Batman

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    Batman: Battle for the Cowl Reading Order: Looking For a New Batman

    ByBobo

    In 2009, following the psychological warfare of Batman R.I.P. and the cosmic sacrifice of Final Crisis, Gotham City woke up to its ultimate nightmare: a world without Batman. Battle for the Cowl deals with the Dark Knight’s succession.

    Written and illustrated by Tony S. Daniel, this three-issue limited series focuses on what would happen when Batman, as a symbol more than a superhero, were to vanished from Gotham City. With the tie-ins, the story examines what happens in such a case, leaving a vacuum that both the underworld and the Bat-Family scramble to fill. This is a key event as it sets up the next era of Batman.

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    Batman R.I.P. Reading Order: The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh Rises

    ByBobo

    Following the world-spanning quest of The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul, Batman faced a threat in Gotham that didn’t target his body or his family, but his very sanity. Batman R.I.P. is the downfall of Batman. It is the moment where every reference in the Black Casebook (the aliens, the hallucinations, the bizarre transformations) is revealed to be part of a singular, sinister conspiracy.

    The “Black Glove,” a secret society of the world’s wealthiest and most depraved individuals led by the mysterious Doctor Hurt, wages a war of “total weaponized trauma” against Bruce Wayne. Their goal? Not to kill Batman, but to prove that he can be broken into something pathetic, insane, and common.

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    Final Crisis Reading Order: The Day Evil Won (2008)

    ByBobo

    With Batman R.I.P., Grant Morrison not only wrote the psychological destruction of the Dark Knight, but also paved the way for a new threat menacing the whole DC Multiverse, one that went beyond physical conquest. Final Crisis is the story of the “God of Evil,” Darkseid, finally discovering the Anti-Life Equation and using it to enslave the consciousness of the human race.

    This isn’t a war fought only in the streets, it’s a war fought for the soul of reality. As the “New Gods” of Apokolips fall to Earth and inhabit human hosts, the sky turns red, time begins to collapse, and the heroes of the DC Universe are forced into a final stand against a darkness that has already won.

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  • The Black Casebook: Deconstructing the Silver Age Ghosts of Grant Morrison’s Batman

    ByBobo

    To a reader who is not all too familiar with Batman comics, Grant Morrison’s Batman run can, at times, feel like a fever dream. Why is there a “Bat-Mite”? Who are the “International Heroes”? The answer lies in The Black Casebook, a meta-fictional journal where Bruce Wayne recorded every encounter that defied logic, physics, or sanity.

    When I first read this run, my knowledge of Batman was limited to recent publications. I lacked a broader understanding of what the character went through. Even some recurring characters were not known to me. I caught up quickly, as the stories Morrison wrote don’t require you to be a Dark Knight scholar to be understood, but the more you know, the more you can appreciate what the author did.

    So, in this DC Casebook investigation, we strip away the modern shadows to reveal the 1950s and 60s “Golden & Silver Age” stories that Morrison transformed into psychological pieces to explore the mind of the Bat.

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  • Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul Reading Order: The Complete Guide for The Battle for the Heir

    ByBobo

    When Grant Morrison started writing his celebrated seven-year run on Batman, his first major contribution to the lore was the introduction of Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul. He didn’t take long for DC Comics to put the boy at the center of a crossover event leading to The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul!

    The Ghul family made a big comeback, as dangerous as ever, and young Damian is to play a key role in bringing his grandfather fully back from the dead. But he is not easily controlled and will not just bend the knee when he has another side of the family ready to fight for him. Well, maybe not that ready, but Batman’s sons will never let someone die if they can save them.

    As the whole story spans across Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, and Robin, this is not a storyline entirely written by Grant Morrison. Peter Milligan, Paul Dini, Fabian Nicieza, and Keith Champagne also wrote one or more chapters, with artists Tony S. Daniel, Ryan Benjamin, Freddie Williams II, Don Kramer, David López, David Baldeón, and Derec Donovan.

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