“I know how to bring him back. Tell him that Gotham’s in trouble. And tell him he’ll need this.”
I do know.
When you contemplate the whole thing of Grant Morrison‘s work on Batman, this title might seem strange as the first one highlighted. Other, more acclaimed and heralded, comics could come to mind first. From Arkham Asylum through to the labours of Leviathan in Batman Incorporated, there are just incredible stories one after another. Which is precisely why I want to spotlight this story. It gets overshadowed by other bits of the Bat. It’s the following stage after Final Crisis.
It’s Batman’s generally hallucinatory journey by time, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne by Morrison, Chris Sprouse, Frazer Irving, Yanick Paquette, Georges Jeanty, Ryan Sook, Pere Pérez, Lee Garbett, Andy Kubert, Karl Story, Michel Lacombe, Walden Wong, Mick Gray, Alejandro Sicat, Guy Major, Nathan Fairbairn, Tony Aviña, José Villarrubia, Jared Ok. Fletcher, and Travis Lanham.
At the tip of Final Crisis, Batman was useless, or at the very least it appeared that technique to anybody within the current as he was struck by Darkseid’s Omega Beams. It was the dramatic ode to Crisis on Infinite Earths with Superman carrying Batman’s corpse fairly than Supergirl. Only then we’re later proven him fairly alive in a prehistoric setting. The Return of Bruce Wayne picks up from there with an amnesiac Bruce, preventing to outlive an assault from the Blood Clan, and falling ahead for extra wacky time journey adventures.
I really feel just like the sequence simply may have been expanded. Each time interval may have adopted the same format of a sequence of sequence as one thing like Seven Soldiers. What we get as a substitute is a sequence of six principally one and carried out tales in every interval, with threads persevering with throughout the sequence as Bruce Wayne shifts once in a while. It offers Morrison an opportunity to put in writing just a few totally different genres, subtly altering narration model with every chapter. The brevity additionally reinforces the concept that Bruce Wayne is a ticking time bomb hurtling in the direction of the long run.
The story treats us to a bevy of artists properly-suited to every style. Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, and Guy Major begin issues off with the prehistoric story. Frazer Irving brings a ravishing spooky vibe to the Puritanical witch trial period. Yanick Paquette, Michel Lacombe, and Nathan Fairbairn introduce Blackbeard for a pirate treasure hunt. There’s a pleasant grit to the western story with Georges Jeanty, Walden Wong, and Tony Aviña that provides some Jonah Hex to the combo. Ryan Sook, Mick Gray, and José Villarrubia ship an engrossing noir story, mixing in an investigation of the Wayne Family murders and Dr. Hurt. And the combo of superhero and sci-fi of the ultimate chapter falls to Lee Garbett, Alejandro Sicat, Walden Wong, and Guy Major. With Pere Pérez serving to for the final two chapters.
Jared Ok. Fletcher and Travis Lanham’s letters give good touches all through the sequence. They each present an method to narration bins that feels just like the blended-case diary format launched by Todd Klein in Batman: Year One and refined additional by John Costanza in his work on Legends of the Dark Knight. The computerized voices for the Archivists on the finish of time additionally remind me of Barbelith from The Invisibles. Which is perhaps intentional.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne by Morrison and a number of luminary collaborators acts as a bridge from Final Crisis into Batman Incorporated and past. It incorporates items of the Batman mythos, like Barbatos, explored by Morrison throughout their Batman run. It helps plant the seeds for the worldwide league of Batmen with the varied iterations of Batman throughout time. All of this whereas being an interesting exploration of varied pulp style tropes with some wonderful artwork.
Classic Comic Compendium: Return of Bruce Wayne
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Chris Sprouse & Karl Story, Frazer Irving, Yanick Paquette & Michel Lacombe, Georges Jeanty & Walden Wong, Ryan Sook & Mick Gray, Pere Pérez, Lee Garbett & Alejandro Sicat, Andy Kubert
Colourists: Guy Major, Nathan Fairbairn, Tony Aviña, José Villarrubia
Letterers: Jared Ok. Fletcher, Travis Lanham
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: January 4, 2012
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