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Batman (1940-2011) #700–703
Batman: Time and the Batman
Four of the top artists in comics today join forces with writer Grant Morrison to tell tales of the Batmen of different eras.Grant Morrison returns to BATMAN with an all-star roster of artists including Andy Kubert, Tony Daniel and Frank Quitely to tell stories spotlighting the Batmen of different eras, including Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne and more.
This volume ties directly into the red-hot epic BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE.
Collects BATMAN #700-703.
This volume ties directly into the red-hot epic BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE.
Collects BATMAN #700-703.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2011
21 people are currently reading
1013 people want to read
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,791 books4,573 followersGrant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
September 15, 2020
(B) 75% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: It does little more than restate a doctrine of perpetuity and exceptionalism conveyed better narratively in past stories.
Notes: It does little more than restate a doctrine of perpetuity and exceptionalism conveyed better narratively in past stories.
March 18, 2012
Time and the Batman tries to fill in loose ends left over from RIP and Final Crisis, and lead into The Return of Bruce Wayne. It isn't exactly worth reading on its own, and would actually be pretty much incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't read both RIP and Final Crisis already. It also isn't necessary to understand The Return of Bruce Wayne. It is, however, a pretty interesting read, especially since it's mostly narrated directly by Batman himself. I flagged the cover as awesome, and it is. There's also a whole gallery of really cool Batman art at the back of the book, by several different artists.
June 4, 2011
It's been a while since I've read Batman: R.I.P., so that may have had an effect on my enjoyment of this. I vaguely remember Bruce being drugged, and then hilarity ensues... Anyway, I guess that this sort of fills in some of the gaps in R.I.P and Final Crisis. Morrison's writing is always trippy and weird, but I'm hoping it will all come together for me once I read Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.
August 3, 2022
This was really good! We get a glance at three different stories being it the 700th issue and its kinda confusing but okay and then there is setting of the final crisis and return of Bruce wayne stories and well what happens when days to omega happens and we get some missing chapters from Batman RIP here and its well done and it leads well into final crisis and bridges the gap and really is epic! I highly recommend it!
September 1, 2016
Largely unnecessary but not bad.
July 20, 2019
Not my favorite. This is definitely an appendix book within Morrison's run. We learn a tiny bit about Professor Carter Nichols, the scientist who creates the time travel device that allows Bruce to escape. Which in itself is very confusing. And then the more useful R.I.P. (rot in purgatory, we finally learn, not rest in peace) Missing Chapter, which reveals that Doctor Hurt escaped the helicopter crash and what happens to Bruce after he shot Darkseid in Final Crisis, as well as what exactly caused him to go in time in the first place. Imagine that, a theme of time in "Time and the Batman." It's a "good to know but not essential to know" kind of book. I'm glad I read it and can refer to it later. But it's definitely choppy and not really meant to be a cohesive storyline.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2023
Well, it's got some decent art and writing. On the other hand, it's completely incomprehensible to anyone not conversant with the Final Crisis, Return of Bruce Wayne, and RIP storylines. The pieces collected here are addendums or fillers or epilogs to those stories, and one can't help but wonder why they weren't packaged with them. I did like the couple of pages at the end that were a map of the Batcave... it would obviously take a crew of a couple hundred people to maintain (much less construct!)...where are those guys? It reminded me of a similar blueprint, "The Secrets of the Batcave", that I studied intently in 1968, probably by Carmine Infantino and Bill Finger. And obviously the current book just didn't hole my attention...
September 19, 2011
This is a kind of collection of B sides and rarities from Grant Morrison's epic Batman storyline. The first concerns a meshing of Batmans, present and future, in a number of futuristic backgrounds - this was the best looking part of the book but was confusing to me, even though I've read the others in this Batman cycle (Black Glove, RIP, Return of Bruce Wayne, etc). The next story deals with events happening right after "RIP" ends and sets up the story for "Return of Bruce Wayne". There's also a good one shot story of the new Batman and Robin, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, and about the shades of grey in crime.
