Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batman #672

By Geoff Hoppe
December 28, 2007 - 22:56

Batman #672

...rrrrrrRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr...

Maybe, if “The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul” hadn’t interrupted Grant Morrison’s other Batman storyline, Batman # 672 would make sense. Or maybe the tryptophan from all those leftover turkey sandwiches is making me hallucinate.

 

In Batman # 672, Batman returns to Gotham, where the third of the Imposter Bat-men has “awakened.” He proceeds to napalm the Gotham police department, probably because he was disappointed by “The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul.” Like me. This Imposter Bat-men storyline started back in 2006, and was interrupted by the issues devoted to Ra’s lengthy resurrection. Needless to say, I’m confused, and this is not an easy story to follow.

 

Grant Morrison’s imagination is better suited to Gotham society than the Buddhist enclaves he created last issue. Morrison’s depiction of Tibet was flat and one-dimensional. Contrastingly, his Gotham is more than a bleak sinkhole; it’s a pulsing polis with talk shows and tragedy, the everyday and the eldritch. Gotham is a dark prism that projects humanity’s hopes and fears, and the infinite variations on these two themes.

 

Penciler Tony Daniel was out of place drawing the medieval Tibetan setting of “The Resurrection of Ra’s.” #672 returns to the sharp, angular claustrophobia that made the early Morrison issues so exciting to read. Drab police offices become embattled trenches, and skyscrapers become lurid monuments to urban isolation. Daniel’s grip of the characters has improved within Gotham’s noir-ish confines, also, even if Bruce Wayne looks like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.

 

Worth the money? Skim it first and see what you think. Just make sure to avoid tryptophan-induced impulse buys.

 

 

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51