Books : Batman and Son

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Poor Showing for a Great Idea
The premise is a good one and one that inevitably had to be written about. The execution is so-so both from a writing standpoint and an artistic one. The piece as a whole seems rushed or at the very least subordinate to the deadline and required more cultivation for such an exciting idea. Andy Kuberts work though solid, dynamic and professional is not inspiring and lacks something. Morrisons writing seems like there was a bullet point list that needed checking off and little care was taken for connecting those bullet points. I also didn't care for the shoehorned story in the middle that seems completely out of place. I don't recommend paying full price or purchasing at all.

Rating:

- Few ups, and downs
Batman's son Damian is where lots of conflict, and central part of the story happens. Batman will have to more or less "babysit" his own child, but its a child that has been taught the exact opposite of everything he (Batman) believes in. Damian is selfish, spoiled, nearly uncontrollable, alpha male which leads to a heated moment or 2 between him, Robin, the rest of the Bat family, and he believes its ok to kill which is a big no no for old Bats.

The biggest flaw besides the annoying character Damian, and the semi stupid (or completely stupid) Ninja-Man-Bats of the story however is the fact that Grant Morrison didn't do his research properly because he didn't read Son of the demon, or at least looked it up on wikipedia. Because of that he comes up with a last minute excuse as to why Damian's origins changed from being a regular child who Talia gave birth to, to being raised in a artificial womb (stupid indeed). His excuse as to why the origins changed was the same way Jason Todd was brought back to life because reality was altered by Superboy Prime , which was a horrible way in itself, and was used again in this case.

Another BIG flaw is how things are put together in this book. You should check out Grant Morrison's entire run on Batman for more details closure, etc, on these, and other stories of Batman. I agree with one of the reviews that says this is only part of the story, and was questioning why DC put out the books the way they did. Grant Morrison said that you should read his entire run to get the best of Batman's stories, as each of his story's connects with each other in more way than one. A bit confusing, but more or less mandatory to get the full effect of Batman and Son, and the other stories he wrote with in the last 2 or so years involving Batman. Trust me... there is a lot more to this story especially with the "3 ghosts of Batman", and "Batman RIP" story lines

On a good note though, while Damian is annoying, it brings out some of the best parts of the story. The heat, and tension between him, Robin, Alfred, and Batman are all somewhat hilarious, and keeps you waiting to see what this little jerk will do next. Also there is a great piece of dark comedy at the beginning of the story with Gordon in the hospital still feeling the effects of Jokers gas (a side story is involved). While the Ninja Bats may be a stupid idea, ironically it also brings out some of the best action in the story with Batman trying to fight them off.

For the final good note this book also contains issues 663-666 which are all great short stories consisting of Damian becoming Batman in the future. Joker returns in a story that reads more like a magazine with some art rather than a comic which may turn comic fans off. Also a story where Batman is confronted by a monster of a person that has a resemblance to himself and Bane. Sounds cool huh?

All in all Batman and Son is ok with a few funny, heated moments, with a little action peppered in, and artwork that isn't great, but gets the job done. The other stories that come along with the book are great if not good, and adds more reading time for your buck. Not saying you should buy it, but its entertaining enough to at least check out before you do or don't spend money on it.

Rating:

- BET MY LIFE ON IT!!!!!!!!
I would bet my life that this was one of the best writing stuff on batman. Mr. Morris very does a wonderfull work of writing this book. IT was a great read and im a math guy but i could it again and again. they is a part of the book tat is just writing like a short storys maybe im going overborad but i feel that is one of the best parts of writing in the last 10 years!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:

- Just part of the story...
This collection includes two storylines, or more like one and a half, which were originally released in the Batman comic series. The first storyline is about Batman discovering he has a son, and the second one is about Batman discovering and going up against two evil Batman impostors. Then there are two short throwaway stories which each took up one issue of the original comic series.

The main problem with this collection is that the second major storyline continues in the comics, but is cut in half here, and we see only the first half of it here in this collection. DC is releasing a second collection of Grant Morrison's Batman run later in 2008. I believe it is titled The Black Glove. It will have a similar structure to this collection in that it will have a self contained story (The Black Glove), followed by the second half of the storyline about the Batman imposters.

I don't know why DC chose to release these books this way. Having read the entire imposter Batman storyline, I think it is really great. But reading half of it, without the end, just seems useless. I wish that DC had instead decided to release a collection of that complete storyline by itself, and put the two shorter Batman and Son, and The Black Glove stories together in a seperate book, instead of splitting the imposter story between two books. But I would encourage anybody who is confused by the last part of Batman and Son to keep their eyes peeled for The Black Glove later this year. It will be worth the wait.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Grant Morrison's writing on the Batman title. It is sophisticated, dark and gritty, yet the affection between Batman and the people closest to him in his life (Robin, Alfred and Commish Gordon) is clearly evident, and is something that this title has needed for a long time. It really seems like there are emotional bonds between the people in this book and it makes them seem more human and more vulnerable, which makes the threats against them even more threatening. It's the contrasts that make this book.

Grant Morrison is one of the greatest writers that comics has ever seen. If his Batman is too dark for you, and you would like something lighter and full of wonder, try his All-Star Superman. It's great also.

Rating:

- Morrison is absolutely lost with Batman....
This is one of the worst runs in Batman in the last 5 years. And I've been following Batman for at least the last 15 years. I don't know what Morrison thinks. First he brings back the son of Batman.... and he didn't even read "Son of the Demon". Ever. And then Bat - ninjas...? Please.

THIS STORY AND THE ONES TO COME WERE THE REASON I CANCELLED MY SUBSCRIPTION TO BATMAN.

The only good story was the Joker's one. That's the reason I'm giving 1 star.

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