One day they'll collect all of the Batman books of the sequence into one or two absolute editions and readers of those will, or might, find all of the storylines make sense, but for me, having read each of these books 2 or 3 months apart, it's a bit confusing. All of the time travel stuff is way out there with Morrison introducing the concept of "time bullets", literally a time travelling bullet that is every bullet ever made ... woah man. Reading some of Morrison's stuff, it probably helps being on several drugs in order to, er, "get" the point of the stories. Reading them here in Batman though is a bit strange and oddly unsuited to the world.
I applaud Morrison's gutsy storylines and pushing the boundaries of the Batman world, going beyond reader's general expectations and taking them into a weirder, more fantastical place, but it's hard to keep up if you're not 100% invested in the story because you haven't remembered every single thing that's gone before. Some nice art aside, the stories in this book aren't essential to the enjoyment of other works in this series specifically "RIP" and "The Return of Bruce Wayne".
One day they'll collect all of the Batman books of the sequence into one or two absolute editions and readers of those will, or might, find all of the storylines make sense, but for me, having read each of these books 2 or 3 months apart, it's a bit confusing. All of the time travel stuff is way out there with Morrison introducing the concept of "time bullets", literally a time travelling bullet that is every bullet ever made ... woah man. Reading some of Morrison's stuff, it probably helps being on several drugs in order to, er, "get" the point of the stories. Reading them here in Batman though is a bit strange and oddly unsuited to the world.
I applaud Morrison's gutsy storylines and pushing the boundaries of the Batman world, going beyond reader's general expectations and taking them into a weirder, more fantastical place, but it's hard to keep up if you're not 100% invested in the story because you haven't remembered every single thing that's gone before. Some nice art aside, the stories in this book aren't essential to the enjoyment of other works in this series specifically "RIP" and "The Return of Bruce Wayne".
January 24, 2018
The missing chapters bridging RIP and FINAL CRISIS are great and very much needed. The rest is kinda eh. The first story is pure Morrison confusion, though I appreciate the idea of a Batman story spanning 3 generations. The last story is pretty boring (I feel okay saying that since it’s not written by Morrison)
February 2, 2012
It's great to have Batman back, but it's awful that Grant Morrison is allowed within 500 yards of the character after his recent "contributions".
July 21, 2021
This pretty much fills in some blanks in the gap of RIP leading to final crisis. It’s nice reading more Morrison Bruce I feel like they really understand him well as a character and what he stands for.
July 25, 2015
Another great piece in the Grant Morrison's Batman run puzzle. I will say that you'll enjoy it more if you've read the previous books in Morrison's Batman run and Final Crisis. It does highlight some of the most important things that happened in Final Crisis. I loved how they did the hole "Yesterday", "Today", Tomorrow" and "And Tomorrow...". It shows a case that involves Batmen through time (I'm always in for stories involving a character through history and stories with time traveling). R.I.P. The Missing Chapter was great to read too, this story shows you what happened to Batman after the events of R.I.P. The Great Escape might be my favorite story in this book. It shows Dick Grayson as Batman with Damian Wayne as Robin trying to catch an escape artist who Dick has come across before in his days as Robin with Bruce Wayne still as Batman. I love how this story shows how little Damian knows about his father and how it's made clear he really wants to get to know him. The greatest thing about this story is Dick explaining to Damian why Bruce let one bad guy "get away" intentionally and it's a beautiful reason. A reason you can understand Batman or rather Bruce Wayne making. This part alone made the book for me. Highly recommended!
May 19, 2011
This book finally ties together the loosely-scattered pages of batman's fate in Final Crisis, the Batman & Robin series and The Return of Bruce Wayne. Now I'm finally understanding how it all fits together - and even if Morrison didn't know this was how he'd tie it all together, I don't care. That there is *some* attempt to frame it all together, and not just play some great hallucinogenic joke on all his readers, is good enough for me.
Mostly great art and masterful use of understatement for once.
Only complaint is this is too short, and still keeps building to a payoff that is delayed until at least the next book. Grrr.... Damned suspenseful draw-out.
Mostly great art and masterful use of understatement for once.
Only complaint is this is too short, and still keeps building to a payoff that is delayed until at least the next book. Grrr.... Damned suspenseful draw-out.
April 24, 2011
What a mess. Why in the world would you collect these stories in this way? It seems they are addendums to other storylines; in that case, collect them with those storylines! This is like a short story collection that is really a collection of final chapters from novels. Further, there aren't really any new ideas here.
