I Really Should Read This 10: Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus Volume Two, by Grant somebody

Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus 2, by Grant Morrison and a long list of artists

Collecting work from the 2010s, published 2019

Of any comic I could possibly write about, Grant Morrison's Batman is the best selling, most read and written about one, and relatively recently too. Perhaps my main value as a reviewer here is as someone who actively avoids Batman comics. 

For the most part, I just avoid Batman. I was there for Death in the Family, Bat-mania in 1989, I bought Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke on the stands (as well as Son of the Demon!), so I'm up on the character. But somewhere in the 2000's, it stopped being fun for me. Sometimes I was into it (Batman Begins! Arkham Asylum/City on PS3!), but usually I was tired of his saturation in the culture, and the excessive, incessant voices of Batman fanatics (they could give Star Wars fans a run for their money). Good product shines through, but a lot of the Bat-products were coasting on the brand more than quality. 

When Morrison was writing Batman, there was a big shakeup with the character, which was that Batman "died", and Dick Grayson, the first Robin, took over the role. Detective Comics had an arc called The Black Mirror. I read it and it was fresh! Dick brought a whole new vibe to the role, and Batman seemed new again. I read the first arc of Batman and Robin as well (reprinted in this volume), with Morrison reuniting with his All-Star Superman partner, Frank Quitely, and it was exciting! This was the last time I read Batman. When Bruce came back, I stopped. I just wasn't interested in the flawless human that is Bruce Wayne.

Characterization is a key to making this book sing

Why did I decide to read this now? I spent the summer reading Grant Morrison comics, and I wanted more and this was a reasonable price (for an omnibus). My take on Omnibus Two? Because it combines three different series and so many artists, it isn't quite consistent in quality, but it ranges from good to incredible. 

The first thing you notice in it is that Dick Grayson isn't Bruce Wayne. He's thinner, more humble, and more acrobatic in his movements. That's a lot for an artist to convey, but the artists here really do their best to do so. Frank Quitely stands out as the best of the book. He has the line, the design, the movement; pretty much everything he draws is perfect. There was not a thing I would change. He designs a new character, Professor Pyg, who is a disgusting new addition to Batman's rogues gallery, as are his horrific dollotrons.

Oh yeah, Quitely did work the word smash into the wall Damian hit. Frank Quietly is a precious treasure

All of this is personal taste, but I prefer the 'clean' artists in the book; Cameron Stewart, Chris Burnham, and Andy Clarke stood out to me. I'm not so into Tony Daniel, or Andy Kubert's rougher lines. And I actively dislike Philip Tan and Frasier Irving's art, which veered into the grotesque for me. It's all personal taste though, and the art I didn't care for didn't break the book at all.

This was some nice narration from Bruce Wayne

The story has two parallel plots that converge at the end. In one, Gotham is being terrorized by a mysterious criminal organization called the Black Hand, while the second has heroes trying to track down a not-dead Bruce Wayne as he travels in time. I feel this way with a lot of big stories: the big plots make no sense. Bruce Wayne was shot with an Omega Beam which sent him back in time, and he makes time jumps at every solar eclipse, and when he arrives in the present, time will collapse? I don't know, it's gibberish. The Black Hand stuff makes more sense, but it's still a lot of hand-waving. 

That's fine, you don't read a book like this because the over-arching plots all make sense. I had to learn that the hard way with 1985's Secret Wars. This book is about the character, the interaction, and above all, the awesome. Dick Grayson is a great Batman, but Damian Wayne is an incredible Robin. Both of them learning their capabilities at once makes for an engaging read. Damian is an egotistical monster of a kid, but he can do way more than most kids. When he gets in a dangerous situation, you don't know if he's going to surprise you by pulling it off, or if he'll be mortified that he's gotten in way over his head. It is exciting and unpredictable, in a way most superhero comics aren't.

The coloring and the rendering are just not my tastes, but I understand why there has to be a Wild West Batman

I wasn't into the Batman through time story as much, but I get it. Caveman Batman, Pirate Batman, Cowboy Batman. It's almost like Morrison couldn't not do it once he had the concept. Again, the ideas behind why it's happening is absolute nonsense. But Batman is a cowboy, so fine!

I remember reading at the time that Morrison wanted to unify the goofy Batman of the 50s and 60s with the modern one, and to a good extent, he does. He creates a sense of joyous excitement that I don't recall in other Batman comics. Every closing page of the Batman And Robin series ends with a three panel teaser of the next issue. I can hear the rock and roll soundtrack as the credits come in.

It's like he's daring you not to keep reading. It's a great modern update to the Silver Age "Next Month!" box

It's a real shame the Dick Grayson era couldn't have lasted longer. Like, ten years or so. When I read the Black Mirror, it felt like the actual new status quo. Reading this, I see that almost as soon as Dick started as Batman, the 'real' Batman was already being written back into the book. It's a shame, but that simply wasn't what Morrison was writing. Seeing these three omnibuses, it's clear that the death of Batman was simply part two of a three part arc. 

I have Omnibus Three sitting on the shelf, and I'm looking forward to reading Batman Inc, a storyline that was buzzed about at the time, but I've never read. And the number one reason I'm looking forward to reading it is this: it sounds fun.