Comicology: Batman

There are two interesting articles in Times of India related to our cherished hobby, over the weekend, which are grabbed at Comicology for your reading.

The first article is from Times of India (TOI) - Chennai Times, 29 Nov 08 edition, which captures the readers uproar towards the authors' (Grant Morrison, in this case) decision to kill Batman in the recent issue, and his prodigy taking his place in the future series. When will this creators get over the marketing gimmick for boosting sales; as they change, deface, and even eradicate the comics characters we have known for years. First it was Sherlock Holmes, then Superman, and even Captain America. Even the current set of authors at Marvel, went to a distance of erasing all the memory of "Spiderman" Peter Parker and Mary Jane's marriage altogether. That has already put the next Spiderman Movie into a jeopardy.

All the times each one of them have been dramatically resurrected to life, after falling sales, and readers lull response. And for all its trueness, this might be a same case again. Imagine - you watching the next Batman Movie, when the character itself has become history in its original form. eeks!

For those who would like to have a sneak preview of Batman #681, which has the conclusion of Batman RIP series, described in this post as the "End of Batman", here are few panels from the issue. (© DC Comics)

As you could clearly see that Batman's death is pretty inconclusive (paving the way for his return), and his prodigy Dick Grayson (or Nightwing in his superhero avatar) is shown taking over the Batman role at the end.

Here are some Official quotes about Batman's RIP storyline, which supports our theory, and a possible return of Batman solely in his Bruce Wayne avatar, and probably on a later stage as Batman Returns, while Dick Grayson or Tim Drake (the 3rd and current Robin) playing the role of Batman in future issues. Much like the storyline of Superman Returns earlier.

Grant Morrison, Series Author: "This is the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman".

Dan DiDio, DC Comics Executive Editor : "Bruce Wayne is indeed alive, though he'll definitely be gone for a while."

A unnamed DC Insider: "Wayne doesn't want to be a superhero any more."

Eventhough, I first thought that storyline sucks, it might give an option to see how the present authors actually take a different route in the Batman series, then trying to cash in on the legacy left by erstwhile, Bob Kane.

The second article is from TOI - Times Life, 30 Nov 08 edition. It's a follow-up from our earlier article covered at Comicology about the growing interest in the younger generation in reading comics more than reading books, which is a new trend from the past where the kids more often preferred the Novels, and Written fantasies over the Comics medium. The article advocates the need to take a break, with growing your Comic habit, and get the Boy inside a Man.

I would have given a miss to the second article, as it wasn't available for distribution in a few areas in Chennai. Thanks for fellow Comicologist Pathy's tip-off, I was able to pick that up from the Bangalore edition of TOI.