Enter the Bat-son

Book: Batman and Son

Pen: Grant Morrison

Pencil: Andy Kubert

How much can one avoid spoilers with a title like that? Batman has a son and the DC Universe will never be the same again. Grant Morrison has a creation that is likely to stand the test of time.

Morrison begins his Bat-saga with a bang indeed. Starting off with the misleadingly-titled Building a Better Batmobile, the book lands you in the middle of a Joker-Batman confrontation. You are lulled into believing the Joker is the main villain and stifling a yawn when things turn drastically. Batman takes a gun and shoots the Joker, exactly when Batman leaps on the former. What? You might ask. Trust me that is a panel that needs careful attention.

Once the Joker is neutralised, as per Alfred's suggestion it's time for Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy. Attending an exhibition in London, Bruce becomes enamoured with Jezebel Jet, an African supermodel-turned-ruler. However, it cannot last long as the place is attacked by man-bats. Yup, told you Morrison could go all weird. Despite being overpowered, Batman knows that he is being kept alive. And in walks Talia, the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. And she introduces him to Damian, their offspring.

The dynamics between Batman and the present Robin – Tim Drake – undergoes a big change. The family situation at the Batcave is not very good. Damian turns out to be a terror and Tim is injured. But Batman also learns of Talia's plans. End of the first chapter, so to say.

Next is a long story with a few pictures. It is called The Clown at Midnight and we know that the Joker is not completely going to be away. Morrison shows his prose skills, but the art is not very accessible. We are back to comic format with the Three Ghosts of Batman, one of whom we already met – shooting the Joker. Bruce is reminded of his Black Casebook, where he kept a record of his strangest cases. Rest assured, this is not our Black Casebook graphic novel. The background of the Three Ghosts will come out later. We also see the first appearance of Zur-En-Arrh, in the form of graffiti. The book ends with a story set years in the future with a new Batman.

Damian, of course, is the big standout in this book. Would he be a wish-fulfilment for all the Bat-fans who don't like that Batman does not kill? Would he remain an annoying brat and face an end similar to Jason Todd? Would he end up being out of the canon? Grant Morrison screams a big Yes to all those questions. But we do not know yet what he has up his sleeve.

It is very hard to stop with Batman and Son. The rumblings of an epic may be distant, but it is there. But there is a cracking good story that you want to know more about. Strap on the seat belts. folks. The ride may be bumpy, but you have got to take it.

Lights, Camera, Grant Morrison!

Book: The Black Casebook
Pen: Bill Finger and others
Pencil: Sheldon Moldoff and others

Grant Morrison is not for everyone. He is incredibly talented but tends to go off-kilter when you least expect it. His seven-year run on Batman was much awaited, acclaimed and yet, alienating. He took a series that was rooted in realism, for the most part, and then added a dose of surrealism. He brought in strange characters that seemed like Easter Eggs, but turned out to be major players. For anyone who was not sleeping in the DC Comics archives, it was extremely annoying to not know where the story was going. Then there is The Black Casebook.

This is usually cited as a good-to-read-but-not-essential book in the Morrison series. Mostly because the stories are terribly dated and also because it was not written by Morrison himself. How terribly wrong. As someone who finished all the TPBs and then read Casebook, I can promise you that your appreciation of Morrison will be so much diminished without sampling this book first.

Morrison decided to take a lot of bit players from forgotten Batman stories and put them in his magnum opus. I am not sure it completely worked, but the ambition is staggering. It is very similar to what Alan Moore would do, and there is no doubt that Morrison was influenced. But then not everyone is in Moore’s league.

These are 12 of the most forgettable, outlandish and downright silly stories from the 50s and 60s. But in every one of them is something – mostly a character, sometimes a reference – that Morrison would re-introduce. Running 10 or 12 pages each, the story is not very long, but for readers used to Miller and Morrison and Snyder, this is extremely difficult to read with a straight face.

We are introduced to John Mayhew and the Club of Heroes, Zur-En-Arrh, Bat-Mite, Chief Man-of-the-Bat and Little Raven, among others. Morrison’s introduction is probably the best thing you need before reading Casebook. Whether this will turn out to be gimmicks of a less-talented writer or a complete re-telling of the Batman mythos by a genius who takes the most uncommon risks is something for each of the readers to figure out. 

Exactly three years to the date since I announced that I would be reviewing all of Morrison’s TPBs, I finally get around to it! Operation Baldie? What was I thinking?

Fearless and Fearsome

Book: The Man Without Fear
Pen: Frank Miller
Pencil: John Romita Jr.

Daredevil is a hokey character. We can easily believe a man can fly, or travel across realms with a really heavy hammer. We love the boy who got bit by a radioactive spider and can scale walls. But one who loses his sight in an accident (involving a truck carrying radioactive waste) and then has all other senses heightened to the power of d? So much so that he can run across rooftops? Nah, that’s just too silly!