November 15, 2018
I guess I'm slow cause I have no clue wth I just read.
September 11, 2018
Batman #701 and #702 answer some of the questions from the ending of Batman: R.I.P. and the start of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, and even Final Crisis I guess, although I haven't read it. The other two stories were pretty boring.
July 23, 2015
There are some Morrison story that I just don't get and this was one of those.
It ties Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis and The return of Bruce Wayne. The thing is I don't think those needed to be tied, the mystery and the unknown between the event worked better for me.
The art is however top notch.
It ties Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis and The return of Bruce Wayne. The thing is I don't think those needed to be tied, the mystery and the unknown between the event worked better for me.
The art is however top notch.
September 6, 2023
Difficult to rate this book as if you read it from cover to cover it makes no sense but reading each one individually where it’s meant to be read really enhances the other books in Grant Morrisons run. Good stories but as a book not too great.
July 2, 2013
very convoluted and hard to follow.
April 18, 2022
A lot has happened during Grant Morrison’s Batman run, from the climax of Batman R.I.P. to the crossover event Final Crisis, in which the Dark Knight was wiped from existence. What you have this trade are essentially a bunch of issues that connect the dots between those storylines, whilst teasing what to expect later with Morrison’s run.
The first of which is the 700th issue of the main Batman title, with each of its three segments, setting up the larger tale where the various Batmen (Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, etc.) investigate Professor Nichols and his time travelling hypnosis. Tony S. Daniel draws the first segment that evokes the Silver Age, such as how the villains are presented, leaning more on the goofy side. The second segment, in which Dick is Batman and Damian Wayne is Robin, is drawn by Frank Quitely, who always delivers his quirky art-style and serves as a nice tease for Batman and Robin. The final segment is drawn by Andy Kubert and presents the dark future where Damian has grown to be the new Batman as introduced early on in the run. The story itself doesn’t have any long-lasting relevance, but based on the last few pages (drawn by David Finch) showing the subsequent futures, it’s playing with the idea of Batman will always be a continuous idea, no matter who is taking over the mantle.
The next two issues serve as the missing chapter to Batman R.I.P., in which how we see Bruce surviving the ordeal with the Black Glove and leading to his participation in Final Crisis. Again, these issues are non-essential and will interest the diehard fans who wish to read every detail, but what grabbed my interest is how Morrison writes Batman through the narration, in which Bruce is feeling from recent events and the impending doom that is Darkseid is really a step out of his comfort zone. As fragmented as these issues are, Tony Daniel does a great job in presenting the diversity of numerous settings that Batman inhabits or adapts to.
The final issue, written by Fabian Nicieza, not Morrison, is another unsubstantial one from the main Batman title with Grayson’s Batman and Damian’s Robin trying to catch a thief that has particular hi-tech skills, while Vicki Vale continues to be a thorn in the side of Batman. Along with decent art by Cliff Richards, the story is really about Dick tries to teach Damian a lesson on right and wrong, taking cue from what Damian’s father would have done.
Overall, this is a fun little trade that is more about filling in the gaps and serves as a teaser for some of the exciting stuff coming up in Morrison’s run, particularly a new Dynamic Duo.
The first of which is the 700th issue of the main Batman title, with each of its three segments, setting up the larger tale where the various Batmen (Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, etc.) investigate Professor Nichols and his time travelling hypnosis. Tony S. Daniel draws the first segment that evokes the Silver Age, such as how the villains are presented, leaning more on the goofy side. The second segment, in which Dick is Batman and Damian Wayne is Robin, is drawn by Frank Quitely, who always delivers his quirky art-style and serves as a nice tease for Batman and Robin. The final segment is drawn by Andy Kubert and presents the dark future where Damian has grown to be the new Batman as introduced early on in the run. The story itself doesn’t have any long-lasting relevance, but based on the last few pages (drawn by David Finch) showing the subsequent futures, it’s playing with the idea of Batman will always be a continuous idea, no matter who is taking over the mantle.
