Pamphleteering: I guess I'll read Batman if I have to, and I might even enjoy it

Batman, Incorporated #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Chris Burnham
Published by DC Comics

We may have reached a point of diminishing returns on these Grant Morrison Batman comics, but at least they're enjoyable to read, especially if they're the extent of one's modern superhero comics consumption. It might be the years-long, often-delayed nature of the storytelling, or the way they pale in comparison to Morrison's better work of the past, but eventually one loses interest in the long-term plot going on around Batman's baby-mama and the various hangers-on who he's recruited to accomplish whatever world-saving plan he has that might eventually be revealed. The opening page, a one-month flash-forward in which Bruce Wayne mopes in the rain and confesses to Alfred that "it's over" before being surrounded by Gotham City police, doesn't fill one with hope, and the cliffhanger in which a major character is supposedly killed isn't exactly suspenseful, since even if he is actually dead (which is doubtful), that doesn't really mean anything in superhero comics anyway.

But! In between those bookends is a rip-roaring bit of adventure, full of wild violence and crazy action delivered in what would be considered prime Frank Quitely style (if Quitely could manage to actually finish drawing a comic these days) by Chris Burnham, who is fast becoming one of the best artists in superhero comics, as well as Morrison's most reliable collaborator. Batman and Robin chase a goat-headed crook through a slaughterhouse and face off against a rocket-rifle-wielding assassin, and Burnham fills the pages with innovative storytelling, borrowing ideas from Quitely like inset panels showing close-ups of the characters' faces or sound effects embedded in the art, then adding his own distinctive flair and coming up with interesting new techniques, like this page in which the panels become murals painted on the sides of the buildings Batman and Robin are swinging over:



This certainly looks cool, but it doesn't seem to have much purpose or meaning beyond that, unless you want to tie yourself in knots trying to make a metaphorical connection to Batman being part of the city itself or something. Still, the panel on the middle building is especially nice, reducing Batman and Robin's swooping silhouettes to plain symbols, looking the most like artwork one would see painted on the side of an actual building.

Better still is a bit of action a couple pages later, in which Robin caroms around the page like a pinball, taking out a whole gang of goons in a series of fluid movements that are a delight to parse as one's eyes dart around the panel, trying to keep up with him:

There's plenty of that sort of thing here, like the tiny Robin flipping a hulking thug over his shoulder, the Batmobile blurrily streaking down the road in a car chase, and blood splattering everywhere in the aforementioned slaughterhouse fight. Burnham gives the action, the movement, and the facial expressions just enough exaggeration to make this a larger-than-life romp rather than the horrific orgy of death and gore that most other artists would deliver (and have, quite regularly, if the pages one can sample from other Batman books are any indication). It's exciting and fun, filled with a spirit of adventure. If more superhero comics were like this (in the easy-to-follow action and enjoyable banter, at least, if not in the near-impenetrable plotting), maybe people would actually be interested in reading them instead of just watching better versions of them on movie screens.

Art What I Like: Chris Burnham, he da man

In what seems to be turning into a continuing series, here's another artist whose work I recently found to be exceptional: Chris Burnham, in Batman, Inc. #6. I’ve enjoyed Burnham’s work for some time now, and he’s done nothing but improve over that time. He’s been compared to Frank Quitely, which I think is fair (not to mention high praise), due to his impeccable body language and composition, but he’s like Quitely with a coat of grime, which is great for down and dirty fight scenes. He’s also gotten really good at bright, clean imagery, which works great for the current direction of this Batman comic. For instance, check out this panel of badass butler Alfred foiling some thugs:

I love the casual “trip and tase” action and the facial expression on Alfred, but the detail that really gets me is the emoticon-themed masks of the bad guys, which gives them expressions that perfectly fit their individual situations. The guy getting tripped seems to be going “oh crap!”, the taser recipient has an eye-squinted “Augh!” look, and the guy in the foreground seems to have a wide-eyed questioning look. It’s hilarious, a series of perfectly-captured details. I don’t know if this was all Burnham’s invention, or if it was specified in Grant Morrison’s script, but either way, it’s done wonderfully.

I also dig the full-page spread that follows that moment, with a smirking Bruce Wayne looking down at the criminals while flanked by massive Batman robots:

I love the staging there, and the way the robots' heads and shoulders provide the panel border.

The other thing I enjoy about Burnham’s art is the slight exaggeration, often seen in action scenes, like this bit featuring Cassandra Cain in her latest guise, the Black Bat:

The tattered cape is just nuts there, a huge cloud of tangled fabric, but what I really love is that elongated leg kicking the guy in the face. That’s a great effect, really emphasizing the action without making it appear especially unrealistic. Morrison’s current approach to Batman seems to be a bit more of a lighthearted and fun take on the character, and Burnham is becoming the perfect artist for him.

Of course, he manages to do creepy and grotesque pretty well too, as in this image:

There’s nothing like murderous kids to spell out “evil”, and I love the gleeful look on their faces as they’re covered in gore. That’s not really lighthearted, but it sure is funny, and the huge smiles are another great example of exaggeration.

