Batman R.I.P. - Der Tod des Dunklen Ritters

The Joker joins up with the Black Glove. Batman loses his marbles. Nightwing is captured, but escapes in time to help Batman in the end. Robin summons the club of superheroes (those Batmen of all nations from the previous installments of Grant Morrison's Batman epic). Damian and Talia al Ghul return and avenge the attack on Batman, who was last seen jumping onto a helicopter piloted by a man who has been leading the Black Glove and claimed to be Bruce Wayne's father. Dick Grayson is left holding the cowl in the end. The book ends with an epilogue from Alfred's perspective, a review of Bruce Wayne's life as Batman and what could have been had his parents not been murdered. Next is Final Crisis and Time and the Batman. Let's get in the DeLorean and go back in time.

In Batman: R.I.P., the Caped Crusader faces off against the mysterious Black Glove group whose members are working in tandem with Batman's arch-nemesis the Joker. As their deadly dance continues, Bruce Wayne/The Batman begins to question his own sanity. I don't recall any longer what made me want to read this book other than general buzz surrounding it. I've heard good things about Grant Morrison in general (and enjoyed his joint venture 52) and this book was purportedly a new and inventive take on the Batman series. What I found was a very convoluted story that's entirely tied up with other books in the series. It frequently occurs in these big franchises that story arcs beginning in one book crop up again in another and I don't mind being a tiny bit confused or missing some Easter eggs. But with this book, it's rather difficult to figure out what's going on without knowledge of other Batman titles written by Morrison. I found myself rather befuddled throughout the book and had to look up the book's synopsis online after reading it to actually understand various plot points and characters. Due to the story's nature of playing on the theme of Batman's relative sanity / insanity after years of wearing a disguise and chasing down twisted villains, it's at times difficult to know what is reality and what is illusion or hallucination in this book, especially within its epilogue. All and all, it makes for a reading experience that is less than pleasant and not something I wanted out this book. Other people may enjoy it if they go in with different expectations and more knowledge of the Batman universe, especially as conceived by Morrison.Some pluses of the book were artwork done well and the fact that it reads quickly, as long as you don't spend too much time puzzling over story arcs that transcend this title.

Rubbish. Except for the pretty Tony Daniel artwork, this book was a complete waste of time. Nonsensical tale that was ultimately pointless.

Let's see... Bruce Wayne has recently recovered from a traumativ mind-bending experience, he has a new girlfriend, Jezebel Jet who is privy to his secret, and he is obsessed with the Black Glove. What follows is a series of psychological attacks upon what drives the Batman, and there is a rather complex rogue's gallery of former and present foes and allies, including Bat-Mite (?). There are some pretty powerful scenes here, and some pretty convincing portrayals of Batman's surreal preparedness and resilience. But the storyline itself is too layered and convoluted. Maybe it's worth the effort to puzzle out all the hidden meanings of the plot, but I have my doubts.

Disappointing. I expected this to be more of a game-changer, not just another woe-is-me Batman is a tortured soul story. Art is excellent, especially the depiction of the Joker. Guess I'm not a big Grant Morrison fan, at least not his work with this character.

Although interesting, I found Morrison's plot to be more confusing than anything. The storyline required some level of abstraction, but eventually the extreme confusion got in the way of any enjoyment. After I've read some more backstory, I may go back and try it again.

Morrison continues to alienate by exploring the most obscure aspects of Batman history in "Batman: R.I.P." A major plot point requires knowledge of "The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh," a character that appeared once in a comic from 1958. Bat-Mite, who to my knowledge also hasn't appeared since the '50s, also plays a prominent role. It feels as if Morrison is writing for himself and not his readers.

The book makes even less sense if you haven't read all the Morrison-penned Batman comics preceding this, including "Batman and Son" and "The Black Glove." I read those, and Batman R.I.P. still barely makes sense. Oh, and if you want a real conclusion to this book, you actually also have to read Final Crisis.

The apparent "death" of Batman here is not nearly as satisfying as two previous Batman stories in which a villain manages to break the Dark Knight: Namely, "Batman: Knightfall" and "Batman: The Cult."

Unless you are really into spiritual philosophy and get a kick out references to weird sci-fi comics from the 1950s, skip ahead to Scott Snyder's excellent work on Batman.

Batman RIP: WTH?

Morrison's capable of doing incredible things (Doom Patrol, Invisibles), but his Batman work is a bit off the rails from the get-go. Not recommended.

Batman: R.I.P. is a really complicated story because the bad guys are toying with Batman's mind in an effort to clone him, and at the end it's hard to tell what actually happened and what were implanted memories. From what I can tell, though, Batman is not dead at the end, Thomas Wayne was not a sinister villain, and Bruce Wayne is still Batman. I may have to read it a few times to really understand what is going on. In addition to keeping you glued to the page, it gives a great summary of all the important parts of the Batman storyline, including Richard Grayson becoming Robin and then Nightwing, Jason Todd becoming Robin and being killed by the Joker, Barbara Gordon being shot and paralyzed, and Tim Drake becoming Robin.

Better for regular readers of the many series rather than intermittent ones, like me.

It was a lot less impenetrable than I'd feared it might be. Overall a fun trip that shows just how thorough Batman really is.