Comic Info
Comic Name: Batman Incorporated (Volume 2)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Burnham/Frazer Irving
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2013
Batman Incorporated (2) #0
Reprints Batman Incorporated (2) #0-6 (July 2012-February 2013). Batman, Incorporated’s battle with Leviathan continues as Leviathan turns its target on Damian Wayne. With Damian in danger, Batman must decide if he can continue to be Robin as the stakes get higher and his mother Talia lays out her master plan for her son. The danger is growing, and Gotham City is caught in the crossfire as Leviathan makes is push for world domination, and Batman must choose between his son and Gotham City.
Written by Grant Morrison, Batman Incorporated Volume 1: Demon Star was a replacement book for the New 52 and part of its second wave. The volume is a continuation of the first storyline in the original Batman Incorporated series which was cancelled due to the post-Flashpoint relaunch of the DC Universe.
I enjoy Grant Morrison as a writer, and I enjoy his take on Batman. While most comics introduce a new kid sidekick, they go out of their way to make them likeable. Morrison has gone out of his way to make Damian unlikeable or at least extremely opinionated. This has altered the typical superhero sidekick formula and made (in my opinion) Damian extremely likeable…I wish Marvel had tried something similar with Spider-Man’s groanable sidekick Alpha.
Batman Incorporated (2) #2
The problem with this book is that it is Batman Incorporated and not Batman and Robin. The story feels much more like Morrison’s Batman and Robin series than the Batman Incorporated series that ended. I don’t dislike it, but I enjoyed the later issues in this collection more when the agents of Batman, Inc. came into play more. The collection also contains the Zero issue that does feel more in line with the original Batman Incorporated series.
That being said, this collection is quite fun as a Batman story, but feels a bit unfinished. The book (like many of Morrison’s works) is a bigger picture and is forced to end in a cliffhanger. A larger collection of the series is probable if the series has a finite plan and I could see this collection almost going the way of the dodo for a better all-encompassing collection which would tell the whole story.
The story is aided by great art. I enjoy Chris Burnham’s style. It has a lot of the same traits as Frank Quitely who helmed the original Batman and Robin series. Both Quitely and Burnham have a stylized art which does a great job being “comic booky” but also a nice realism.
Batman Incorporated Volume 1: Demon Star is a great first step in a fun series. Morrison’s writing isn’t always easy and isn’t always clean and neat, but I do enjoy that he tries something different. This, like many of his stories, almost feel like Elsewhere tales which is half the fun. Check out Batman Inc…it will make you a corporate sellout in a good way. Batman Incorporated Volume 1: Demon Star is followed by Batman Incorporated Volume 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted.
