Ram V and Rafael Albuquerque on Detective Comics

[millernumber1]

I can't recall all he said in Supergods, but I did find this older 2002 quote specifically on DKR (and also indirectly on Miller himself) (which IIRC he reiterates some or a lot of this quote here in Supergods): Morrison: "[DKR is] a great, honest work and deserves its place in the pantheon. It's also one of the key American texts of the Reagan '80s along with Rambo and American Psycho. I don't think it can be seen as the last word on superheroes, as many have viewed it but it makes its point in an undeniably original way and is light years ahead, in both ambition and execution, of most other works in the field at the time."

(pretty high praise by Grant to compare to Frank to David Morrell and Bret Easton Ellis)

Interesting stuff. Morrison also, I think, appreciated DKSA for what it was, which is something that I just can't really do.

I don't know, I didn't feel like someone slapped me in the face when I finished reading Batman Inc.

As for slapping DC, well, I think that Morrison's every bigger story had some jabs at DC's editors and their overall publishing strategy so it was more of the same on that front.

What works for some doesn't for others, of course. I definitely feel slapped in the face after the ending of Batman Inc vol 2.

[TheJudge95]

I just finished a readthrough of Batman Incorporated and I think Morrison's criticisms are valid. But at the same time, like millernumber1 said, it's not inevitable that Batman is a man-child and limited by his flaws. Morrison could have spent his run bonding Bruce and Damian, but he was more preoccupied with symbols and parallelism than character development. But I do think that there is an in-character justification for Morrison's take, and it's not all meta-narrative. Batman is limited in his relationships with the opposite sex (which millernumber1 referenced - the Mazzucchelli "Batman is a child" idea - and which Tom King later explored). The fact that Talia is the big bad for Inc. and that she is ultimately defeated deus ex machina-style by another woman, Betty Kane, just shows how out of his depth Batman is in this regard - he is left alone in his batcave with his toys and his "Batcow" and his "Batdog". He often is preoccupied with mysteries and conspiracies at the expense of his personal relationships (the recurring apophenia theme). Last, his stories are mostly limited to Gotham City and his regular rogues' gallery (which Morrison underlines with the dissolution of Batman Inc. and Betty Kane's quote of "Stick to what you're good at"). That's a box that editorial and audience expectations have put him in, and which he rarely ventures out of (the Denny O'Neil run), so this is a more meta criticism, but it's a fair one. There's something to be said about how Batman needs to have limitations in order to remain a distinct character, but at the same time, I always welcome criticisms to expand the sandbox.

It's obvious that Zdarksy is imitating Miller with the "soldier" talk (and he cites Miller as his favorite Bat-writer on a Scott Snyder podcast). I agree with JBatmanFan05 that TDKR is a Rorschach test for Batman writers. Scott Snyder probably took away the bombast and badassery and Tom King the formalist approach. Though I have a pretty different idea on the grouping of writers you mentioned - if the spectrum is "Batman is a human being and an adult with a sex drive" on one end and "Batman is an ideal fantasy and mythic" on the other end, I'd put Tom King/Matt Wagner/Englehart on the first end, and O'Neil/Scott Snyder on the other end. Need to rewatch the Burton movies and reread TDKR to place Miller and Hamm. Morrison writes Batgod 90% of the time, but he also introduced Damian, which acknowledges Batman's adulthood and slightly breaks the fantasy. After 2 issues I'm agreeing Vordan that I don't expect much new from Zdarsky - it does feel like we've seen this before in Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive, Batman: R.I.P., Tom King's run (with all the "happiness" talk in issue 126), the animated villains D.A.V.E. and HARDAC, and the countless other [insert Batfamily drama here] books. Will probably drop unless he proves me wrong in the next 4 issues.

[Hypo]

Detective Comics #1063 Preview
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Backup Writer: Si Spurrier
Backup Artist: Dani

[Frontier]

Cute chanteuse .

So how long do we give this current Two-Face "Fix?"

Everyone talking so...seriously and dramatically. I guess because it's Gothic?

I'm surprised how long the "Harvey knows Bruce Wayne is Batman" aspect has managed to last.

[Iclifton]

Interesting stuff. Morrison also, I think, appreciated DKSA for what it was, which is something that I just can't really do.



What works for some doesn't for others, of course. I definitely feel slapped in the face after the ending of Batman Inc vol 2.

Man, I was not a fan of Batman Inc Vol 2. Grants run felt complete with BandR 16. It was a much better ending. Vol 1 was a lot of fun though.

[HsssH]

So going with latest solicitations it looks like Ram is going to tie-in into Morrison's Return of the Bruce Wayne? And a werewolf? I think that Batman has not really had any significant encounters with werewolfs till this point?

[Vordan]

So going with latest solicitations it looks like Ram is going to tie-in into Morrison's Return of the Bruce Wayne? And a werewolf? I think that Batman has not really had any significant encounters with werewolfs till this point?

Not werewolves no, but there Man-Bat is basically a werebat as is Talia’s ninjas who transformed themselves with the same formula in Morrison’s run

[HsssH]

Man-Bat to me always looked more like a vampire variation than werewolf, but I guess you have a point. It kinda combines both of those things.

[Vishop]

Detective Comics #1063 Preview
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Backup Writer: Si Spurrier
Backup Artist: Dani

Wait Spurrier is writing the backup issue?

[HsssH]

Yes, he is focusing on Gordon. I haven't read Joker ongoing, but it sounds like it is continuing from there?

[Frontier]

So going with latest solicitations it looks like Ram is going to tie-in into Morrison's Return of the Bruce Wayne? And a werewolf? I think that Batman has not really had any significant encounters with werewolfs till this point?

Anthony Lupus.

[HsssH]

Can someone give a short explanation on whats up with Dent? He was "cured" and he knows that Bruce is Batman?

[millernumber1]

Yes, he is focusing on Gordon. I haven't read Joker ongoing, but it sounds like it is continuing from there?

No, it's taking place somehow between issues 14 and 15 of The Joker by Tynion. No idea why, but that's what it says.

[HsssH]

I kinda hope that it gets collected together with Joker because the backup isn't working for me so far and I'd prefer to have only Ram's issues in collected edition.

[Frontier]

Can someone give a short explanation on whats up with Dent? He was "cured" and he knows that Bruce is Batman?

Harvey's known Bruce has been Batman since Peter Tomasi's Batman and Robin run back during the New 52.