It’s different because Batman is a different person under the cowl. I don’t want to stray too far from what makes the character successful, so this has all the action, adventure and excitement you’d expect from a Batman book, although with perhaps a slightly more upbeat tone than we’ve seen for a while. The darks are very dark, but the light is neon-bright.
It’s always important to remember that Gotham isn’t some derelict hellhole, it’s the most larger-than-life, exciting city in the world. It has to be like New York plus or no-one would want to live there, so we’re emphasizing the excitement and color and buzz of the place, as well as its more familiar gloomy and gargoyle-y shadows. Gotham is where Crime becomes Art, after all.
Quote:
We’ve borrowed and updated the Pop Art sensibility and the self-aware sound effects from the ‘60s TV sho, but other than that, these stories don’t refer much to the past. They don’t rely on any knowledge of anything more than the cultural basics of Batman and Robin. This run is quite different in tone from RIP and is not as somber or gothic. It’s more like a bad trip on a funhouse ride, I like to think.
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:21 pm
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I was gonna try this series out in any case, but:
Monk wrote:
Quote:
We’ve borrowed and updated the Pop Art sensibility and the self-aware sound effects from the ‘60s TV sho, but other than that, these stories don’t refer much to the past. They don’t rely on any knowledge of anything more than the cultural basics of Batman and Robin. This run is quite different in tone from RIP and is not as somber or gothic. It’s more like a bad trip on a funhouse ride, I like to think.
That really sounds fantastic. I'm always looking for stuff that has a classic sensibility but is updated for the here and now. I like comics with a sense of roots ... hard to find such animals lately.
Maybe I'm just too old or something ... Morrison always describes GREAT comics but it's so rare that I like (or even understand!) the actual results. ASS was an exception for me. I hope B&R will work for me too.
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:23 pm
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This is much more ASS than Final Crisis or even Morrison's Batman run. Even the approach is similar to ASS, which was "Silver Age Superman updated for a modern audience".
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:22 pm
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Linda wrote:
Morrison always describes GREAT comics but it's so rare that I like (or even understand!) the actual results.
I feel the same way.
Also applies to other critics describing Morrison's comics. I've read essays and reviews on Morrison's works that convince me they have got to be the greatest thing ever, then I read them and the result is always "meh."
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:32 pm
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Linda wrote:
I was gonna try this series out in any case, but:
Monk wrote:
Quote:
We’ve borrowed and updated the Pop Art sensibility and the self-aware sound effects from the ‘60s TV sho, but other than that, these stories don’t refer much to the past. They don’t rely on any knowledge of anything more than the cultural basics of Batman and Robin. This run is quite different in tone from RIP and is not as somber or gothic. It’s more like a bad trip on a funhouse ride, I like to think.
That really sounds fantastic. I'm always looking for stuff that has a classic sensibility but is updated for the here and now. I like comics with a sense of roots ... hard to find such animals lately.
Maybe I'm just too old or something ... Morrison always describes GREAT comics but it's so rare that I like (or even understand!) the actual results. ASS was an exception for me. I hope B&R will work for me too.
It sure sounds cool, doesn't it?
It's very fun, Linda. I'd say it's the Batman equivalent of what he accomplished in All-Star Superman.
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:36 pm
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I really liked Morrison's comments about the real world, actually! It's truly a place full of fantastic, unexplainable connections and synchronicities.
I hope he's hit upon something here with broad appeal; sometimes the darkness looks awfully silly and self-important without good characterization, which he showed in spades in ASS (sigh, me too, Linda). I stay away from comics with too confusing a collision of characters, but this one has a chance of taking the spot I gave to All Star Supes every month, whereas Miller's B & R was like trying to sleep in a bright red room and I could never get into it to take a copy home. Credit to GM for working on new villains. So much of this business is about the wonder you feel around 11 or so before "you've seen it all done" but there's lots of debate about what exactly inspires that feeling...
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:26 pm
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I rather enjoyed it. Not sure about Damien as Robin. I would have rather had it be Tim Drake. I suppose the idea is that it adds a new dynamic to B & R, since we have a Robin who doesn't really like "Batman," and thinks he's better than him. But I like big brother/little brother dynamic between Dick & Tim, which is also slightly different than the father/son relationship of Bruce & Dick.
I just hope that he writes Dick as completely competent, and sure of himself. I don't want to see him moping about whether or not he can live up to the legendary Bruce Wayne. He's been doing this practically since he was born (counting his time as a circus acrobat), so he knows what he'd doing. Not only is he as good as Bruce Wayne, he should be BETTER than Bruce Wayne. That's no knock on Bruce, It's just like Michael Jackson was a better dancer than James Brown. Brown was The Man, but young Michael watched him, studied him, and improved on what he did. Just like guys like Usher & Justin Timberlake grew up idolizing Michael Jackson, watching him, and are now better entertainers than he used to be. Dick Grayson studied @ the feet of Bruce Wayne, and has surpassed his mentor. He has all of the skills of Bruce Wayne, but none of the emotional baggage. He lost his parents @ a young age but, unlike Bruce, he had an early outlet for his grief. And he had a "family" to guide him. It wasn't until Bruce Wayne was an adult that he finally realized exactly what he needed to do with all of his skills (by becoming Batman), but Dick knew from the start what he would be, which gave him a clarity of focus that sharpened his edge.
Post subject: Batman And Robin/The Return Of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison
Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:17 pm
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stanleylieber wrote:
Linda wrote:
I was gonna try this series out in any case, but:
Monk wrote:
Quote:
We’ve borrowed and updated the Pop Art sensibility and the self-aware sound effects from the ‘60s TV sho, but other than that, these stories don’t refer much to the past. They don’t rely on any knowledge of anything more than the cultural basics of Batman and Robin. This run is quite different in tone from RIP and is not as somber or gothic. It’s more like a bad trip on a funhouse ride, I like to think.
That really sounds fantastic. I'm always looking for stuff that has a classic sensibility but is updated for the here and now. I like comics with a sense of roots ... hard to find such animals lately.
Maybe I'm just too old or something ... Morrison always describes GREAT comics but it's so rare that I like (or even understand!) the actual results. ASS was an exception for me. I hope B&R will work for me too.
It sure sounds cool, doesn't it?
It's very fun, Linda. I'd say it's the Batman equivalent of what he accomplished in All-Star Superman.
Need at least one more issue to agree (or disagree) with you, Stanley. I'm on the fence so far.
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ASS was an exception for me. I hope B&R will work for me too.