I also wanted to mention the closing double-page spread of the issue, but I didn’t think it was fair to post it, so if you have the issue, check it out. It’s a series of panels of Batman and his pals all over the world beating up criminals, and it looks really cool, but I didn’t even realize until my second look how well it’s laid out, with the figures, buildings, and shapes all continuing from image to image, one guy’s torso leading into another’s face-kick, a ruined construction site turning into a high-rise building, all showing how well-coordinated Batman’s worldwide operation is. It’s a pretty amazing bit of artwork, images fitting together with perfect perspective and characters perfectly positioned and choreographed. If this is the kind of thing Burnham is going to be doing with Morrison on this book, I hope he keeps cranking it out for a long time to come.

Koko Be Good: No, not the gorilla

Elsewhere:  I wrote about this season's first two episodes of Fringe over at The Factual Opinion.  It looks like that show and I are stuck with each other.

Links:  Chris Burnham's 24 hour comic, Snake Punch, is pretty fuckin' awesome.

It looks like Lucy Knisley is doing a series of prints that sum up the Harry Potter movies in comics format.  I love her work; this is really cute stuff.

And hey, USA Today has a new Hellboy comic written and drawn by Mike Mignola; how about that?

Koko Be Good

By Jen Wang

It’s about time comics had its own Manic Pixie Dream Girl, isn’t it?  For those who don’t know, that term was invented by the film critic Nathan Rabin to describe the sort of flighty, irresistible romantic interest, such as Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State, a person who might seem to be a lot of fun in a fictional context, but would probably become insufferable in real life.  That certainly seems to describe the titular character that Jen Wang has created here (with the romantic angle deemphasized, however), although she comes at it with a knowing eye, with the character being enjoyable to watch as she bounces from scene to scene with lively energy, but actually alienating everyone around her with her antics.  It ends up being an interesting examination of the character, what makes her tick, and how she relates to others, placing her in a realistic world and allowing her exaggerated nature to push against its boundaries.

Wang’s take on Koko is enticing, detailing just enough background detail to hint at what might have made her the way she is: she’s near-homeless, so she often gets by through mooching and stealing, and then covers up for her behavior through being entertainingly loud and obnoxious.  A meeting with the book’s other lead, a young man named Jon who is pining after his older girlfriend and planning to move with her to Peru, inspires her to change her ways and, as the title indicates, “be good”.  What that means exactly is something she spends the book working out, and it’s fascinating to see how she approaches it, attempting approaches as varied as donating to charity, volunteering, and even selling all her possessions, often unsure whether she is doing the right thing, making any difference, or just fooling herself.  It’s a mature bit of storytelling on Wang’s part, refusing to supply easy answers or cheap sentiment, and building to an emotional crescendo that, even though it is cribbed from the Jack Nicholson movie About Schmidt, is no less effective in its punch to the gut.

It’s a lively tale, full of antics and personality, and some lovely artwork.  Wang’s fluid style is gorgeous to behold, grounding cartoony characters in a realistic environment, which, while it is never named, appears to be San Francisco.  Watercolored browns and greens give everything an earthy tone, situating the story squarely in the real world and keeping the goofy antics from getting too bright and cheery; there’s a somber tone underlying the comedy, a sad disconnectedness that makes the not-exactly-worldshaking conflict about finding oneself some weight. 

As for those characters, they’re a marvel of design, especially Koko herself, who, with her round face, big eyes, high forehead, and wide mouth, wears a succession of exaggerated expressions that make her immediately endearing, the kind of person who has no filter for their entertainingly frank thoughts, yet is charming enough to make that obnoxiousness funny rather than mean (at least at first).  There’s a brightness and excitement to her face, but also an edge, a sense that she can turn at a moment’s notice toward spite, anger, and derision.  But, since she’s trying to change her ways and be a good person, Wang ably depicts her struggling with herself, warring against her nature and trying to act differently from the person she has trained herself to be.  It’s a complex characterization, and fascinating to watch.

The book as a whole is not quite perfect, with a subplot involving Koko’s teenage acquaintance (and sometimes accomplice) Faron never really given the space it deserves; his home life, with his activist sister, her derisive boyfriend, and his hidden love of musical theater, suggests an interesting story in itself, but it doesn’t get enough space, and it doesn’t seem to fit in with the A-plot’s theme of self-betterment.  It’s still a nice bit of writing and characterization on Wang’s part, as is Jon’s enthusiasm about his girlfriend and their upcoming adventure, which seems to be slowly and sadly crowding out the hopes and dreams he had before he met her.  Wang’s characters are full and rounded, and if anything, we want to spend more time with them than the meager moments the book gives us.

This is a hell of a debut, an excellent work by an artist who, with her first full-length story, announces herself as a major talent and a huge rising star.  This doesn’t seem like the work of a beginner; its solidity and dimensionality, in both its art and storytelling, is impressively mature.  Hopefully, Wang will have a long and fruitful career, gifting readers with characters like this, that we want to spend as much time with as possible.