Batman: Batman and Robin: Vol 1: Batman Reborn
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quitely and Philip Tan
2011
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Vol 2: Batman vs. Robin
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Cameron Stewart and Andy Clarke
2012
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Vol 3: Batman & Robin Must Die!
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frazer Irving, David Finch and Cameron Stewart
2012
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
The Adam and Joe Show once had Handy Andy from BBC's Changing Room on [1]. He was interviewed by Ken Korda (a an obnoxious but self-assured media entrepreneur character played with all sorts of sly brilliance by Adam Buxton) and in youtube clip linked below (around 1 minute and 50 second mark) we get this exchange:
Ken Korda: "Now - when you're cutting MDF you always wear a mask - why do you feel you need to do that?"
Handy Andy: "It's better to be safe than sorry so..."
Ken Korda: "But why the mask?"
Handy Andy: "It's erm - better to take - erm - precautions..."
Ken Korda: "Everyone uses masks don't they? I mean... it's a day-to-day thing. Is that what you're saying? We all..."
Handy Andy: "Hold up hold up... Where you going with this? What kind of mask do you use then?"
Ken Korda: "There's a happy mask. A sad mask. Angry mask."
Handy Andy: "Nah... I'm talking about a dust mask."
Ken Korda: "The dust from getting inside you! The hate! The world! The bastard people."
Handy Andy: "Yeah... Well. Whatever." [2]
I mention that because it goes to show how abused the whole mask trope has become by now especially in Batman comics (god - how many times have I read (or seen) a super-villain (normally Two-face) yell something at Batman about how - "your mask is your real face" - or something similar [3]). But Grant Morrison doesn't care and in these books he attacks the whole mask motif with plenty of thought and gusto (as well as the whole issue of doubles and impostors - no one it seems is quite who they appear to be - and everyone wants to be Batman) and makes it all seem - revitalised.
The very first Batman issue Grant Morrison wrote for his run on Batman and Son (and where his whole twisted Batman saga kicked off) is called "Building a Better Batmobile." And right here is where all the building pays off and things take flight (yeah - that's right - the Batmobile can fly now) and all the old Batclichés get overhauled and worked over and made fresh again. And goddamnit it's a wonder to behold - as what's left is a dynamic duo with a brand new dynamic that feels simultaneously brand new and timeless, grounded and with a rich sense of history and a past that it can't shake off (Bruce Wayne being dead will do that to you) and yet still - utterly weightless. Zero gravity comics for the 21st Century. There's life in the old Bat-legend yet - and if you don't behave: it's going to kick you in the head and drop you off the side of a building.
After the dramatic events of Batman R.I.P. comes the story of what happens next: with Bruce Wayne gone - who can carry the weight of the mantle of Dark Knight? With the kinetic artwork - for the first three parts at least - of Frank Quitely (who previously teamed up with Morrison on New X-Men,We3 and All Star Superman) - and after Quitely leaves I've gotta admit you can feel a little slump (but that's because Quitely is so damn awesome and kinetic and everyone else - well - isn't [4]) - and Morrison himself seemingly at his most easy-going and light-hearted: basically it has all the action and adventure that you'd want from a Batman comic: with a host of strange new twisted Batvillains that - frankly - give me all sorts of creeps and a sensibility that combines all the manic pop energy of the Adam West era (just check out those bright day-glo covers above!) with the gothic mayhem of Tim Burton (and I loved all the little light touches - like the building with the Batman ears - and Robin's repeated "tt's."[5])
For those of you who just want to dip into the first volume - go ahead - the water's lovely and there's plently of hot Bat action for you to enjoy (and like I said - it's Frank Quitely on art - so what's not to love?): but just be warned - before you start on Volume 3 - I'd do some background reading (Batman R.I.P. and The Return of Bruce Wayne are kinda important) if you want to understand what the hell is going on. (And yay! At last Morrison manages to pull off a trick that he's been trying to do since the end of The Invisibles (see also: The Seven Soldiers of Victory) that - for once - actually feels organic instead of coming across as needlessly forced).
In a word: Batastic!
........................................................................................................................................................
[1] Which you can watch here. (And frankly that should be preferable to reading my lame transcript: also because it's amazing and every line is fantastically quotable: "...do you think you could a kill a man"?)
[2] In fact - yeah - you should definitely just watch it.
[3] Answer: LOTS.
[4] At least until Vol 3 at least - when Frazer Irving turns up and starts do twisted things with perspective and turns the mood from fun into dark moody trouble. (Plus - yeah - Cameron Stewart (whose stuff really reminds me of Philip Bond) is capable - but there's something about his stuff that always strikes me as being a little bit too cartoony: which isn't what you want when you're dealing with wannabe-horrific Batmen from beyond the grave).
[5] That's the best way I could get to spell it - couldn't work out how to put those little lines that are supposed to sit either side (other people on the internet have tried "-tt-" and "*tt*" - but they're also not quite right...). But - hell - unless you're read it you won't know what I'm talking about... Oh well. (and - is this just me? But as soon as you start to notice the "tt" thing it starts to show up in lots of other Grant Morrison books like a nervous tic - most recent example I've noticed: Cat Grant and Lex Luthor both doing it in All Star Superman... (This is obviously of no interest to anyone but myself - but whatever).
........................................................................................................................................................
Links: Mindless Ones Analysis of Vol 1 / And Another One, The Comics Journal Review of Vol 2, The M0vie Blog Review, Sean T Collins Review of Batman and Robin #1 / #9 / #19.
Preceded by: Batman: Batman and Son, Batman: The Black Glove, Batman: R.I.P., Final Crisis.
Followed by: Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, Batman: Time and the Batman, Batman: Batman Incorporated.
Further reading: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, JLA: Earth 2, We3, Superman: All Star Superman, Xombi, Batman: All Star Batman and Robin, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
Profiles: Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely.
All comments welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment