event in the chain.

4. Batman Inc Vol.1 #4

This one made me fall in love with Kathy. She has the will to make anything she can imagine happen, not to mention her wits and beauty. But she eventually crushes her own plans for Bat-babies when her long lost daddy reveals his true self (soap opera melodrama strikes back!). Breaking off with Batman was heartbreaking. Burnham truly shines here.

5.The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

Ryan Sook doing 1940s style noir story starring amnesiac Bruce Wayne: that's a recipe for elegant greatness. Detective 'till the end. Plus the crazy cult filming Black Glove movie and Metron cameos!

6. Leviathan Strikes

Great closure to Vol 1 and Stephanie Brown teaching asskicking! Popstars as killer instructors was a nice touch.

[ViewtifulJC]

I've loved pretty much all of Inc so far, btw you didn't like Morrison's Catwoman characterization? I really liked her in those first 2 issues.

She's fun, and I really like that two-parter, but I think Grant overdid that cat-talk. Can't remember the last time Selena purr/raaawred so much.

I do like that Selena/Bruce relationship is treated pretty maturetly; just two, super good looking adults who can have sex, know what they want from each other, then go their separate ways.

[maxpower00044]

666, Time and the Batman (DamianBats part), Batman Inc. Vol 2. # 5

This is still my answer. If anyone hasn't read these three issue in a row; do it now.

[booyah]

Island of Dr. Mayhew reminded me of Watchmen, in a great way. And RIP was pretty cool if bizarre as hell. Haven't read the whole thing yet though.

[Nosed]

Such a great thread idea!

10. Batman 666 + Batman 700 + Batman Inc (vol 2) 5

This was much higher on this until Damien's death made it seem a little pointless. I was hoping for some LOST-style time travel (can't change the future) rather than generic comic book "possible future" stuff. Its still on the list because of the potential for revelations like "Heretic = 666 Batman" but I'm a little down on this right now. It has to be on the list because of how awesome it is on a first read, with segments occurring in each of the 3 "seasons". 666 also has the first appearance of Prof Pyg, Jackanapes, etc so it will never be completely worthless.

9. Batman Inc (vol 1)

A total departure from the rest of the run, and a lot more episodic. The opening two parter with Catwoman in Japan is a real highlight. To say nothing of the Man-of-Bats one shot that really deserves a place on this list in and of itself.

8. Batman RIP

The issue with the homeless guy (Honor Jackson?) brings this one down for me. The rest is pure Morrison awesome. Bat-mite FTW.

7. Batman and Robin

I think some people misread this a "simple" Batman and Robin tale. I remember Rikdad had a great post on his blog about how complex this story really is. Oh yeah, and this Batman and Robin is probably the best combination of those two characters we'll ever see.

6. Last Rites

These two issues pretty much sum up the main conceit of the arc: All of Batman's history actually happened to him. Its so awesome to think that Adam West Batman = Christian Bale Batman. It really makes me happy!

5. Batman Inc (vol 2)

Ranks this high mainly due to Chris's awesome art. There are probably some filler issues with this, and we'll have to wait to see if the end holds up. But, man, #5 is soooo good.

4. Return of Bruce Wayne

The single most underrated aspect of the entire run. Pure genius in every issue. Its also by far the most difficult to understand. But if you put the time into figuring it out its so rewarding. (I'll put a shout out once again to Rikdad who laid it out so straightforward, and to whomever made that awesome Wayne family tree.) It almost makes you feel like a detective yourself putting it all together.

3. Batman and Son

It catches you right from the very first page and never lets go. I especially love the page that just shows a day in the life of Bruce Wayne. It sets a certain mood that's perfect for all that comes next.

2. Island of Doctor Mayhew

JH Williams III + Grant Morrison + awesome silver age stuff

1. Batman 701-702 + Return of Bruce Wayne 6 + Batman and Robin Must Die!

I just said this in another post, but I really recommend reading the later "Season 2" stuff in publication order rather than trying to arrange it chronological. Plus that way, you actually have to read Final Crisis. Anyway, the mood of the RIP Missing Chapters is so perfect and the way they tie everything together is pretty mind-blowing. The climax of the story in B&R #16 is a more than worthy ending, and the actual end of the run is going to have a lot to live up to.