Grant Morrison is the sliced bread of the Batman franchise. Allow me to explain.
Before there was sliced bread, there was just … regular bread. I’m talking big, brick-like loaves of bread. Before 1928, if you wanted bread, you had to go to the baker and buy a whole ass loaf and then slice it yourself. What a hassle, right? It’s inconvenient, dangerous (you could cut yourself!), and overall just not a good time. If you weren’t down to get a whole ass loaf, you could always buy bread in a can. But that’s somehow worse. Blasphemous. How am I gonna make a respectable sandwich with can-shaped bread? I don’t want my sandwich to be CIRCULAR. I want it to be BREAD SHAPED.
And then sliced bread came along and the world was never the same.
Now bread was DOPE. It was convenient! It was delicious! And it was cut by machine labor the way God intended! Bread was suddenly back on top of the food groups. Hell, it was so on top that the government said that you should eat bread MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. Totally unhealthy, but you get my point.
Grant Morrison did the same for Batman: he made Batman cool.
Without Grant Morrison, there would be no gravel-voiced Christian Bale Batman, there would be no pouty emo-boy Robert Pattinson Batman. There would only be cornball “Good thing I always keep a batarang in my bat-underwear” Batman. No shade on Adam West, but he’s not exactly the grim-dark, grizzled anti-hero that could stop a madman like the modern-day Joker. In fact, there would be no Heath Ledger or Joaquin Phoenix Joker without Grant Morrison either! The Joker would have been forever regulated to some goofy sideshow clown, and not the twisted maniac he is today.
Grant Morrison came along and made Batman edgy. He dove into his dark, twisted psyche. He realized that nobody who spends all his time running around dressed in a Bat costume could be entirely sane himself. He gave us the flawed, damaged Batman that toes the lines between caped crusader and criminal himself. So to celebrate Grant Morrison’s Batman, he’s the best reading for the comics.
1. Batman: Batman and Son
This volume collects Batman #655-658, #663-666, and #667-669 and introduces Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s son, and their *ahem* complicated relationship. Damian Wayne was raised by his mother Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. He is highly skilled but possesses a violent and arrogant nature. Batman has to deal with Damian while maintaining his relationship with his other son Robin (Dick Grayson). Plus he’s gotta fight the Black Glove, a secret society out to get him. Things get messy.
2. Batman: The Black Glove
This volume collects Batman #667-669, #672-675. The Black Glove uses physical and psychological warfare on Batman, attempting to turn his allies against him and ruin his hard earned bat-reputation. Batman is forced to face his own personal demons and confront the true identity of the enigmatic Dr. Hurt, the leader of the Black Glove. And then put some serious Dr. Hurt on him.
3. Batman: Batman RIP
This volume collects Batman #676-681. Batman is pushed to his absolute mental and physical limit as he confronts the full force of the Black Glove. As his world begins to unravel, Batman struggles to hold on to his Bat-sanity.
4. Final Crisis
This is a crossover event that had far-flung effects for the entire DC Universe. While facing down the dark god Darkseid (the heavy metal Thanos of the DC Universe), Batman seemingly meets his untimely end. In actuality, he is trapped in an alternate dimension of time and space. Nothing he can’t Bat-handle. But his apparent death sends some serious shockwaves through the superhero community at large. They aren’t taking it well.
5. Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn
This volume collects Batman and Robin #1-6. With Bruce Wayne trapped in Darkseid’s freaky space limbo, Dick Grayson is forced to don the cape and cowl of the dark crusader. Partnering with Damian Wayne as Robin, they confront the rogue’s gallery of classic Batman villains, plus some new ones like Professor Pyg and the Flamingo.
6. Batman and Robin: Batman vs. Robin
This volume collects Batman and Robin #7-12. Batman and Robin go under the Red Hood so to speak as they are forced to fight against the enigmatic Red Hood and a secret organization called the League of Assassins. Batman and Robin’s ideological differences eventually cause them to butt heads. Hopefully, they can work it out in bat-counseling before Red Hood takes over the city.
7. The Return of Bruce Wayne
This volume collects The Return of Bruce Wayne #1-6, and shows us what happened to Bruce Wayne while he was stuck traveling through wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. Bruce Wayne has lost all his memories after his encounter with Darkseid, and slowly regains them as he travels through different eras of the past.
8. Batman and Robin: Batman and Robin Must Die
This volume collects Batman and Robin #13-16, and Batman: The Return. In this climactic bat-finale of Batman and Robin, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne take on the full force of the Black Glove and Dr. Hurt, who resurfaces with a vengeance. Thankfully, Batman was able to recuperate while time-traveling, or this showdown would have gotten even uglier than it was.
9. Batman Incorporated: Demon Star
This volume collects Batman Incorporated (vol. 1) #1-8. Bruce Wayne tosses aside his secret identity and returns publicly as Batman. OMG DRAMA. He then establishes Batman Incorporated, a global network of crimefighters that are handpicked, financed, and trained by the Batman himself. Batman is forced to go up against a sinister criminal organization called Leviathan which is hellbent are destroying his brand identity. And his life.
10. Batman Incorporated: Gotham’s Most Wanted
This volume collects Batman Incorporated (Vol. 1) #0, #9-13, and Batman Incorporated Special #1. This is the epic conclusion to Grant Morrison’s Batman Saga and pits the Dark Knight against the full might of the Leviathan organization. The ending is a real doozy, and rather polarizing. Enjoy!
(featured image: DC Comics)
