Batman and Son

Batman and Son
by Grant Morrison

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Book Summary Information

Author: Grant Morrison
Illustrator: Andy Kubert
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-22
ISBN: 1401212417
Number of pages: 200
Publisher: DC Comics

Book Reviews of Batman and Son

Book Review: Searching for the real Batman... been missing for two decades
Summary: 1 Stars

Review by Brian Grindrod

Since Jim Starlin's departure from the Batman title during the late 1980s, the character and its original premise has been bastardized beyond recognition. The world's greatest detective as well as one of the best trained combatants had been replaced by a paranoiac, manipulative fanatic who is territorial and constantly irate. This modern-era Batman is indistinguishable from the insane criminals he has sworn to protect the innocent from. Incompetent editors have reduced this great icon to a farce by allowing one of the greatest hacks in the industry, Judd Winick, to spit in the faces of Batman fans by not only bringing back Jason Todd (Robin II) but not being able to give his resurrection any plausible credibility.

While Paul Dini's arrival on Detective Comics has been a welcome change of pace from the drivel of the last two decades, I had high expectations from Grant Morrison who had breathed new life into a stifled X-Men franchise. However, with Batman and Son, this proves that Morrison has been riding way too long on the coattails of his groundbreaking Animal Man series. For every Doom Patrol stint, there are far too plenty of Seven Soldiers of Victory, Kill Your Boyfriend and Marvel Boy fiascos to consider him as one of the industry's best comic book writers. Disjointed, abstract expressionism with a healthy dose of kitsch may impress the elitist comic book snob but for those who want a straightforward action-packed super-hero romp, it is nothing but utter rubbish.

For many years, editor Dennis O'Neil had unswervingly maintained that the Batman: Son Of the Demon graphic novel did not from part of the character's continuity. From a marketing point of view, it made perfect sense. After all, corporations who may want to pay Warner Bros. for utilizing the Batman property certainly did not want their product to be associated with a fictional super-hero who had a fictional bastard son. Well, it looks like the insipid Superman Returns film has demonstrated that the times have changed since Morrison's story is contingent on events that transpired in Son Of The Demon. However, retconning an Elseworlds story back into current continuity does not excuse the laziness that Morrison admitted to by not reading the actual tale and using Superboy Prime's reality punch to blanket over all the errors within the Batman and Son story arc. If only the editorial and continuity blunders were the only faults of this claptrap....

First of all, does it make any sense that Batman would accept somebody in his home with open arms after this person has beaten half-to-death his (adopted) son and assaulted his long time friend? Even more ludicrous is that he accepts Talia Al Ghul's word that the boy is theirs without doing a DNA test once they are in the Batcave. Did I forget to mention that the boy brings back a head he decapitated back to the cave? Does Batman approve of murder all of a sudden? The plot holes and character inconsistencies simply make this story a dreadful read altogether. Morrison pathetically attempts to be clever by paying homage to Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein during a fight scene but this trick gets old after one panel. Then for no reason whatsoever, the story is interrupted by a prose with some John Van Fleet artwork thrown in to remind readers that this is still a comic book... not a novel. To add insult to injury, the last chapter of the book is an Elseworld that has no entertainment value whatsoever.

If you enjoy Andy Kubert's artwork, you will be certainly treat yourself to some great eye-candy. The action scenes where Batman fights an army of Man-Bats and the splash pages are quite impressive but it is not enough to warrant this hardcover's purchase at its original cover price due to the weak plot. It is obvious that Grant Morrison took the gig for reasons other than to deliver a noteworthy product that fans of Batman as well as the super-hero genre can enjoy. I am searching for the real Batman. He's been missing for two decades.

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Summary of Batman and Son

Batman receives the greatest shock of his life when he discovers that he may have a son! Sparks fly when the new addition to the Wayne family is introduced to Robin. Collects BATMAN #655-658 and 663-666.

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