Friday, April 1, 2011

Batman Incorporated #4



Another non-linear triumph from Grant Morrison. I have no idea the extent he re-wrote Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman, but she's awesome. A daredevil who sought out Batman, she's a tremendous character and one I would love to see more of. And Morrison's take on the early Batman & Robin relationship is simply awesome. I love seeing Robin jealous that Bats is spending his time with Batwoman, and Ace the Bathound is no consolation for the boy wonder.

For some reason, the original Batwoman has an imposter facing down the current Batwoman, and the fight is related to the current secret society plaguing the bat-family.

This would be an exercise in randomness, except that Morrison reveals that Kane had some interaction with El Gaucho, and Gaucho may have actually killed her. That brings the parallel stories crashing together as Bats and Gaucho face off for the amusement of Gaucho's rogues gallery. What seems like three random stories actually work together brilliantly.

I'm not too familiar with Chris Burnham's work, but he's got a style that's perfect for this book. It ALMOST looks like Frank Quitely's art, but it clearly isn't. So it's influenced by a regular Morrison partner but retains an original feel; this is a rare accomplishment in today's comics.

Excellent

2 comments:

Martin Gray said...

Burnham is brilliant, isn't he? I'm glad he's going to be on the book as second regular penciller.

Jeff said...

Personally, I wish Burnham would just be the new regular penciler. Great story, and for the first time since this book started, this felt like a Grant Morrison comic.