The next two issues serve as the missing chapter to Batman R.I.P., in which how we see Bruce surviving the ordeal with the Black Glove and leading to his participation in Final Crisis. Again, these issues are non-essential and will interest the diehard fans who wish to read every detail, but what grabbed my interest is how Morrison writes Batman through the narration, in which Bruce is feeling from recent events and the impending doom that is Darkseid is really a step out of his comfort zone. As fragmented as these issues are, Tony Daniel does a great job in presenting the diversity of numerous settings that Batman inhabits or adapts to.
The final issue, written by Fabian Nicieza, not Morrison, is another unsubstantial one from the main Batman title with Grayson’s Batman and Damian’s Robin trying to catch a thief that has particular hi-tech skills, while Vicki Vale continues to be a thorn in the side of Batman. Along with decent art by Cliff Richards, the story is really about Dick tries to teach Damian a lesson on right and wrong, taking cue from what Damian’s father would have done.
Overall, this is a fun little trade that is more about filling in the gaps and serves as a teaser for some of the exciting stuff coming up in Morrison’s run, particularly a new Dynamic Duo.
March 31, 2023
"Time and the Batman" is a good collection of short stories about Batman that involve time. They are all intriguing and nice reads.
The first story was fine, but also very confusing. It started off in the past and took place before the events of Batman R.I.P. It was cool seeing Batman and Robin face off against many of Batman's rogues, all while dealing with a machine that targets their minds. It gets confusing after that, especially with time travel involving one of the main side characters (unnamed to avoid spoilers). That made it a bit tough to understand, particularly since there were multiple time skips also and the pacing was very fast. Still though, it was a good and intriguing story that shows how timeless Batman is. Even when one who holds the mantle dies, the idea and inspiration persists.
The second story involves Batman's battle against Darkseid. It also was confusing because I haven't read Final Crisis, and, from what I gathered, it puts snippets from "Final Crisis" in this book. There was also a lot of time travel involved, so that added to the challenge. Nonetheless, I found Batman's strategy to be intriguing and I like the worldbuilding as well as fantastical elements. I also like how it continues the theme of the timelessness of Batman and his work.
The final story takes place after "Final Crisis" and "R.I.P." It deals with the aftermath of Bruce's apparent death and his legacy. Damian is Robin and Dick has taken up Batman's mantle. It's a fairly straightforward story, but I love Damian's character arc and the focus on a part of Batman that is less noticed. Batman is known for instilling fear through his controversial war against crime. Sometimes, as Damian believed, that leads to a perception of him seeing things in a very black and white manner and being uncompromisingly tough. Yet, as Damian comes to learn, there is also a great deal of humanity and compassion within him. Thus, this story shows both the complexity of Batman. There isn't any time travel in this story, but it deals with Bruce/Batman's impact over time.
Overall, I enjoyed "Time and the Batman". It is confusing at times. I also recommend reading "Final Crisis" before reading this book. That is something I should have done. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book. Morrison superbly covers the legacy, impact, symbolism, and complexity of Batman. They also excel in writing fantastical stories with great character arcs. While I generally prefer a more grounded Batman and grounded superheroes altogether, I am loving Morrison's Batman run and am excited to read more. I look forward to reading "Batman and Robin".
The first story was fine, but also very confusing. It started off in the past and took place before the events of Batman R.I.P. It was cool seeing Batman and Robin face off against many of Batman's rogues, all while dealing with a machine that targets their minds. It gets confusing after that, especially with time travel involving one of the main side characters (unnamed to avoid spoilers). That made it a bit tough to understand, particularly since there were multiple time skips also and the pacing was very fast. Still though, it was a good and intriguing story that shows how timeless Batman is. Even when one who holds the mantle dies, the idea and inspiration persists.
The second story involves Batman's battle against Darkseid. It also was confusing because I haven't read Final Crisis, and, from what I gathered, it puts snippets from "Final Crisis" in this book. There was also a lot of time travel involved, so that added to the challenge. Nonetheless, I found Batman's strategy to be intriguing and I like the worldbuilding as well as fantastical elements. I also like how it continues the theme of the timelessness of Batman and his work.
