Storyline: Zur En Arrh
Date: July 2, 2008
Price: $2.99
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Tony Daniel, Sandu Florea, and cover by Alex Ross

Synopsis: Part 3 of “Batman R.I.P.”! Batman’s mysterious adversary has won. All is lost for the Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne is now deranged and dissociated, wandering homeless in the alleys of Gotham City. Is there a chance that Bruce can rebuild his Batman identity from scratch, or is this truly the end for one of the world’s finest heroes?

This is a multi-author review, in which two writers have offered a review of this comic.  Please click through to read both reviews after the jump!

Stephanie’s Opinion: As interesting as this comic was, it looks like we’re back to the confusing mess we saw in #676. The parts you can catch on to are really awesome, but the rest leaves you scratching your head and wondering what the hell is going on…

At the end of the last issue, the trigger phrase “Zur-En-Arrh”—implanted in Bruce’s mind by Doctor Hurt—was activated by the Black Glove, Alfred was badly beaten, and we were promised the return of “the first Batman.”

Okay, so this comic immediately starts off with a picture of the Bat-Radia and some musings from Batman. Wait, what? The Bat-Radia? I can’t even pass the first page without being left in the dust of old Batman storylines. But with a little digging maybe I can shed some light on this crazy situation Grant Morrison has created for us in “RIP.”

During Batman’s narration in the beginning we see Robin (Tim Drake) being watched. Of course, Tim knows he is, and takes the offense before his stalkers get a chance to attack. But what, who are these bad guys? At first I didn’t recognize them, but later on in the comic they’re addressed as the Club of Villains: the Hunchback, Pierrot Lunaire, King Kraken, Charlie Caligula, Scorpiana, Springheeled Jack, and El Sombrero. Last time we saw them they were hanging out with Dr. Simon Hurt, the leader of the Black Glove.

Anywho, the story jumps to Bruce Wayne, left amnesiac and hopped up on drugs in the streets of Gotham thanks to Hurt and his gang. He meets a junkie named Honor Jackson, who helps him to get his head straight. Bruce tries to remember, and throughout the comic we see flashes of what happened to him between this comic and the last one.

We also see Nightwing fighting the Club of Villains and communicating with Robin. Neither of them has seen Bruce for days and Tim is starting to think something very bad has happened.

Sometime during the day Honor gives Bruce something from his possession: a red and black checkered piece of cloth with something wrapped in it that we can assume is the Bat-Radia. Now, I’ve done some digging and apparently Zur-En-Arrh comes from the name of a planet Batman is transported to back in Batman #113. There he meets an alternate Batman. The two team up (and Earth’s Batman finds he has “Superman-like” powers) and at the end of the day Zur-En-Arrh’s Batman gives him a souvenier: the Bat-Radia.

Later on, Honor tells Bruce to find a man named Lone Eye Lincoln; as the sun is setting, Honor vanishes. We find out from Lone Eye that Honor died yesterday, and who Bruce saw—or thought he saw—was nothing more than a hallucination that led him straight back to Park Row, aka Crime Alley (where his parents were killed). I kind of liked the whole amnesia thing because it shows that despite not remembering who he is—Bruce Wayne and Batman—Bruce naturally could only go back to his inner nature: a detective, a protector of the innocent, and a good, highly moral man.

Meanwhile, Nightwing fails to show up at the checkpoint to meet Robin and … well, I’m not going to spoil it for you, but let’s just say Nightwing’s a little … wrapped up in something else at the moment. At any rate, I really want to see what happens next on that front!

Back in the Batcave, Alfred is alive but tied up and Hurt has donned a new costume: the one of the “First Batman.” Yeah, this was kind of anti-climatic. The “First Batman” refers to a costume Thomas Wayne wore once to a costume ball, something that apparently partly inspired Bruce’s alter ego later in his life. Anyway, Hurt claims the Batcave as his new base of operation for crime.

Finally, we see Bruce in an alley using the cloth “Honor” gave him to make a new suit … And the final page shows Bat-mite by Bruce’s side as he declares his identity: the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, donned in his red, purple, yellow, and black costume. Due to now being in possession of the Bat-Radia and also the effect of the drugs Hurt pumped into his system before throwing him into the streets, Bruce seems to be convinced he’s indeed Zur-En-Arrh’s Batman. But what is the purpose of the trigger phrase, really? And does it have anything to do with this? Nonetheless, I’m glad Bruce is ready to fight back!

As cool as it is that Grant Morrison is bringing back classic moments like Zur-En-Arrh and Bat-mite, tying them into a new storyline, it’s just way too confusing. How is the casual reader supposed to know what the hell is going on? Even I didn’t know, and I’m a huge Bat-fan. I mean, Zur-En-Arrh is from Batman #113—a late fifties comic, for Christ’s sake!

I can’t begin to describe how nervous I am about this storyline and what Grant Morrison has planned. I couldn’t begin to guess, but I know it’s big and is going to change everything—and I can only hope it’s for the better. Meanwhile, I’m trying to be patient. Remember Knightfall? A lot of people were pissed because with Bruce out of commission due to his broken back and Azrael declaring himself the new Batman, they thought Bruce Wayne would never don the mantle of the Batman again. And they were wrong.

Still, I’m on the edge of my seat and I can’t wait to see how this unfolds! I just hope what Morrison does in the coming months isn’t overly bold, ruining the Batman legend forever.

Soon to come in “RIP”: the return of Hush! If you’ve never read Batman: Hush (contained in two volumes or in one Absolute) … Pick. It. Up. I absolutely LOVED that storyline and it’s so gripping! The art was great and so was the story. It’s definitely a Batman must-read, believe me!

See you next month for Batman #679!

————

Mbomb’s Opinion: There are times when I finish reading a comic book and am so moved by what I read that I will say aloud “that was awesome”.  To which my girlfriend usually answers “you’re a nerd”.  She beats me too.  After reading Batman #678 I had a similar experience but instead of saying “that was awesome”, I slowly shut the book, blankly stared at the cover and said “what the hell was that?”.

I don’t hate the Batman RIP storyline and want to go on record as stating that I am not a Grant Morrison basher nor am I one of his groupies.  With that said, I need to know what the hell is happening in this story.

A good friend of mine recently explained to me that Grant Morrison tells his stories like a pointillist painter creates an image by stippling the canvas with colored dots.  When viewed up close only the dots themselves are visible but from a distance an image becomes apparent.  I agree with him in the sense that Morrison is always telling a larger story with each issue. However, as of issue #678 I feel like he’s pressing my face against his work and I’m going to have to fight him off before I can back up and see the whole picture.  Even then it may turn out to be one of those pictures that looks like colored static clouds until you stare at it long enough to go cross-eyed and suddenly, like magic, the image of a sail boat appears.  Perhaps when all is said and done Batman RIP will be one of my favorite Bat-Stories but for now I’m lost.

I love the Black Glove society. The design and look of the new villains is excellent.  The art is Tony Daniel at his best and reminds me of a reigned-in Kelly Jones (who I also enjoy but has arguably become a little to stylistic in the past ten years).  Batman #678 falls down, or succeeds with the schizophrenic storytelling.  The thing that urks me is I think this schizophrenic-style is exactly what Morrison is going for.  I guess I’ll know if this comic was good or not when RIP concludes? I’m in this one to win this one and will be sticking around to see what happens, but for now, I have no idea what is going on…  Here’s to hoping this doesn’t turn out to be another Seven Soldiers experience.

// Remember! You do not have to register in order to post comments!

// Subscribe //

Rate This Issue:

(3 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

 Loading ...