Batman: Fortunate Son #1

Tonight I read what is one of the oddest Batman stories I have ever read (and this is coming from a person who has read every Grant Morrison penned Batman story). That story is "Fortunate Son". Written by Gerald Jones and illustrated by Gene Ha (not familiar with either of these people), it was published in 1999. I'm not even sure if it was originally published into issues. The copyright page on the paperback does not specify. Anyway, the story is one about rock and roll. I kid you not. It stars a somewhat young Bruce as Batman and a child Dick as Robin. So already, it's pretty weird to see this pair-up in a 1999 Batman story. Robin is really into this young rock singer who has this huge following and recently he's gone missing after allegedly getting involved in crime (specifically, the destruction of a building). Being a fan of the guy's music is clouding Robin's judgement and Batman, we find out, has a sort of vendetta against rock music, which goes back to many previous events in his life, including the night his parents died. The strangest part was perhaps when Batman and Robin go do their 'detective' work which consists of listening to a lot of different rock music and reading hundreds of archived music articles, in an attempt for Bruce to "get" rock music. Aside from the absurdity, this isn't a story I can recommend. The dialogue lacks any unique voice, with Batman, especially, coming across as being constantly disinterested. And the writing of the story isn't great, either. I'm not getting a sense of drive. And Bruce's reasons for not liking rock music feel almost hammy and fake. At the very least, this was certainly a one-of-a-kind Batman story.