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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
It has a great and simple premise: Batman goes global and allows franchises to work as Batmans with a local twist and they share info and funds. Their identities are secret and they're all working to stop Leviathan, a global villainous crime ring.
Morrison of course has a screwball, bizarre and strange idea for villains and superheroes. Sometimes it gets a little to close to cliche (aboriginal, African, and Native American Batmen), but it also works for how out there the criminals are. The Argentinian superheroes and villains are fun!
The artist style is reminiscent of Moebius and Frank Quitely. It works better in other stories when the art style is changed, like for the backstory of Kathrine Kane, the first Batwoman, and the girl's school for assassins. The Katherine Kane story has the art style of old 4 color comics if done by Quitely. The girl's school is more modern and has the fun touch of the teachers based on pop stars with the headmistress clearly being modern Madonna.
Clearly the Batman series is the DC powerhouse.
Morrison of course has a screwball, bizarre and strange idea for villains and superheroes. Sometimes it gets a little to close to cliche (aboriginal, African, and Native American Batmen), but it also works for how out there the criminals are. The Argentinian superheroes and villains are fun!
The artist style is reminiscent of Moebius and Frank Quitely. It works better in other stories when the art style is changed, like for the backstory of Kathrine Kane, the first Batwoman, and the girl's school for assassins. The Katherine Kane story has the art style of old 4 color comics if done by Quitely. The girl's school is more modern and has the fun touch of the teachers based on pop stars with the headmistress clearly being modern Madonna.
Clearly the Batman series is the DC powerhouse.
Zany Grant Morrison is my least favorite Grant Morrison. This run of books needed a different editor, one willing to say "Hey Grant, what about toning down your quippy dialogue and focusing more on the moderately interesting story you're trying to tell?"
There are some intriguing conceits here, and this book does melt into the New 52, where another writer takes over and writes a pivotal plot point in 21st century Batman. But, overall, Morrison is more focused on being offbeat than telling an engaging story. We get it Grant, you did mushrooms in your twenties. You were fifty when you wrote this, calm down, have some non-mushroom tea, and tell us your idea about Batman building an international group of Batmen.
I think this is a somewhat necessary read if you're going to tackle the New 52 Batman, but your enjoyment will depend on how much you value narrative over eccentric storytelling. This is definitely the Grant Morrison that led me to drop Green Lantern during the Rebirth era.
On the plus side, the cadre of artists on this title are all extraordinary, and it was gorgeous to look at.
Still, if I'm feeling in the mood to read Morrison's best work, I'll skip this and reread [b:Joe the Barbarian|8714027|Joe the Barbarian|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328031269l/8714027._SY75_.jpg|13586906] , [b:Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn|6672183|Batman & Robin, Vol. 1 Batman Reborn|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563698691l/6672183._SY75_.jpg|6867146], [b:All-Star Superman, Vol. 1|22369|All-Star Superman, Vol. 1|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388293260l/22369._SY75_.jpg|23395] or [b:We3|22358|We3|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336056522l/22358._SY75_.jpg|23384].
There are some intriguing conceits here, and this book does melt into the New 52, where another writer takes over and writes a pivotal plot point in 21st century Batman. But, overall, Morrison is more focused on being offbeat than telling an engaging story. We get it Grant, you did mushrooms in your twenties. You were fifty when you wrote this, calm down, have some non-mushroom tea, and tell us your idea about Batman building an international group of Batmen.
I think this is a somewhat necessary read if you're going to tackle the New 52 Batman, but your enjoyment will depend on how much you value narrative over eccentric storytelling. This is definitely the Grant Morrison that led me to drop Green Lantern during the Rebirth era.
On the plus side, the cadre of artists on this title are all extraordinary, and it was gorgeous to look at.
Still, if I'm feeling in the mood to read Morrison's best work, I'll skip this and reread [b:Joe the Barbarian|8714027|Joe the Barbarian|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328031269l/8714027._SY75_.jpg|13586906] , [b:Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn|6672183|Batman & Robin, Vol. 1 Batman Reborn|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563698691l/6672183._SY75_.jpg|6867146], [b:All-Star Superman, Vol. 1|22369|All-Star Superman, Vol. 1|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388293260l/22369._SY75_.jpg|23395] or [b:We3|22358|We3|Grant Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336056522l/22358._SY75_.jpg|23384].
Very dull. A great concept and a good author don't make good work without effort.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There’s a lot here, some of it good but all weird! Lord Death Man is an absurd villain but I like his style. Artwork had me like 🤨 at points and the Catwoman stuff felt egregious.
Never thought I'd say this about a Morrison comic, but mostly I was bored reading this one. The extended Batman Inc heroes weren't interesting or memorable, often little more than the 50s stereotypes they started out as. The villains' plot is meaningless and meandering.
Batman goes corporate as he plans to establish a worldwide army of Batmen to combat an equally global criminal organization known as Leviathan. I'm all for new spins on long-running characters, but this isn't really how I like my Batman, out of the shadows. There are far too many characters to keep track of, and I felt like I was missing a lot. (Fortunately, in the back pages supplement, Morrison goes over who everyone is and where (and when) they appeared before.) The art is very nice, although a chapter that takes place entirely in virtual reality is hard to look at. The only really exciting part was the very end, where the mastermind behind Leviathan is revealed. Chaotic and tiring, mostly.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I accidentally reviewed this book before reading it since there are two books out there called Batman Incorporated, Vol. 1. Having read the Deluxe Edition of this pre-New 52 title last night, a lot more of the *other* [b:Batman Incorporated, Vol. 1: Demon Star|17137596|Batman Incorporated, Vol. 1 Demon Star|Grant Morrison|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355801217s/17137596.jpg|23539636] makes sense to me, but I much prefer the stories in this introductory volume.
With the exception of the rather stupid virtual reality game-styled issue, this was a very solid Batman book. Grant Morrison succeeded remarkably in his effort to screw with time and perception via an old criminal mastermind with Alzheimer's who entraps Batman and several key members of his army in a mesmerizing death game of misdirection. This last portion of the plot was so effective that I feel I need to re-read it to figure out who, if anyone, actually died.
I'm glad the library sent me this Deluxe Edition (which doesn't seem to be listed specifically on goodreads), particularly for the character profiles at the end. The notes from Grant Morrison lend brief explanations of each character's original appearance and, in important cases such as the Lakota chief Man-of-Bats and his son Raven, gives a bit of insight into Morrison's research efforts and consciousness of poorly-portrayed Native American stereotypes found throughout comics.
With the exception of the rather stupid virtual reality game-styled issue, this was a very solid Batman book. Grant Morrison succeeded remarkably in his effort to screw with time and perception via an old criminal mastermind with Alzheimer's who entraps Batman and several key members of his army in a mesmerizing death game of misdirection. This last portion of the plot was so effective that I feel I need to re-read it to figure out who, if anyone, actually died.
I'm glad the library sent me this Deluxe Edition (which doesn't seem to be listed specifically on goodreads), particularly for the character profiles at the end. The notes from Grant Morrison lend brief explanations of each character's original appearance and, in important cases such as the Lakota chief Man-of-Bats and his son Raven, gives a bit of insight into Morrison's research efforts and consciousness of poorly-portrayed Native American stereotypes found throughout comics.
