silkcuts's Batman and Robin #16 - Black Mass review

    Avatar image for silkcuts
    • Score:
    • silkcuts wrote this review on .
    • 10 out of 10 Comic Vine users found it helpful.
    • silkcuts has written a total of 726 reviews. The last one was for

    We are attending the Black Mass... R.I.P. classic Batman

    *The Short Review*

     A long time of build up and finally some answers.  We finally learn what R.I.P. stands for and we finally get to see this new era of Batman that Grant Morrison is spearheading.  This was a great issue to end Grant Morrison's run on Batman and Robin.  This is also an important issue because it is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
     

    *The Longer Review*

    With all the comics out to buy, Grant Morrison's Batman story is once of the safest investments because of its rereading value alone.  The Magick Grant Morrison puts in his writings extents past The Invisibles, but transcends to him as the best writer in mainstream Superhero comics. A lot of his concepts are overwhelming for readers not use to the layering in his story and that is why the rereading level of his books are so high.  On the surface Grant Morrison's Batman run is a solid Batman story and the deeper you look the more you can see how Grant Morrison orchestrates the Batman universe.  In my review for the Invisibles: Bloody Hell in American, I made reference that because it is Book 4, it could be a reference to Aleister Crowley's Book 4. Book 4 is his handbook to Magick.  I mention this because the arc collected in Bloody Hell in American is an arc called Black Science.  This issue is called Black Mass.  "Black" likely referring to evil or bad and "Mass" meaning both "a collection of incoherent particles, parts, or objects regarded as forming one body" and "a considerable assemblage, number, or quantity". By taking the lessons from Crowley, Morrison takes two simple words had creates a comic that reflects as many meanings of those words he could in this comic.  Crowley believed "Magick" is "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will."  Morrison's Batman is doing just that.
     
    Grant Morrison has become a master of layering comics and Batman and Robin is just that.  With almost a year and a half of Dick as Batman, Grant has set up this new era of Batman.  There are now Batmen to strike more fear into the superstitious criminals.  The set up to this point has left many readers on their seats each time Grant Morrison name would be on a Batman related comic.  Grant Morrison's story is magical because it has taken a life of its own.  Grant Morrison has divined the Bat symbol and has modernized this new age of Batman.
     
    My two concern with this comic was (1) the art was not as clean as it could be, not sure if its was dealine issues, hence the multiple artist and (2) with the introduction to Batman Inc. the Urban Myth stories of Batman are now dead.  It is now canon that Batman is real, so the Urban legend stories end with Batman Inc.  This is a sad day, since I personally love the stories where Batman is presented like a monster.  Just recently I reread Batman # 584 - The Dark Knight Project because it was collected in the DC Comics Presents: Batman #1 reprint and that is a story where Batman is a "Myth". I enjoyed the times where a artist like Kelley Jones could create an almost demonic looking Batman. Those times are dead and are left to Rest in Peace.
     
    This comic was very satisfying as a way for Grant Morrison to leave the series.  Batman is in safe hands with Grant Morrison and this comic is an example of that.  Not flawless since the Road to Bruce Wayne has been bumpy, but once reading this issue collected with the "Black Mass" of the other Batman books, the sermon of Grant Morrison will echo even louder and clearer.
     
    Cheers
    - Silkcuts

    Other reviews for Batman and Robin #16 - Black Mass

      Satisfying Conclusion 0

      The Good: What a spectacular way to conclude Grant Morrisons run on Batman and Robin! The mysteries surrounding Doctor Hurt are finally revealed (though if you have been keeping up with Morrison's Batman run you probably figured it out in #15), and Bruce Wayne is back in full swing. Loved the Joker in this issue, especially how he dealt with Hurt, and I maintain that no one writes a more compelling Joker than Grant. I also loved how so many elements created during Grant's run are referenced thro...

      11 out of 11 found this review helpful.

      The Final Punch Line, The Ultimate Gag, The Big Joke 0

      The Good: Oh god, where do I begin? I really disliked Cameron Stewart's art in Blackest Knight, but it looks A LOT better here. Maybe it's because the inks weren't so thick and heavy. The multiple artists was a bit jarring at times, but the way each one represented a different piece of the story was a touch of brilliance. The opening scene finally serves to explain everything that confused me about Dr. Hurt, and actually I think it was the absolute best way to explain him without making him too ...

      10 out of 10 found this review helpful.

    This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.