The final story takes place after "Final Crisis" and "R.I.P." It deals with the aftermath of Bruce's apparent death and his legacy. Damian is Robin and Dick has taken up Batman's mantle. It's a fairly straightforward story, but I love Damian's character arc and the focus on a part of Batman that is less noticed. Batman is known for instilling fear through his controversial war against crime. Sometimes, as Damian believed, that leads to a perception of him seeing things in a very black and white manner and being uncompromisingly tough. Yet, as Damian comes to learn, there is also a great deal of humanity and compassion within him. Thus, this story shows both the complexity of Batman. There isn't any time travel in this story, but it deals with Bruce/Batman's impact over time.
Overall, I enjoyed "Time and the Batman". It is confusing at times. I also recommend reading "Final Crisis" before reading this book. That is something I should have done. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book. Morrison superbly covers the legacy, impact, symbolism, and complexity of Batman. They also excel in writing fantastical stories with great character arcs. While I generally prefer a more grounded Batman and grounded superheroes altogether, I am loving Morrison's Batman run and am excited to read more. I look forward to reading "Batman and Robin".
October 3, 2023
Some really great art in this book and some great writing. The first story is a group of under-written vignettes with great art. All the future Batman stories were fun and once you realize that this isn't supposed to make sense you can relax. The next issues provided all the connective tissue I needed to make sense of how the ending of RIP connects to FINAL CRISIS and the Grayson/Damian BATMAN AND ROBIN stories. I think whatever order you read these, you will be confused at some point and there are mind-bending things that can't be unbent, but it is very satisfying to be able to connect the dots and almost all the art here is stunning. Morrison invests more in the poetry and provides at least one idea that I will be thinking about for a long time to come.
May 27, 2017
I don't know who to hate, DC or Grant Morrison? Here's a whole epilogue to R.I.P that would have been great to have in that volume, and then an introduction that sets up the scenario for the next story a.k.a The Road Home. So this whole volume is just a big tie-in to everything, it's useless but necessary to have a better understanding of everything.
February 4, 2021
Ridiculous filler content compiling issues that should’ve been collected in already existing collections.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2015
The highlight of this collection is the anniversary issue, Batman #700, in which Grant Morrison tells a tale spanning multiple eras of the Dark Knight, with a different artist supplying pencils for each time period. That one was well done and is by far your best reason for getting this collection. The story is good and the art is always great, in spite of the rotation of artists.
Next we get a 2-part *missing chapter*, that serves as a bridge between the events of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, and that helps shed some light on what exactly happened to Batman, how he got sent back in time by Darkseid (in Final Crisis). Okay, now this "story" works much better for those who've been following Morrison's Batman run AND Final Crisis, as it shows a sort of highlight reel of [arguably] key events from those stories. However, casual readers might feel like they're missing parts of the *bigger story*, and they'd be right. Definitely NOT the best jumping-on point for new readers. This 2-part story ends where Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne begins. A comment on Tony S. Daniel's art for this story: it is uneven (seems rushed, at times) and far below the quality standard he set himself on his previous Batman work. This was a big disappointment.
The last story in this collection, by Fabian Nicieza, is okay - no more, no less. People will buy this collection for the Grant Morrison stories, anyway.
Overall, this collection will appeal to long-time followers of Morrison's Batman run, and completists. It is by no means essential reading, but it will help you understand just a little bit better what the heck is/has been going on with Batman.
Next we get a 2-part *missing chapter*, that serves as a bridge between the events of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, and that helps shed some light on what exactly happened to Batman, how he got sent back in time by Darkseid (in Final Crisis). Okay, now this "story" works much better for those who've been following Morrison's Batman run AND Final Crisis, as it shows a sort of highlight reel of [arguably] key events from those stories. However, casual readers might feel like they're missing parts of the *bigger story*, and they'd be right. Definitely NOT the best jumping-on point for new readers. This 2-part story ends where Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne begins. A comment on Tony S. Daniel's art for this story: it is uneven (seems rushed, at times) and far below the quality standard he set himself on his previous Batman work. This was a big disappointment.
The last story in this collection, by Fabian Nicieza, is okay - no more, no less. People will buy this collection for the Grant Morrison stories, anyway.
Overall, this collection will appeal to long-time followers of Morrison's Batman run, and completists. It is by no means essential reading, but it will help you understand just a little bit better what the heck is/has been going on with Batman.
