Batman R.I.P. (Graphic Novel)
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea, Lee Garbett, Trevor Scott
Colored by Guy Major and Alex Sinclair
Reviewed by Steve Seigh
Batman R.I.P. is truly a brutal book. Taking place within a very bloody and very dark Gotham, Batman, matches his wits and sanity against a villainous gang who call themselves, The Black Glove. Of what I did follow on my first read of this book is that this is the story of a Batman obsessed with his mission to bring justice to a filthy and broken Gotham City. In order to further understand the twisted minds of his foes, Batman takes to being voluntarily placed in a self deprivation chamber. It’s inside this chamber where his mind bends in ways I’ve yet to read from any Batman book I own and was truly a sadistic and in depth look at Bruce Wayne’s alter identity.
Batman R.I.P is beautifully drawn. Set within a harsh and decrepit Gotham, the colors, line work, and lettering all wreak of talent and dedication to portrayal of a true Batman adventure you won’t soon forget. Though, if I may, I had found the latter portions of the book to be a tad on the confusing side. I do understand that the machine Batman was attached to was messing with his memories and such, but the manner upon which it was all presented I found to be a little taxing on the brain. As I’m reading more comics for this site I’m beginning to grasp a better understanding of how artists tell their story. You need to be aware of when things happen and how they relate to other events within the story if you want to have a full understanding of what had taken place. With that being said, perhaps it would have been better to integrate those last few sequences into the story rather than dumping all on you in the very end? Perhaps I just need another go at the book, but I was exhausted by the end.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
A lot. Because we are inside of Batman’s head for a large portion of this book we’re going to see a lot of his memories come back to haunt him. Having general knowlege of his exploits would be a huge plus when attempting to read this book.
VERDICT
Buy it. It’s top notch Batman story telling without a doubt. Packed with great artwork and plenty of twists and craziness to make it a worthy addition to anyone’s collection.
