Batman Incorporated #1

Man, do I love crazy Grant Morrison. This is the first chapter with Batman's new franchise state of mind, and it looks like it is going to be fun. Bats and Catwoman, after a quick caper and some quality time, head to Japan to recruit a local crime fighting vigilante into the bat-family.

Unfortunately, Lord Death Man struck first, and Mr. Unknown (the vigilante) is dead. Things heat up though, because LDM is out to kill everyone involved with Mr. Unknown, including his sidekick (and his sidekick's girlfriend, it seems). It does make me wonder if there were TWO Mr. Unknowns, I've got to think that this sidekick is the guy who's going to end up being franchised.

There is some great banter with Batman and Catwoman as they take on LDM's thugs. They are more competent than most underlings, but what impresses Catwoman the most is that they look cooler than most flunkies. The story isn't complicated, but it's those little Morrison flourishes that make this book awesome. The cyborg-killer mice, the apartment turned into a squid-tank, the ridiculous dialogue and threats of Lord Death Man. Once again, I'm all in on Morrison's Batman.

The book looks nice too. Yanick Paquette is great at two things, pulp heroes and pretty ladies, so this is about the perfect book for him. Bats looks great. LDM and his flunkies look great. Catwoman carries herself as more than a match for Batman. Even the mechanics of the final trap are put together in a logical, neat way.

This is a great book. It'll be even better when it's only $2.99.

Excellent