“First Moloch, horrid king besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parent’s tears,
Though for the noise of drums and timbrels loud
Their children’s cries unheard, that passed through fire
To his grim idol.” - John Milton,
Paradise Lost
O’ Moloch, how long? How long O’ paunchy one?
So, "Here We Are In the Years" and it tastes as bad as I thought it would. While THE OUTSIDERS has experienced a creative re-birth of sorts, BATTLE FOR THE COWL reminds us of the tawdry reality of the cross-over and cash-in.
Written and drawn by Tony Daniels, this first installment of this three part mini-series aims to capitalize on all of that overwrought “tension” that has been built up prior to, during and after R.I.P. The question my slovenly brethren is much the same as it always was: “What would Gotham (and the world) DO without THE BATMAN?”
The answer seems to be: “Produce as many ‘events’ and tie-ins as possible before people realize none of it actually matters.”
To interpret the wishes of Grant Morrison or to attempt to make linear sense of many of the highly conceptual ideals that surrounded Morrison’s work in BATMAN is the same as a Brett Ratner trying to do a sequel to David Lynch’s INLAND EMPIRE. To remove the story from its metaphorical, allegorical, non-linear nature is to remove everything which made it what it was. If it was good or awful, it failed or succeeded on those terms.
This isn’t a quality judgment on R.I.P. (or FINAL CRISIS) but it is well worth recognizing that in spite of my severe personal dislike for how Morrison’s (admittedly daring and creative) ideas shape the future and present of the monthlies and how they reflect on the character of Batman, I can still respect the motivations behind R.I.P. and FINAL CRISIS, even if I do not personally enjoy them. One thing I cannot do however is respect something like BATTLE FOR THE COWL.
BFTC is noisy, confused (and confusing), grasping at straws for something dramatic or worthy enough to warrant its three sections. There is no sense that you are witnessing something unusual in the world of Gotham -- it just looks like an unfocused issue of some middle of the road satellite title. In comparison with say, Tomasi’s recent work on THE OUTSIDERS and how he made the absence of Batman not only relevant to the story being told but also to the very reason for The Outsiders existing at all, this is very poor indeed.
It amazes me that as little as I cared or invested in the root quandary of a disappearing immortal caveman, I can always be made to care even less. As long as DC continues on in this vein with their incessant nattering “Gazettes,” “One-Shots,” “Mini-Series” and all of the piddling crap that doesn’t even amount to a semi-flaccid creative hard-on, then they will bury the once intriguing idea of “A world without Batman” underneath the bloated, swarthy corpse of KNIGHTFALL. Which in contrast to this, smells better every day.
“Case closed Alfred. Bruce is gone.”
“True. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Batman is gone, as well. Does it?”
Yes…
It DOES.
FROM DC COMICS: "'Batman: R.I.P.' and FINAL CRISIS saw the end of Batman. Now, months following the disappearance of her protector, Gotham City sits at a precipice and it may be too far gone for Nightwing, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the city's heroes to save the day. Amid the fires, rioting, looting and gang warfare, one question rings out from the souls of Gotham's desperate citizens: Where is Batman?
