Batman Incorporated #4 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Chris Burnham (artist), Nathan Fairbairn (colorist)

The Story: Batman doesn’t like a lot of people, so killing off his first love is not a great idea.

The Review: Probably the most distinguishing trademark of Morrison’s writing is the grand scope of his vision: his ideas stretch far into the future, and with his reputation, he can afford to imagine that much in advance.  For readers who stick with him to the end, the payoff of all the groundwork he’s lain down can be a very special satisfaction, but you’ll need patience to handle the frequently bewildering threads he’ll weave through every story arc.

This issue features a good sampling of typical Morrison fare: the fraught interweaving of past, present, and future events; seemingly out-of-context plotlines; charged, even melodramatic dialogue.  It’s the kind of stuff he’s known for, but very at odds with the spy-thriller feel this title had been going for.  Still, this is Morrison’s big pet project; it’s inevitable it’d have greater stakes than Batman globe-trotting for lookalikes.