Another brilliant Grant Morrison special
Morrison uncorks Batman in Dante's Inferno in this issue. The Batman R.I.P. books are typical Morrison scatology kicked up a notch. What I love about this series and Morrison's work leading up to this storyline (as well as the All-Star Superman work) is that it mines long-buried and out-of-fashion source material to add depth and mystery to an avant-garde, contemporary take on the character. This is not Frank Miller's gritty urban Stark Knight, but a brilliant, pulp Batman, the love-child of Agatha Christie and Timothy Leary.
It's interesting, subjective, challenging stuff that's a different stripe from other books on the market and I'm grateful for the difference. I'm only writing this review here because I wanted to google the source material (Batman of Zur En Arrh) and I noticed the one star avg. review. Too bad this material doesn't seem to be finding an audience here. For those of you lost in the admittedly confusing story arc, take heart: it will all become clear in the end. I am certain this story and Morrison's other work on Batman will make a great set of trade paperbacks.
