A few Morrison Batman questions

[jgiannantoni05]

Thank you again. does it feel like a big arc after reading it all ?

To me and most I think it does. Once you see all the big pictures, you see the journey.

It's about Man vs God, Batman vs his uber-gritty tortured late 80's/90's/early 00's dual self (thus...spirit & unity vs matter & duality), fathers and sons, enlightenment & reason vs superstition & fear, etc, etc.

[YMCMB]

It's only THE MOST brilliant stories in comics right now. So, it's got that going for it.

I'm quite serious. But Morrison's work will never be too too mainstream because he apparently makes too many readers work & think too much, they don't like that. The "powers that be" have been far too successful in conditioning people against too much thought.

Casual Illuminati reference in the last sentence lol?

[jgiannantoni05]

Casual Illuminati reference in the last sentence lol?

Lol. No, no Illuminati or anything like that, the rich & powerful are the boring truth. Just good ole pluralism.

[YMCMB]

Haha that's true enough I suppose

[Kal Wayne]

I for one love that I have to re-read his books in order to fully grasp the core concepts and can then read them again scanning for details I may have missed. I really feel I'm getting my money's worth. I'm not saying its the only way to enjoy a comic, because that's certainly not true, but I guess I don't mind being at times utterly confused while reading a book either. To cite another book of his, I was so lost after reading Action 14 or 15 that I went back and read his whole run and had a completely different perception of the story, both on the individual issues and the story as a whole. It was remarkable, and it wasn't like I didn't enjoy them the first time around, I just realized I didn't fully appreciate them.

[Haytil]

It's only THE MOST brilliant stories in comics right now. So, it's got that going for it.

I'm quite serious. But Morrison's work will never be too too mainstream because he apparently makes too many readers work & think too much, they don't like that. The "powers that be" have been far too successful in conditioning people against too much thought.

If you're referencing the fact that Morrison writes his scripts as if he's left a few pages at home, and doesn't want to do the work to rewrite them before submitting it to DC, then that's not "making his readings work and think." That's just lazy writing.

[smomo8]

If you're referencing the fact that Morrison writes his scripts as if he's left a few pages at home, and doesn't want to do the work to rewrite them before submitting it to DC, then that's not "making his readings work and think." That's just lazy writing.

That's not the first time I've heard someone saying that for his run on batman

[T Hedge Coke]

That's not the first time I've heard someone saying that for his run on batman

It ignores, however, that his verified method for writing is virtually the opposite and considerably more controlled (he over-writes and then pares down), as well as the fact that, clearly, a huge number of readers have no problem quickly sussing their way through his comics as he remains consistently a major seller and, as they call them, "fan favorite" even with the occasional suggestion that using transitions over hard scene breaks or starting in media res are signs of laziness.

His Batman run is smart enough, and fun enough, but it's not the most complex or artsy thing on the planet. There's nothing in his Batman run that should be exceptionally challenging, nor is there meant to be. It's a pop comic about a guy in a mask beating up evil. That it casually references an old Bat-story or another piece of entertainment, or that it might start a storyline with a flashforward and then backtrack to explain, these aren't signs of either laziness, irrationality, or being difficult, though they are, sadly, sometimes accused of all three at once.

The one criticism of Morrison's work that has really rung true for me, is that perhaps, sometimes, he tries too hard, but he, himself, has embraced the label of "pretentious," saying, as I recall it, that being pretentious as a writer is probably always better than trying hard not to reach for anything.

[DrSimonHurt]

Thank you again. does it feel like a big arc after reading it all ?

I'd recommend dumping Marvel and trimming your books so that you can collect all of these past books! They're such a great read. On the other hand, the mysteries are spoiled so the buildup might not pay off. You already know all the twists and turns here in 2013.

[RichSummers]

So Morrison's run encompasses The Black glove (batman and son too if you don't pick up the deluxe trade), RIP, Batman and Robin(3 of them), Return of Bruce Wayne, Batman Inc, Batman Inc (Vol2). Did I miss anything?

[T Hedge Coke]

So Morrison's run encompasses The Black glove (batman and son too if you don't pick up the deluxe trade), RIP, Batman and Robin(3 of them), Return of Bruce Wayne, Batman Inc, Batman Inc (Vol2). Did I miss anything?

Time and the Batman.

[MykeHavoc]

And the suggested reading order (while not perfect) is:

Black Glove: Deluxe
RIP
Batman & Robin vol 1+2
Time and the Batman
Return of Bruce Wayne
Batman & Robin vol 3
Batman Inc. vol 1
Batman Inc (New 52)

"Demon Star", which collects 0-6 (I believe) of Inc vol 2 releases in May.
Otherwise, you have to go with floppies or digital for the time being.

[RichSummers]

And the suggested reading order (while not perfect) is:

Black Glove: Deluxe
RIP
Batman & Robin vol 1+2
Time and the Batman
Return of Bruce Wayne
Batman & Robin vol 3
Batman Inc. vol 1
Batman Inc (New 52)

"Demon Star", which collects 0-6 (I believe) of Inc vol 2 releases in May.
Otherwise, you have to go with floppies or digital for the time being.

Ahh yes, I had forgotten about Time and the batman. I think what I'll do is re-read the entire Morrison run but splice in Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham. Those were two great trades imo.

[DrSimonHurt]

Batman and Son comes first. You guys forgot about that. It's probably the most important chapter!

Also, Final Crisis ties together the overall narrative. It's pretty awesome and Batman's training comes to a head during the story. If you skip that, you're going to be wondering what's up when Darkseid is suddenly being referenced left and right in the following Batbooks.

[MykeHavoc]

There are a number of good reads to coincide with Morrison's run: Heart of Hush, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Long Shadows, Streets of Gotham etc.
And if you're doing the full experience, slipping in Final Crisis (and it's tie ins) is a nice endeavor and an epic in it's own right (not to mention Blackest Night... sheesh... a lot of reading).