Digging Deeper in Bruce's Past #1
Grant Morrison is acclaimed because he is one of the few writers who really push the medium to its potential. Part of the reason he can do this is because of his knowledge in the Occult. There will always be three types of readers that walk away from a Grant Morrison story: (1) Those that had no idea what happened and did not like it, (2) Those that had no idea or little idea what really happened but enjoyed the story and (3) those who understand the messages between the lines. With Grant Morrison spearheading Batman, the three camps have been more obvious than ever. Some old fans have left the series and have not comeback, many have stayed on for the ride and try to understand as much as they can. The following review is more about the Occult symbols and why it is making Batman the level of young Vertigo when Grant Morrison was making his name.
What makes this series really nice is the reread level. There is so much hidden knowledge (occult) in his book that the more research you do, the more you notice that things are there on purpose. Grant Morrison is a long time fan of Alan Moore and his use of the Occult is layered much like some of Alan's great works, such as From Hell. One of the Occult messages in From Hell was the idea of the "Fourth Dimension", in which history repeats itself and those moments of repeated events become closer in time. The character Vandal Savage would also make an appearance. Vandal Savage would also be called "Jack The Ripper" and Jack the Ripper is the main character in the Graphic Novel From Hell. The Return of Bruce Wayne in a whole is Bruce's life in 4D. Even a character named "Joker" makes an appearance, because to Batman's Ying, Joker is the Yang.
Other Occult symbols in this issue are the "Logos" of the Superheroes written on the cave walls. Those 4 symbols are important to the story and will foreshadow key players in the future events. These logos are important because the character's logo are truly a "Sigil". That logo represents something and has a powerful purpose.
These are just examples of how deep we can get into Grant Morrison's work. If you would like to add something or talk more about the comic in general, I would love to discuss the layering in the comment section.
Cheers
- Silkcuts
What makes this series really nice is the reread level. There is so much hidden knowledge (occult) in his book that the more research you do, the more you notice that things are there on purpose. Grant Morrison is a long time fan of Alan Moore and his use of the Occult is layered much like some of Alan's great works, such as From Hell. One of the Occult messages in From Hell was the idea of the "Fourth Dimension", in which history repeats itself and those moments of repeated events become closer in time. The character Vandal Savage would also make an appearance. Vandal Savage would also be called "Jack The Ripper" and Jack the Ripper is the main character in the Graphic Novel From Hell. The Return of Bruce Wayne in a whole is Bruce's life in 4D. Even a character named "Joker" makes an appearance, because to Batman's Ying, Joker is the Yang.
Other Occult symbols in this issue are the "Logos" of the Superheroes written on the cave walls. Those 4 symbols are important to the story and will foreshadow key players in the future events. These logos are important because the character's logo are truly a "Sigil". That logo represents something and has a powerful purpose.
These are just examples of how deep we can get into Grant Morrison's work. If you would like to add something or talk more about the comic in general, I would love to discuss the layering in the comment section.
Cheers
- Silkcuts
