Batman #678

Batman uses his sweat to fuel SWEET RAVE PARTIES!!!

Batman #678 is part three of the epochal Batman: R.I.P. storyline, which guarantees to overhaul the character in incontrovertible ways that will forever affect DC Comics’ greatest hero. Does it? Will it? I have no idea. Batman: R.I.P. is really confusing.

In Batman #678, Bruce Wayne recovers from a beating at the hands of the Club of Villains. He’s still a little loopy after having been injected with “weapons grade crystal meth” and “street heroin,” thus suffering from some understandable temporary amnesia. He’s befriended and saved by a kindly homeless veteran named Honor Jackson, who leads him on an urban odyssey through Gotham. Meanwhile, other members of the Club of Villains attack Robin, put Nightwing in the asylum, and declare their victory over Batman complete.  

The up side of the so-far confusing Batman: R.I.P. is that it holds your attention. The down side is that all the bizarre references and seeming in-jokes makes it feel like Grant Morrison is writing the story more for himself than the readers. Morrison keeps dropping the same clues—the inexplicable involvement of Bat-mite, the mention of whatever “zur-en-arrh” is—but clues usually imply an increasing knowledge of whatever’s going on. Not so with Batman: R.I.P. The story is just as baffling as it was several issues ago, and while that’s clearly Morrison’s conscious choice, it’s getting annoying.

Penciler Tony Daniel gives another solid performance, but that’s the problem. After months of hype, the art should be more than solid or sufficient. The art in R.I.P. would be superior for a normal storyline, but if this truly is a character-changing arc for Batman, the art needs to be stronger. The problem may be as simple as the pairing of inker and penciler. Tony Daniel’s un-inked pencil sketches are nuanced and stunning, but the finished product, inked by Sandu Florea, doesn’t communicate Daniel’s strengths.  

Worth the money? Not quite. The story’s still kind of frustrating, and the art isn’t worth it.

P.S. if anyone actually knows what zur-en-arrh is, or has any ideas as to what’s going on in this storyline, please comment below!

Last Updated: Jan 7, 2012 - 7:41
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#1 - the - 07/05/2008 - 09:55

nobody @ comment

Ok, we've got no name, lack of a complete sentence, and what appears to be a misspelling.
Did your keyboard break? Oh, no, I get it now. You're an idiot.

#2 - Geoff - 07/05/2008 - 12:53

Hello. Here at the Comic Book Bin, we ask that writers and visitors communicate respectfully and refrain from personal attacks. There are ways of saying you disagree with a review without name calling.

#3 - Hervé St-Louis - 07/05/2008 - 15:46

the way i see it, zur-en-arrh is the trigger word dr. hurt put in batman's mind to trigger a mental collapse. i hypothesize that batman has already placed mental triggers (anti-triggers?) before he underwent hurt's isolation experiments. i believe the anti-triggers batman placed in his mind have to do with becoming batman at all costs, even a silly version like the zur-en-arrh batman, mainly for the purpose of robin seeking him out and save him, in a sense.
i'm still trying to figure out the black glove, whom i assume is the figure who quite resembles bruce wayne, that comes out of the monitor. maybe the doses of meth and heroin are chemical triggers that begin his oddyssey to find his identity after it is stripped by hurt? i have to admit that this is the most fun i have ever had reading a batman comic since gotham central.

#4 - nemo - 07/07/2008 - 08:38

BIg Pauly

I was confused as well to this name but I did a little research and found out that it is a little bit of bat-history. In Batman no. 113, Batman meets another batman from the planet Zur-En-Arrh. This batman has powers similar to superman and the two of them twart an evildoers plans. As a souvenir the alternate batman gives the real batman the bat-radia to remember him by. The costume at the end of 678 is the costume worn by the alternate batman. Some may think this is supposed to be an obvious point, but for those of us who weren't even born at the time #113 came out it is a new development.

#5 - Paul - 07/07/2008 - 15:02

The story it's in reference to was posted online last week. Here's the link:

bubblegum:bubblegumcommunity.livejournalbubblegum/scans_daily/5789601.html#cutid1

#6 - Kiel Phegley - 07/08/2008 - 18:24

Inappropriate comments removed.

-The Editor-

#7 - Gayman - 07/28/2008 - 12:47