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babettes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
There’s kinda the same story twice here which is lame but whatever. Morrison actually has a lot of tonal range that I haven’t seen before
djs_too_cool's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume One contains Batman material from #655-658, 663-683, DC Universe #0, and 52 #30 and 47.
I originally read these stories as part of Batman & Son, Batman: The Black Glove, and Batman RIP when they were released in trade paperback. A few years ago, I purged my collection but had the lingering desire to reread these stories at some point. A deal for this omnibus and the second one fell into my lap sometime around Thanksgiving so I took the plunge.
Grant Morrison isn't my favorite comic writer. I either love what he does or don't know what the hell is going on. Fortunately, this book falls into the second category. "It all happened" is Grant Morrison's inspiration for this, something to tie together and reconcile the zany Batman stories of the 1950s and early 60s with the grim Batman of the 1980s and beyond.
Over the course of the book, Batman meets his son, fights Man-Bat ninjas, falls in love, battles a vast conspiracy, and winds up buried alive. There's a lot more than that but it's hard to sum up around 700 pages in a sentence or two.
The art is a mixed bag. Any Kubert, JH Williams, and Tony S. Daniel are great but some of the other art wasn't quite up to snuff. Damian looked ten in some cases and twenty in others. Some of the art felt like it was from 1995 rather than 2005.
On the second time through these stories, I noticed a lot of groundwork being laid early on, like the Zur-En-Arrh graffiti and mention of criminals that Batman wouldn't encounter for another year and a half. As much as I rag on modern Batman, Morrison weaves a great series of tales.
I honestly don't have a ton of gripes with this volume. The stuff with Batman on Apokalips was strange but needed because of Final Crisis. I also didn't care for Sensei being revealed as R'as Al Ghul's father. That just seemed odd to me.
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume One is some of the best modern Batman material out there. 4.5 out of 5 Batarangs.
I originally read these stories as part of Batman & Son, Batman: The Black Glove, and Batman RIP when they were released in trade paperback. A few years ago, I purged my collection but had the lingering desire to reread these stories at some point. A deal for this omnibus and the second one fell into my lap sometime around Thanksgiving so I took the plunge.
Grant Morrison isn't my favorite comic writer. I either love what he does or don't know what the hell is going on. Fortunately, this book falls into the second category. "It all happened" is Grant Morrison's inspiration for this, something to tie together and reconcile the zany Batman stories of the 1950s and early 60s with the grim Batman of the 1980s and beyond.
Over the course of the book, Batman meets his son, fights Man-Bat ninjas, falls in love, battles a vast conspiracy, and winds up buried alive. There's a lot more than that but it's hard to sum up around 700 pages in a sentence or two.
The art is a mixed bag. Any Kubert, JH Williams, and Tony S. Daniel are great but some of the other art wasn't quite up to snuff. Damian looked ten in some cases and twenty in others. Some of the art felt like it was from 1995 rather than 2005.
On the second time through these stories, I noticed a lot of groundwork being laid early on, like the Zur-En-Arrh graffiti and mention of criminals that Batman wouldn't encounter for another year and a half. As much as I rag on modern Batman, Morrison weaves a great series of tales.
I honestly don't have a ton of gripes with this volume. The stuff with Batman on Apokalips was strange but needed because of Final Crisis. I also didn't care for Sensei being revealed as R'as Al Ghul's father. That just seemed odd to me.
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume One is some of the best modern Batman material out there. 4.5 out of 5 Batarangs.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
After the events of Final Crisis, Batman is dead. Or is he? No, of course he isn't. While Dick and Damian defend Gotham City as Batman and Robin, Bruce Wayne Quantum Leaps through time...
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume Two collects stories from Batman #700-702, Batman and Robin #1-16 and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1-6.
The Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne run of Batman and Robin were some of my favorite comics in years and I unfortunately lost the trades in a purge a few years ago. I nabbed this for a cool $35 solely so I could read the adventures of this fresh dynamic duo again.
