Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

by Scott

[My comic book store sold out of this one so unfortunately I do not get to weigh in on this. Sorry.]

I enjoyed this issue. I like Andy Kubert's art, had he drawn the entire Morrison run I probably would have payed much more attention. I like how, here, he evokes different eras/interpretations of Batman characters by subtle changes, not only in costume design but also in the architecture of the city. Another great, yet subtle, bit of this is when we see the Joker, when he is paired with Harley Quinn at the funeral, takes on an appearance similar to the dini/Timm animated series (note the pointed nose and the hair).

The paralell to Robin Hood in the Catwoman story is interesting, however, It's not part of the Robin Hood myth I'm familiar with. I'm sure Gaiman probably is though. Anybody else?

I like how in "The Gentleman's Gentleman's Tale", Alfred takes on the role of a very different sort of 'enabler' This story also has a very subtle callback to Moore's "Whatever happenned to the Man of Tommorrow" when Bruce says "Even if there never WAS a Batman I'm still Batman." In effect saying, "even if Batman doesn't really exist, he is Bruce Wayne and he DOES exist in the realm of this fantasty world" which is not all that different from Moore's admission at the beginning of "Whatever Happenned to the Man of Tommorrow" that "This is an imaginary story... but then alll stories are imaginary stories" Gaiman is also playing with the idea, seeing as how Batman dies at the end of each of the stories so far, that while, yes, Batman is dead in THIS story (i.e. the mainstream DCU) that he lives on as Batman in 'other stories' (movies, cartoons, Batman Confidential etc.). In a way, as Gaiman is eulogizing him, he is also confirming his immortality.

I'm reminded of something Geoff wrote about The Dark Knight Returns that Miller attempted "to make sense of fifty years of Batman continuity." Now that I think about it, Miller didn't try to 'make sense of it' so much as he distilled it down to its essential parts; Morrison and Gaiman, however, in their stories DO attempt to make sense of all the continuity and different versions of the character that have appeared over the years. Thus far, Gaiman seems to be more successful in the endevour and, seeing as how HIS version is only two issues, more effecient.