January 11, 2012
This volume is a follow up to “The Return of Bruce Wayne,” and the death of Batman in “Final Crisis.” Since “Final Crisis,” several new DC Batman comics have emerged, with Dick Grayson assuming the role of Batman and Damien Wayne (son of Bruce and Talia) as the new Robin. Batman fans should be forewarned that only the first two of the three stories included in this volume are written by Grant Morrison, “Time and the Batman,” and “R.I.P. -- The Missing Chapter.” The third story, “The Great Escape,” is written by Fabian Nicieza.
This volume attempts to tie together the Batman saga over time, with Bruce Wayne as the past Batman, Dick Grayson/Damien as the present Batman/Robin duo, and Damien Wayne as the future Batman. The book fills in gaps in the Batman legend, but does little in terms of story development. Morrison pushes the envelope of the superhero world boundaries, so unless the reader is 100% invested in the Batman story, this is going to be a difficult text. Newcomers to the series will find the initial story trippy and surreal and particularly difficult to process out of context.
The most compelling aspect of this volume is the artwork, with a different artist supplying pencils for each section. In addition to the illustrations for the various stories there is a gallery of artwork by a number of comics artists who were asked to provide commemorative panels for the 700th issue. The innovative and varied artwork offers the best reason for purchasing this collection.
This volume attempts to tie together the Batman saga over time, with Bruce Wayne as the past Batman, Dick Grayson/Damien as the present Batman/Robin duo, and Damien Wayne as the future Batman. The book fills in gaps in the Batman legend, but does little in terms of story development. Morrison pushes the envelope of the superhero world boundaries, so unless the reader is 100% invested in the Batman story, this is going to be a difficult text. Newcomers to the series will find the initial story trippy and surreal and particularly difficult to process out of context.
The most compelling aspect of this volume is the artwork, with a different artist supplying pencils for each section. In addition to the illustrations for the various stories there is a gallery of artwork by a number of comics artists who were asked to provide commemorative panels for the 700th issue. The innovative and varied artwork offers the best reason for purchasing this collection.
July 23, 2012
Batman: Time and the Batman is a posthumous epilogue to RIP, Final Crisis, and Return of Bruce Wayne. This collection takes that indecipherable mess of a story which resulted in Batman's fake death, time travel adventure, real death and resurrection and sees it from Bruce Wayne's perspective. It's the comic book equivalent of dropping a large shitty breakfast onto the floor, collecting up the food that hadn't physically touched the ground, and making the scraps into a somewhat tasty omlette. Does that make sense?
A gorgeous pastiche of artists inhabit Grant Morrisson's admittedly ambitious Bat-World and have a great deal of fun whipping up various incarnations of the Dark Knight Detective. Grant, by sticking to Batman's journey through death and back (instead of the ever-expanding DC Universe and its science-fiction faggotry [which is a real word, by the way]), makes the story palatable to readers not versed in the other nonsense he foists upon his characters. A moment where a battered Batman is assisted by a young woman he saved from domestic violence years back showcases the humanity that makes Batman such a compelling figure in American fiction.
The book ends with a one-shot story featuring the new Dynamic Duo of Dick Grayson and Damien Wayne chasing "The Getaway Genius", a throwaway character from the 70's making his return. A fun and simple nod to the past, this is a real treat for fans who have tired of the overly voluminous arcs of the past six years. As a bonus for the collected addition, an in-depth look at the Batcave is included.
A gorgeous pastiche of artists inhabit Grant Morrisson's admittedly ambitious Bat-World and have a great deal of fun whipping up various incarnations of the Dark Knight Detective. Grant, by sticking to Batman's journey through death and back (instead of the ever-expanding DC Universe and its science-fiction faggotry [which is a real word, by the way]), makes the story palatable to readers not versed in the other nonsense he foists upon his characters. A moment where a battered Batman is assisted by a young woman he saved from domestic violence years back showcases the humanity that makes Batman such a compelling figure in American fiction.
The book ends with a one-shot story featuring the new Dynamic Duo of Dick Grayson and Damien Wayne chasing "The Getaway Genius", a throwaway character from the 70's making his return. A fun and simple nod to the past, this is a real treat for fans who have tired of the overly voluminous arcs of the past six years. As a bonus for the collected addition, an in-depth look at the Batcave is included.