As I mentioned in my somewhat sarcastic teaser, the book is split into two threads - one featuring Dick and Damian experiencing growing pains as Batman and Robin as they try to take the place of Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake, and another as Bruce Wayne travels through time toward the present.
The Dick and Damian thread was my favorite. The flying Batmobile and battling Red Hood, Professor Pyg, and Dr. Hurt was great, my favorite part by far was the interplay between Dick and Damian and the evolution of their relationship. I enjoyed this more the second read through since my first time was colored with the spectre of Bruce Wayne returning as Batman looming over the proceedings.
The Return of Bruce Wayne portion was new to me and much better than I was anticipating. It was far easier to understand than I imagined and Bruce Wayne doing the Quantum Leap thing toward the future was a lot of fun.
As much as I rag on modern Batman, it was a huge moment when Batman showed up at the end to help Dick and Damian against Dr. Hurt and the assembled underworld of Gotham. I wasn't really planning on ever reading Batman Incorporated but I intend on grabbing the next omnibus if I can find it on the cheap.
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume Two is some of the best modern Batman material out there and just a shade behind the first volume. 4.25 out of 5 Batarangs.
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume Two collects stories from Batman #700-702, Batman and Robin #1-16 and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1-6.
The Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne run of Batman and Robin were some of my favorite comics in years and I unfortunately lost the trades in a purge a few years ago. I nabbed this for a cool $35 solely so I could read the adventures of this fresh dynamic duo again.
As I mentioned in my somewhat sarcastic teaser, the book is split into two threads - one featuring Dick and Damian experiencing growing pains as Batman and Robin as they try to take the place of Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake, and another as Bruce Wayne travels through time toward the present.
The Dick and Damian thread was my favorite. The flying Batmobile and battling Red Hood, Professor Pyg, and Dr. Hurt was great, my favorite part by far was the interplay between Dick and Damian and the evolution of their relationship. I enjoyed this more the second read through since my first time was colored with the spectre of Bruce Wayne returning as Batman looming over the proceedings.
The Return of Bruce Wayne portion was new to me and much better than I was anticipating. It was far easier to understand than I imagined and Bruce Wayne doing the Quantum Leap thing toward the future was a lot of fun.
As much as I rag on modern Batman, it was a huge moment when Batman showed up at the end to help Dick and Damian against Dr. Hurt and the assembled underworld of Gotham. I wasn't really planning on ever reading Batman Incorporated but I intend on grabbing the next omnibus if I can find it on the cheap.
Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume Two is some of the best modern Batman material out there and just a shade behind the first volume. 4.25 out of 5 Batarangs.
dantastic's review against another edition
5.0
Batman By Grant Morrison Omnibus: Volume Three collects material from Batman: The Return #1, Batman Incorporated #1-8, Batman Incorporated Volume 2 #0-13, Batman Incorporated: Leveiathan Strikes #1, and Batman Incorporated Special #1.
Officially, Bruce Wayne publicly linking himself to Batman by funding Batman Incorporated is something I'm not a fan of but after enjoying the first and second Grant Morrison Batman Omnibus, I had to complete the run. I am quite glad I did.
Despite my initial poo-pooing the idea of Batman Incorporated, I loved the shit out of this. Freshly back from the dead, Bruce Wayne takes Batman worldwide and funds Batmen in places besides Gotham. You get Batman in Japan, England, France, Australia, South Dakota, Argentina, and other places. A worldwide Batman needs a worldwide foe and we get that in Leviathan, an organization with a ring of bombs around the world.
Taking on another secret organization so soon after beating The Black Glove (and probably Court of the Owls but I have no idea how the various timelines work out) seems a little repetitive at first glance but the stories aren't that similar. Leviathan has agents everywhere and a leader near and dear to Batman's heart. We get Batman and Damian dealing with their new father/son relationship while the world hangs in the balance. I also like how Damian clearly prefers working with Dick Grayson than his own father. Batman's probably as warm as Red Forman so that's not exactly a surprise.