It was left to the great Frank Miller to change things. Once-great, I should say. Frank has become a raving, right-wing lunatic these days. But, I digress. Miller began as an artist on Daredevil and then took over writing duties. He transformed Kingpin from one of Spiderman’s lesser villains to an immovable force in the Marvel Universe. He created Electra, possibly our favourite assassin in comics. And, along the way, he breathed life into Daredevil. A life rooted in gritty reality. 

The Man Without Fear was his last outing with good old Red. Intending it to be one-off story that even people who had never read Daredevil could enjoy, Miller begins with Matt Murdock’s childhood. A mischievous kid always getting into trouble, but rarely getting caught. The beginnings of the legend were there including the taunting nickname his friends gave him – Daredevil. 

The accident happens and then it is the introduction of Stick, the mysterious mentor. The exhilaration of finding out new skills is suddenly tempered by tragedy. Enter Matt the avenger. The brutality within him soon overcomes that around him. 

Matt is in college and he becomes aware of Elektra. Rarely has a name suited a character more. The two are so perfect for each other that it isn’t a surprise that it ends just as abruptly as it started. Matt is alone again, except for his pal Foggy Nelson.

Adult Matt is a lawyer. New York calls. And it is home. The Kingpin is the monarch of all he surveys. And their paths cross. It’s not pretty. Blood is spilt. Bones are broken. Limits are crossed. But out of the shambles something arises. Daredevil.

The Man Without Fear is not the best Miller has written. But second-best Miller is still better than the best of 99% of other writers. Make no mistake, this is a very taut story. The artwork is splendid, and Miller’s sparse dialogues fit the character to a T. The last chapter is entirely action. And it is breath-taking. 

My problem is clearly mentioned in the foreword. Frank Miller planned this as a 64-page standalone story. But the suits loved it so much they asked him to expand it to 144 pages. And that rarely ends well. The whole Electra section running to around 40 pages feels superfluous to the larger story. Of course, it is important to Matt, but not in the context of this story. 

Still, there is no way this book is not a must-have. It reinforces that we comic book lovers were lucky to have experienced the talent of a man called Frank Miller. And a character like Daredevil doesn’t need to be hokey.

Operation Baldie!

Some times one has to think big. And not worry about consequences. Just be ambitious and see where that takes us. My big project will start shortly. I am going to review Grant Morrison's seven-year-old run on Batman, one trade paperback at a time. Obviously I am neither rich enough nor geek enough to go issue by issue, I will review the paperbacks. We will begin our ride with Batman and Son and end with Batman Incorporated. There will a a little space to some of the tie-ins also.

I hope I will be able to complete this. Hell, if he could write seven years worth, I guess should be able to review them in seven weeks, right? I definitely don't intend to take that long, but let's see where it goes.

The entire exercise is code-named Operation Baldie. Because, you know, just because!

Fun. Fresh. Fantastic.

Book: Nimona
Pen: Noelle Stevenson
Pencil: Noelle Stevenson

The Internet is a great leveller of playing fields. Traditional challenges in a lot of fields no longer seem so, and opportunities that were open to a lucky few suddenly are available to many more. The Internet brought forth the concept of web comics. Suddenly, a lot of hidden writers and artists had an avenue before them, a chance to reach the masses. The Internet brought a talent like Noelle Stevenson to the fore. The Internet also made it possible for someone like me, half a world away, to read her work.

Nimona is set in a strange world that exists only in the most fertile of imaginations. A world where knights joust with lances, and the same lances can be weaponised with death rays and mini bombs. A world where a King rules, but the King is ruled by a Director. Of an institution called Institution! A world where there are dragons, but also science labs with self-destruct options. 

In this world were two promising knights called Ambrosius Goldenloin and Ballister Blackheart. Once, they were asked to compete against each other. Blackheart won, but Goldenloin accidentally activated his lance and vaporised Ballister’s right hand. A knight without a hand is not a knight at all (please do not bring Jamie Lannister into this!). Goldenloin became the hero of the kingdom, while Blackheart took the next available position – the villain. But he was a villain with rules. He wouldn’t kill anyone, and he would always lose.

Into this status quo arrives Nimona, a young girl. She is a shape-shifter, and her abilities convinced Blackheart to take her on as his sidekick. Nimona has her qualities, but restraint is not one of them. Slowly, the villains start taking the upper hand, but it comes at the cost of the rules being broken. The tango being disrupted, things spiral out of control. But is Nimona, and by extension, her boss, really that bad? Or is there more to the hero-villain thing that we are allowed to know?

Nimona is a fantasy. No, it’s sci-fi. Definitely humour. Wait, isn’t it a father-daughter kind of drama? Or is it about the depression caused by suppression and oppression? That’s the beauty of Nimona. It cannot be pigeon-holed. In the story, Nimona claims to be a shape-shifter. I would say she is a shifter. Period. Because she changed things for those around her in more ways than one. She also changed them. Likewise, Nimona straddles genres effortlessly. But because this is not done intentionally, there is never a moment when one thinks it is a gimmick. 

