Matt’s What She Said
Matman reviews Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated #1
As a non fan of Grant Morrison’s writing, I naturally stayed away from ‘Batman Incorporated’ # 1. With Morrison writing it I figured if I just stayed away I wouldn’t get all bent out of shape when I hated it. Plus, I’ll just spend the $4.00 on another book. No harm no foul!
Now before I continue I must explain for those who don’t regularly listen to the Secret Identity Podcast. I’m not a fan of Grant Morrison’s writing at all. His style confuses me and I don’t think he has a good or healthy feel for batman, so I now just stay away. But upon some insistence, I decided to give this issue a shot.
HOLY COW!!!
Right off the bat you are dropped into a crazy situation. Someone is murdering Japanese heroes and the next target is a man Bruce Wayne is trying to recruit to become part of Batman Incorporated. Joined by Catwoman on the trip, the two find their way into a mystery that just seems to get worse off every page. There are some very witty moments when Catwoman tries to understand the anime / manga culture with a focus on ‘tentacle fetish’ which comes into play on the last page. Dare I say one of the best last pages I have seen in a long time!
To start, Gran Morrison is a very good storyteller when he plays it straight with no crazy twists or cinematic writing. I enjoyed his run on ‘X – Men’ which was incidentally the only ‘X – Men’ run I ever read consistently. Jumping right into the story was a plus and there were no lingering effects from the return of Bruce Wayne plots. With this being a new title and direction, Morrison is able to mold and run this book how he sees fit.
On the art side, this book gets even more props! Penciller Yanick Paquette first caught my eye way back in 1987 with his all too brief run on Wonder Woman. I knew he could draw the ladies (check out his stunning renditions of Selina Kyle) but really makes his mark on the action scenes, and there are plenty! Inker Michel Lacombe does a beautiful job bringing the work to life and adding depth and a gritty texture. The duo creates a spectacular book to look at!
So let’s wind this one down! The book is fun, great to look at and pulls you in right away. And for a non Morrison fan, that speaks volumes!
Matman Rating – 5 out of 5 crazy octopus endings!
Although not being a fan of his writing, Matman is a big fan of the aura that is Grant Morrison. Although they have never sat down for an interview, Matman finds him charming and would love to sit down for a chat. I’m sure his Secret Identity co – host Brian LeTendre will need to be there as well!