Grant Morrison's "all the stories are true" approach makes Batman a richer character and the Batmen of many nations expand the Batman mythos quite a bit. I'd read 50 issue runs of Batman Japan or Man-Of-Bats and Raven Red. He works in a lot of callbacks to Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams run featuring Ras Al Ghul and also nods to Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come.
The art team knocks it out of the park. There are a lot of black haired guys in this and there's a concerted effort to make them actually look distinct from one another. I would say Chris Burnham and Yanick Paquette were my favorites but a lot of people did a lot of great work.
Taken as one work, Grant Morrison's run on Batman is one long epic about the family Batman lost and the family he built for himself to replace it. As much as I complain about modern Batman, this was a great super hero tale. Five out of five Batarangs.
Officially, Bruce Wayne publicly linking himself to Batman by funding Batman Incorporated is something I'm not a fan of but after enjoying the first and second Grant Morrison Batman Omnibus, I had to complete the run. I am quite glad I did.
Despite my initial poo-pooing the idea of Batman Incorporated, I loved the shit out of this. Freshly back from the dead, Bruce Wayne takes Batman worldwide and funds Batmen in places besides Gotham. You get Batman in Japan, England, France, Australia, South Dakota, Argentina, and other places. A worldwide Batman needs a worldwide foe and we get that in Leviathan, an organization with a ring of bombs around the world.
Taking on another secret organization so soon after beating The Black Glove (and probably Court of the Owls but I have no idea how the various timelines work out) seems a little repetitive at first glance but the stories aren't that similar. Leviathan has agents everywhere and a leader near and dear to Batman's heart. We get Batman and Damian dealing with their new father/son relationship while the world hangs in the balance. I also like how Damian clearly prefers working with Dick Grayson than his own father. Batman's probably as warm as Red Forman so that's not exactly a surprise.
Grant Morrison's "all the stories are true" approach makes Batman a richer character and the Batmen of many nations expand the Batman mythos quite a bit. I'd read 50 issue runs of Batman Japan or Man-Of-Bats and Raven Red. He works in a lot of callbacks to Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams run featuring Ras Al Ghul and also nods to Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come.
The art team knocks it out of the park. There are a lot of black haired guys in this and there's a concerted effort to make them actually look distinct from one another. I would say Chris Burnham and Yanick Paquette were my favorites but a lot of people did a lot of great work.
Taken as one work, Grant Morrison's run on Batman is one long epic about the family Batman lost and the family he built for himself to replace it. As much as I complain about modern Batman, this was a great super hero tale. Five out of five Batarangs.
glasstatterdemalion's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I read a good chunk of these issues in the old trade paperbacks back in high school/college, but when I saw these omnibuses (and being inspired by a Batman podcast I got recommended) I decided to dive in and read through Grant Morrison's whole run.
Morrison sets up a lot in this volume, basically laying the groundwork for how they conceive of Batman and establishing what they feel are the basics of the character, as well as the contradictions. We have Batman getting over what he feels is the weight of the darkness he's been under and rededicating himself to his mission. Not the mission as written by Frank Miller, or those influenced by his work, but the mission as the superheroic ideal, an unending fight to save the world from evil.
One of the running themes in this volume, and the run as a whole, is the question of 'what do eccentric men who have everything do when they get bored?' Obviously the question fits to Batman, but it also applies to the Club of Heroes, The Black Glove and it's patrons, and even Talia al Ghul to some extent. And with that, Morrison rather subtly sets up what may be the most interesting theme of the run: the great good that Batman is capable of, but also the inherent childishness of the worldview that Batman encapsulates and how it pulls others into it.
The other theme introduced in this collection is the idea of the ultimate unknown. An unanswerable question for the ultimate detective, an enemy that he can never see coming, a darkness that may or may not even exist. The Hole in Things.