The artwork is special because it is simple. The background is not too detailed as the aim is to keep the main characters up front and centre. The colours are muted, yet bright (now, how does she do that?). For me, though, the art is a carrier for the creator’s abundant imagination. And in the end it is about telling a story. With words and pictures.

The Internet may have given Noelle the opportunity that she may not have gotten otherwise. But her talent is one that will stand out. This is such an assured debut that one would not believe that it didn't come from the mind of a veteran. Well, maybe it is not that surprising. It is very unlikely that an experienced hand would let her flights of fancy take her places; without following established guidelines. For Nimona to be impulsive and unencumbered like Nimona, it needed someone from outside. One just hopes the sense of spontaneity does not diminish as Noelle Stevenson goes further in the comic world.

Licensed to Bore

Book: The Secret Service
Pen: Mark Millar
Pencil: Dave Gibbons

There must be something called a “mogul complex”. There must be. What possesses men and women who take part in a successful collective effort to suddenly believe they can do everything on their own. Movie producers want to own studios; one-hit wonders start their own their own labels; corner shop owners dream of having their own chains. Highly talented and successful comic book writer Mark Millar wanted to be one and Millarworld was born.

Though started as a line to produce creator-owned comics that were an equal collaboration between him and various artists, the success of the movie version of Wanted made him dream bigger. Suddenly his comics became mere vehicles to a movie adaptation. The biggest causality, as expected, was creativity. The Secret Service is just that. A movie pitch with illustrations. Guess what, it is already being made into a movie. 

Gary is your standard-issue teenager. High school dropout with all the wrong habits, living with his mum and her abusive boyfriend; without a light at the end of the tunnel. Except that Gary has an uncle who, while not being around, still has the pull to get him out of jail. The uncle – Jack London – turns out to be a secret agent working for Her Majesty’s government. Jack sees a lot of potential in his nephew and decides to groom him to be an agent. Just like that.

Then we have another world-domination scheme thought out by a rich nerd that involves killing off 80% of the population. Why no one thinks of the stink caused by all those decaying dead bodies is beyond me. Anyway, Gary uses his innate street smartness to foil all dastardly plans and, along the way, take care of things at home and impress his uncle.

The Secret Service does have a few Millar flourishes, but they are very few. The trademark over-the-top violence seems terribly forced and the story never moves beyond juvenile. Watchmen legend Dave Gibbons draws, and there isn't a wasted line anywhere. Unfortunately, his faces are not very impressive here.  The idea is to make Jack and Gary look similar, the effect is Gary doesn't look a day younger than 40. 

The director Matthew Vaughn is credited as being the co-plotter. He is also the one who is going to direct the upcoming movie. Read what you will into that. But it is a fact that The Secret Service, the book, never feels like it is anything other than an intro to the movie. As a result, if judged on its own terms, the book is thoroughly dispensable.

Uninspired, Unjustified, Unnecessary

Book: Kick-Ass 2
Pen: Mark Millar
Pencil: John Romita Jr.

Oh, Mark Millar, what have you done! 

Kick-Ass 2 is everything the original was not and nothing what its predecessor was. Here’s a sequel that was begging not to be told, but Millar and Romita went and told it anyway. We are poorer for it.

Once superheros had their origins, the next logical step is superhero team ups. Fair enough. Our buddy Dave Lizewski aka Kick-Ass and the pint-sized dynamo Hit-Girl (Mindy McCready) decide to take their partnership seriously and were practicing their moves. Mindy’s stepfather, Marcus, asked her to give up her alter ego for good. Kick-Ass decides to join a group of other costumed ordinary-heroes in a group called Justice Forever, led by former Mafia henchman-turned-born-again-Christian Colonel Stars. They may be a little too violent, but their hearts are in the right place.

Well, you can’t just do good, can you? Our former pretender Red Mist turns up with a new name and wreaks havoc including a beheading, a rape, a prison assassination and assorted murders. Kick-Ass gives it all up, but the villains didn’t get together for fun. But their latest salvo unleashes the Hulk, sorry, Hit-Girl. The body count races up and we soon have a bloody battle in Times Square.

Kick-Ass was gutsy. Kick-Ass 2 just has a lot more guts spewed around. It takes violence to a silly level, even by Millar’s standards. What is worse is it is lifeless. Deaths and rapes mean nothing in the context of what’s happening. Millar and Romita are playing ‘who can shock you more’ and they forget that they don’t have a good story to back them up.

There are a few money shots, mostly involving Hit-Girl, and a few jokes, mostly about a shark in a tank. But when the violence is so mind-numbing you don’t stop to think. You know there’s something wrong about a short series if the biggest plus you can take from it is that it ran for only seven issues.