January 20, 2015
I like a good non-linear storyline, and both the theme and the main plot of this book involves a bit of time travel. This makes for a fairly confusing storyline for anyone who isn't ok with non-linear narrative, but as long as you can dig that then you will probably enjoy this.
The theme of the book covers a few different Batman incarnations, and I'm not sure if they are clips of stories taken from other issues and then bound together later with the Dead Professor plot, or what, but some of the small stories are a little underwhelming. None of them are really self-contained, leaving you wondering why we bothered visiting that Batman at all, since the Batman in the small story doesn't appear to be aware that he is on a larger, time-travelling mission. It's more like we start out with an intriguing Detective-style mystery, and then we hop around time for a while for fun, and then get dropped off someplace to solve the mystery. Cool, but it seems like some of those stops in-between might have tried to be a little more relevant.
But all in all, I enjoyed this book and I think that anyone curious about the various attributes of Batman might find this fascinating. I have seen some comments suggesting that this book cannot be read on its own, but as long as you know the basic history of the Batman arc, or are just willing to accept what the book throws at you (ie, just take it on faith that at one point Nightwing has to fill in for Bruce Wayne, and so on), then the book stands quite well on its own.
The theme of the book covers a few different Batman incarnations, and I'm not sure if they are clips of stories taken from other issues and then bound together later with the Dead Professor plot, or what, but some of the small stories are a little underwhelming. None of them are really self-contained, leaving you wondering why we bothered visiting that Batman at all, since the Batman in the small story doesn't appear to be aware that he is on a larger, time-travelling mission. It's more like we start out with an intriguing Detective-style mystery, and then we hop around time for a while for fun, and then get dropped off someplace to solve the mystery. Cool, but it seems like some of those stops in-between might have tried to be a little more relevant.
But all in all, I enjoyed this book and I think that anyone curious about the various attributes of Batman might find this fascinating. I have seen some comments suggesting that this book cannot be read on its own, but as long as you know the basic history of the Batman arc, or are just willing to accept what the book throws at you (ie, just take it on faith that at one point Nightwing has to fill in for Bruce Wayne, and so on), then the book stands quite well on its own.
February 15, 2016
Time and the Batman is a collection of three stories. First, Time and the Batman tell the story of a time-traveling murder, a aerosol Joker virus and three different Batmans. In the past was Bruce Wayne, in the Present is Dick Grayson and in the future is Damian Wayne. The three all are working on the same case, even if they don't realize it. Great story and gorgeous art added to grant Morrison's wonderful take on Batman and highlighting the difference in styles between the three men to don the Cape and Cowl.
The remaining two stories are follow=ups to some major storylines. Both are written by Morrison, and have different artists (all of high quality). R.I.P.-The Missing chapter is the follow-up to the epic Batman Hush storyline and The Great Escape is the start of the Return of Bruce Wayne storyline. Both are quite good, yet lack perspective without knowledge of the original story-arcs. It almost seems like they were thrown in because Morrison had written them and nothing more. That can be annoying, but still a great book and beautiful art. A must-read for batman fans.
The remaining two stories are follow=ups to some major storylines. Both are written by Morrison, and have different artists (all of high quality). R.I.P.-The Missing chapter is the follow-up to the epic Batman Hush storyline and The Great Escape is the start of the Return of Bruce Wayne storyline. Both are quite good, yet lack perspective without knowledge of the original story-arcs. It almost seems like they were thrown in because Morrison had written them and nothing more. That can be annoying, but still a great book and beautiful art. A must-read for batman fans.
April 1, 2012
Now, this is a bit more like it. $15 gets you the wonderful "Time and the Batman", which cleverly dovetails Silver Age Batman into high Morrisonian weirdness, two issues that fill in the missing pieces between "Batman RIP" and "Final Crisis" (pretty nicely, although I think I still have questions), and what seems to be the requisite side story for the collection actually turns out to be a pretty nice piece about Dick, Damian, and Bruce (through the lens of crime-fightin', of course). This is way shorter than the other Morrison Batman collections; however, it's probably the most cohesive of the post-Final Crisis ones (that I've read so far!)
Wow, I just wrote way more about 50ish pages of comics than I ever have about any novel.
Wow, I just wrote way more about 50ish pages of comics than I ever have about any novel.
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