On February 25th, 2013, the New York Times arts desk column exclusively revealed that Damian Wayne would meet his untimely death at the end of Batman Incorporated #8, a story which naturally spread like wildfire among sites like IGN, ComicsAlliance, and Newsarama. DC then announced that throughout March 2013, the Bat-titles would take part in a month-long event called Requiem, with each issue adorned with an ‘R’ logo in tribute to the fallen Bat-family member. It was now clear why the second volume of Batman Incorporated was in-canon; DC wanted a news story and a sales boost. [Read more…] about The Old 52: Morrison’s Batman Incorporated Pt. 2
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The Old 52: Batman Incorporated Pt. 1
The Old 52 is not a series examining Grant Morrison’s seminal Batman run. If I were writing about Batman Inc. (Vol. 2) for such a series, I wouldn’t hesitate to praise it to the stars. The end of Morrison’s monolithic run was characterized by consistently astonishing artwork from Chris Burnham, Morrison’s typically playful and inventive profusion of ideas, and excellent characterization of each of the lead characters. I’ve previously argued that it’s a fitting end to one of the greatest superhero stories ever told and that it’s due for a critical reappraisal.
This begs the question, of course, why it received such a lackluster reception at the time. It wasn’t necessarily that critics or fans thought that it was bad, per se. It’s more accurate to say that Morrison’s ending felt spoiled, both in a literal sense (which we’ll get to), and in the sense that the disdain DC editorial held the comic in was so obvious that it felt self-evident that the events of the series weren’t what Morrison had originally intended. Reading it on a monthly basis was an ambivalent experience; Morrison’s vision of a Bat-story drawing upon the character’s entire history had already been hopelessly compromised by DC’s baffling new line-wide continuity demands, and readers watched in horror as the situation was exacerbated by the publisher’s willingness to permanently compromise the story’s effectiveness in exchange for momentary publicity gains.
Even though Batman Inc. is a relatively special case within the New 52 — the only other series that was a direct continuation of a pre-reboot run was Geoff Johns’s Green Lantern. Its demoralizing publication history ironically makes it a perfect case study through which to examine the staggering editorial mismanagement that hobbled the entire initiative. So, instead of a critical deep-dive into the themes Morrison & Burnham explore through the series, this article will tell the story of one of DC’s most colossal failures over the five-year history of the New 52. [Read more…] about The Old 52: Batman Incorporated Pt. 1
The Old 52: “Gotham… is a mystery” – On Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman
Out of all of the New 52 launch titles, the only one to get close to its issue 52 without cancelation or new creative teams coming in was Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman (the final issue would be taken over by frequent collaborator, James Tynion IV). This 51 issue epic exploring the Dark Knight, the history of Gotham, and the inexplicability of the Joker ran the gambit of genres from post-apocalyptic nightmare to detective story. But at its heart was the story of Bruce Wayne and his impact on Gotham City. What follows is a retrospective of the run that highlights what it was, for good and ill.
“Something bad has come back to Gotham, Bruce.” [Read more…] about The Old 52: “Gotham… is a mystery” – On Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman
The Old 52: DC’s New 52 10 Years Later – The Launch & What We Can Learn
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s been nearly 10 years since the New 52. DC’s messed around with their continuity some more, between Rebirth and Metal and Doomsday Clock, but everything’s even more convoluted now than it’s ever been before. And ultimately, that’s okay. In around a month, DC will be relaunching their line again with their new Infinite Frontier line, spinning out of a 2-month linewide initiative called Future State. But the real question we’re asking – okay, the real question I’m asking – is whether or not DC has actually learned from the lessons of the New 52. What makes this relaunch any more likely to succeed? [Read more…] about The Old 52: DC’s New 52 10 Years Later – The Launch & What We Can Learn
The Old 52: DC’s New 52 10 Years Later – The Launch & What Went Well
And at last, we reach the books that I actually want to talk about. The best part of a line-wide relaunch is always the successful books that come out of it, and these successful books usually indicate the strongest ideas behind the relaunch. But what’s interesting about the New 52 is how many of these really strong books exist almost to spite the reboot. Let’s dive in. [Read more…] about The Old 52: DC’s New 52 10 Years Later – The Launch & What Went Well