Batman, Incorporated #0

Brand Building

Batman Incorporated is a very interesting idea, and it has been dreamt up and written by the creator that many comic fans consider the pinnacle of Batman writers. I do not share this view, but I do find Morrison’s writing be very good though perhaps a little bit more scatterbrained than ideal. As a whole, Batman Incorporated has been pretty well executed, but the last issue frustrated me by focusing almost purely on Batman to the detriment of his supporting cast. Does Batman Incorporated #0 continue this problem, or does Morrison remember to include the supporting cast this time?

In this issue, we see the events which shaped Batman Incorporated ranging from Batman: Year One to just before the DCNU began.

Out of the Frying Pan…

Morrison definitely demonstrates through this issue that Batman Incorporated is still a team book. On page one of this issue, we get more interaction with Batman operatives than we encountered in the last issue. It is clear that Morrison has a deep understanding of all the characters involved, and he manages to set up plenty of subplots and character developments in this issue. Each scene is like a little window into the world of Batman Incorporated, and through these windows, we catch glimpses of the characters’ individual pains, motivations, struggles, and accomplishments. If Batman Incorporated is to remain an ongoing series beyond the Leviathan arc, then this is exactly what the series needs.

…Into the Fire

That being said, Morrison addresses my concerns about Batman Incorporated’s failing to be a team book by going to the opposite extreme. Whereas the last issue held one solid narrative which included almost no Batman operatives, this issue has lots of one page interactions which featured lots of Batman operatives, yet these individual strands of story never come together to form a real narrative cord. There is a sort of story arc in this issue, but it is very, very loose, and at the end of the issue, you really feel that this served as nothing more than as a filler issue for all of the little interactions Morrison wanted to include in previous issues. Though it is a strange comparison, I am reminded of the little four-page inserts which came with the Watchmen trade paperbacks which give little tidbits of information which do not directly fit into the main narrative. This entire issue is supplemental and consequently a little underwhelming.

Morrison’s stories have always been a bit confusing in my opinion, and I have never been able to figure out exactly why that is. While reading the pre-DCNU run of Batman Incorporated, I often found myself confused to the timeline of events or the location of a scene. Often, Morrison changes from a literal depiction of Batman’s situation to a symbolic one without any particular indication, and the same goes with his scene changes. Perhaps this is just Morrison’s style, but in this issue, I found myself wondering if Morrison was being rushed in his writing. It almost seems as if Morrison has ideas which he would like to develop, but he has to rush through things to meet a deadline.

Irving Art

Frazer Irving does an interesting job on the artwork, but I have difficulty deciding just what to make of it. On one hand, there are some beautiful panels in this issue, and the colorists deserve an awful lot of credit too giving nearly every page its own individual tone both in terms of color and the mood created by that color. On the other hand, Irving makes people’s heads look odd at times, and I am unsure if this is done intentionally or if Irving simply has trouble drawing the large caps which top the human body.

Conclusion

I find this issue does a good job of exploring the idea of having an army of Batmen, but it does so at the expense of forming a good cohesive story, and that is no small misstep. If you are particularly interested in this issue, check it out, but it is certainly not a must buy for any but the most steadfast Batman Incorporated of Morrison fans.