My largest problem with this collection has to do with things that are kind of impossible to avoid given the fragmented nature of mainline comics. The first part of the omnibus includes the Grant Morrison bits of 52 that deal with Batman, which are each maybe 5 pages each. They're important for both plot and thematic reasons, but they are almost indecipherable without understanding both the history of Batman for the last decade and a half and the greater plot of 52. They also included the 2 issues of the crossover The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul that Morrison wrote, with recaps penned and drawn by Chris Burnham (which honestly is great, I wish more comic collections did something like that rather than just giving you the issues with no explanation), but the crossover is so disconnected from what Morrison is doing, and includes several plot points just to make sure they don't influence Morrison's book, that including it just feels weird.
The only other issue is that on reading it now I find the Black Glove to be so on the nose that it removes the threat of them. When I was younger it felt like they had depth, and the framing of the conflict between the Black Glove and Batman as an actual battle between good and evil in-universe felt like it gave a sense of grandeur to them, to contrast with the eventual payoff that they are, more than anything, just rich people with delusions of grandeur. But on rereading it now, they feel more like plot devices for the author, with the constant allusions to the horrible things they do in their free time feeling like a cheap way of establishing their depravity and their threat.
The art is a little all over the place. I don't dislike Andy Kuberts work, but it doesn't really stand out all that much. In contrast we have J.H. Williams III, who only works on the The Island of Mister Mayhew arc, but who is absolutely stunning as always.
5 or 6 out of 10.
Morrison sets up a lot in this volume, basically laying the groundwork for how they conceive of Batman and establishing what they feel are the basics of the character, as well as the contradictions. We have Batman getting over what he feels is the weight of the darkness he's been under and rededicating himself to his mission. Not the mission as written by Frank Miller, or those influenced by his work, but the mission as the superheroic ideal, an unending fight to save the world from evil.
One of the running themes in this volume, and the run as a whole, is the question of 'what do eccentric men who have everything do when they get bored?' Obviously the question fits to Batman, but it also applies to the Club of Heroes, The Black Glove and it's patrons, and even Talia al Ghul to some extent. And with that, Morrison rather subtly sets up what may be the most interesting theme of the run: the great good that Batman is capable of, but also the inherent childishness of the worldview that Batman encapsulates and how it pulls others into it.
The other theme introduced in this collection is the idea of the ultimate unknown. An unanswerable question for the ultimate detective, an enemy that he can never see coming, a darkness that may or may not even exist. The Hole in Things.
My largest problem with this collection has to do with things that are kind of impossible to avoid given the fragmented nature of mainline comics. The first part of the omnibus includes the Grant Morrison bits of 52 that deal with Batman, which are each maybe 5 pages each. They're important for both plot and thematic reasons, but they are almost indecipherable without understanding both the history of Batman for the last decade and a half and the greater plot of 52. They also included the 2 issues of the crossover The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul that Morrison wrote, with recaps penned and drawn by Chris Burnham (which honestly is great, I wish more comic collections did something like that rather than just giving you the issues with no explanation), but the crossover is so disconnected from what Morrison is doing, and includes several plot points just to make sure they don't influence Morrison's book, that including it just feels weird.
The only other issue is that on reading it now I find the Black Glove to be so on the nose that it removes the threat of them. When I was younger it felt like they had depth, and the framing of the conflict between the Black Glove and Batman as an actual battle between good and evil in-universe felt like it gave a sense of grandeur to them, to contrast with the eventual payoff that they are, more than anything, just rich people with delusions of grandeur. But on rereading it now, they feel more like plot devices for the author, with the constant allusions to the horrible things they do in their free time feeling like a cheap way of establishing their depravity and their threat.
The art is a little all over the place. I don't dislike Andy Kuberts work, but it doesn't really stand out all that much. In contrast we have J.H. Williams III, who only works on the The Island of Mister Mayhew arc, but who is absolutely stunning as always.
5 or 6 out of 10.
batlim's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
ljames934's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25