There were a lot of number ones for me to choose from that came out this week but the two that caught my attention the most were the return of Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc to the DCU and the newest The Guild comic focusing on Wil Wheaton’s in game character in the web series The Guild.
WARNING: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THESE COMICS THIS POST MAY CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS OF THE COMICS BEING REVIEWED!
Comic: Batman Incorporated Issue 1
Publisher: DC Comics
Author: Grant Morrison
Artists: Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn
In the later part of 2010 Grant Morrison had just finished up writing three great story archs of Batman and Robin and almost right after he launched his new ongoing, Batman Incorporated. This took place after Bruce Wayne had come back from the dead after the events of Final Crisis, it focused on Wayne going around to different countries and recurting heros around the world to join him and protect under the Batman logo. In eight issues Bruce managed to get multiple people to join him in his crusade against crime. During this time he discovered a mysterious group called Leviathan, very little is still known about them but they, as is shown in this issue, have come to Gotham now and are causing trouble there. In this Issue 1 we find out that a half-billion dollar hit has been put out on Damian Wayne, the current Robin and son of Bruce and Talia Al Ghul, by his mother, Talia. At the opening of the story Bruce and Damian are fighting off members of a gang who wear goats masks, they are really acting as a distraction so that Goatboy can take out the hit on Damian; Goatboy misses and takes out one of the gang members instead. Batman and Robin head off to stop some tainted meat from being delievered and this is where Goatboy manages to strike, seemingly, at the end of the issue, having killed Robin successfully. There were a lot of great scenes in this issue, the artist, Chris Burnham, made two very cool images where he takes things you, as a reader, take for granted about a comic and turns them into important panels for reading. One page he turns just normal buildings into panels, but doesnt do it in the same bold colours as the rest of the book but instead makes them look like washed out graffiti on the side of the buildings. Another time he takes shattered pieces of glass from Batman’s cowl and uses them to show Goatboy’s attack on Bruce and Damian. This was a very enjoyable starting point for the New 52’s relaunch of Batman Inc.
Batman Incorporated Issue 1: 7.5/10
The Ubiquitous Gentlemen 