Batman Incorporated #1

The concept of Batman Inc. is one of the most creative concepts I have seen in comics in the past few years. The idea of Bruce Wayne training a Batman for every major city in every country is beyond anything I could have ever thought about in my entire life, and the idea itself is extremely unique.

This story takes place immediately following the issue Batman: The Return. So If you have not read that issue, or have not read my review of it yet, then I suggest you do so that you do not have anything spoiled for you.

Like Batman: The Return, this issue is written by the legendary Grant Morrison. But what I didn’t mention in the last issue is that I think that Morrison is a hit or miss writer, and with Batman Inc. it wasn’t a miss, but it definitely was not a direct hit like Batman: The Return was. With Batman Inc., it seemed like Morrison was rushed, providing a small amount of dialogue, which subsequently caused the issue to read twice as fast as Morrison’s Batman: The Return. If it weren’t for Morrison’s ability to escalate a great story from such a minimal amount of text, only relying on the underlying storytelling put together by the page layouts and story structure.

DC utilized artist Yanick Paquette for this issue, which in my opinion did not fit the book. I have been a fan of Paquette for quite some time and I was excited when I saw that he was the artist on the book, but after getting about a third of the way through the issue, it was clear that his art style does not really fit Batman as a character. I am unsure, but I think it the negative aspect of the art falls more on the shoulders of colorist Nathan Fairbairn. He uses a plethora of brighter colors, coupled with a slightly muted feel to it. I feel as though I would have to see a few more issues of Batman by Paquette to really provide an accurate review of the art alone.

The best part about this issue is that it features the team-up of Batman and Cat woman, which has always been a favorite of mine. The way that the two characters interact is almost two perfect, their two contrasting personalities contrast too perfectly.

Overall, the book has a great storyline that any reader can get into. It is action packed, and has a great dialogue, for the small amount that there was. The issue also ends with a great cliffhanger that leaves the reader wanting more, classic Grant Morrison. It will be interesting to see which artist will be featured on the next issue, and if DC will be doing an artist an arc, an artist an issue, or if they will elect to have a permanent artist on the series altogether.

8.5 out of 10