We’ve arrived at the end of an era, and this is one milestone that seems to have all the echo of a whimper.
BATMAN #713 is the final issue of the series’ first volume, which began famously in the Spring of 1940. The end of this book is very bittersweet for me personally, because for a good solid fraction of my life, BATMAN was my comic book.
DETECTIVE always had the gritty stories from the streets of Gotham that I could count on for that fix, I always generally looked forward to BATMAN more when in the hands of a capable writer. Reason being that the character would always be at home on the streets. Except for a few shaky runs of the last decade, the primary point at which I read these titles, DETECTIVE always had a quality and style due to a Bruce Wayne (or Kate Kane or Dick Grayson) being in their element. BATMAN, in many respects, dared to be different because this was the “super hero” book.
The last two years of this title have been up and down under the hand of Tony Daniel, but overall, BATMAN had a quality and style that allowed truly epic runs to take place. Names like Ed Brubaker, Jeph Loeb, Brian Azzarello, Judd Winick, and Grant Morrison all managed to add very memorable stories with their respective runs on the title, ranging from the opening shot of the epic “Bruce Wayne: Murderer?” to the sweeping mystery of “Hush,” through the surprise of “Under the Hood” all the way to Batman’s triumph in “R.I.P.” That’s not even counting the years and years of memorable stories from creators like Bill Finger, Dick Sprang, Gardner Fox, Denny O’Neil, Len Wein, Frank Miller, Jim Starlin, and Chuck Dixon. This first volume of BATMAN will always hold fond memories, and I’m sad to see it go. A new beginning is on the brink, though, with potential for all-new memories first shepherded under the watchful eye of the new superstar Gotham City writer, Scott Snyder.
As for this issue’s last hurrah, if anything it feels like a goodbye to Dick Grayson as The Batman, as he takes one last case involving a man he knew as a thug during his time as Robin. There’s an opportunity he uses to teach the young Damian a lesson about being a hero, and while for many of you the story isn’t anything new, it does contain a cool narrative twist and sends this title off in a pretty respectable way. Writer Fabian Nicieza knows how to navigate Gotham and the characters of Batman’s world, and it shows here. I like that he chose to hark back to some silver age-ish elements in this final story, which has a nice poignancy.
The art chores are handled by three pencillers and four inkers, and while in some places the stylistic changes aren’t very smooth, all the work here is clean and renders the characters as we know them today. All in all, this is a nice, if quiet end to this series and if I have any criticism, it’s that these endings feel too small in order to make way for their replacements.
In the end though, it’s been an absolute honor to review the main BATMAN title for BOF. I sincerely thank Jett for the opportunity and for welcoming me into the “BOF Family,” and I also thank those of you that have followed my reviews, especially those that would offer me constructive advice or have engaged me in conversation about them. I like when that happens.
I hope some of you follow my reviews into the next generation of the DC Universe. I’m ecstatic to be taking on the flagship of the re-launch, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s JUSTICE LEAGUE, right here at BOF, in addition to Gail Simone’s BATGIRL, Peter Tomasi’s BATMAN AND ROBIN, and down the line, a fresh volume of Grant Morrison’s BATMAN INCORPORATED that premieres in 2012. I will also be reviewing Morrison’s take on the re-launched Man of Steel in ACTION COMICS over at Modern Myth Media.
And now, I relinquish the reviewing reins of the main BATMAN title here at BOF to the very capable hands of the great John Bierly. Thanks for reading, and a very special thanks to the army of writers and artists that have made BATMAN my first, best stop in the entire fascinating and mythical world of comic books. Here’s to 713 more.
