Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Paperback – January 10, 2012

You didn't think Bruce Wayne was really dead did you? With Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, superstar writer Grant Morrison picks up where not only Final Crisis left off, but where his run on the main Batman title left off as well. The last time we saw Bruce, he was hit with Darkseid's Omega Sanction and presumed dead, only to be seen in a cave doodling familiar superhero logos at the end of Final Crisis. As this six-issue mini-series picks up, we find a confused and amnesiac Bruce traveling throughout different eras in time: from the dawn of man, to Puritan times, to running afoul of pirates at sea, to the old west, to the noir-ish times of Gotham City, and even beyond. What Bruce doesn't know is that if he returns to his rightful place in time, it could be the end of everything, and Superman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Booster Gold, and Rip Hunter are in hot pursuit to find and save Bruce, and the universe itself. Playing around with Batman mythology, Morrison weaves so much in and out of current and past continuity that it's hard to keep track of everything going on, especially if you haven't been paying attention to any mainstream DC superhero stuff within the past two years or so. Despite that though, The Return of Bruce Wayne is a rousing and incredibly entertaining ride that even features cameos from DC icons like Vandal Savage and Jonah Hex, and even picks up enough loose threads from Batman R.I.P. to bring things nearly full circle. While Morrison appears to have more up his sleeve, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne is an absolute smash, and a wonderful reminder that like Batman himself, when Morrison is on his game, he's the best in the business.

So what is this book? It is basically the aftermath of an event that took place in a limited series (Final Crisis) that was foreshadowed in previous batman books, that were the conclusion of a saga that was written back in the 70's. Confusing? Yeah- kinda. Although it really isn't as bad as it sounds. This book is one of two conclusion books to Grant Morrison's current Batman epic (the other being "Batman and Robin vol. 3" coming out in May), but it easily stands on its own. As far as art is concerned, there are many different artists, and while in most comics it may be a little jarring, it makes sense in this particular instance, and contributes to the story. The story is told in a brisk and enjoyable manner. Now, here's the thing: as said before, this is the cumulation of an ENTIRE run on the batman books, as well as a follow up from Final Crisis. For Final Crisis, I found that those who praised it did the extra back-reading, while those who just read it without knowing history of the current DC universe didn't like it. Now this book is much more accessible than Final Crisis, but to get the whole story, one should read "Batman: R.I.P" and "Final Crisis". Once again, you will be able to enjoy this story without the extra reading, but this book really is a part of a larger epic. So, in conclusion: this book is for: Grant Morrison fans, Batman fans, people who like good art, and people who don't mind digging into a little extra thought in order to get the most out of the story. WHo is it not for: People looking for a brisk read, people who believe that Batman should be 'down to Earth' and not really have supernatural adventure. For me though, I loved this book, found the story to be very engaging, and can't wait to see what the next chapter is for the Dark Knight.

You would think that comic book characters are immortal, right? You know, the live-forever-facing-death-but-living kind of guys? Well, for some reason in this new switch with comics it seems that the publishers and writers alike have decided to 'up the anty' and generate higher interest by, I don't know (makes gesture with hands: quote on quote) 'killing' our beloved comic icons. Batman being paramount amongst these, at least for me.. while talking about the DC universe. The Marvel universe is different, but I won't get into that. The point is that they 'killed' Batman and now have to roll out the red carpet for his big return and to be quite honest I readily anticipated this graphic novel, ordering it months in advance. Now, I don't normally follow the Batman line like a Catholic priest would his bible (you get the picture), but I read a few every now and then if they pass my test.1st: Is the artwork good? Does it appeal to me? Does it pop out from the rest?2nd: Is there a good storyline? Is it a critical point in the character's life or simply and interesting read?3rd: Have any well-known writers, artists, etc. worked on this?Now the third test is a toss-up and usually doesn't matter as long as 1 and 2 score well. If this book was rated 10 out of 10 I would give it an 8. It was an amazing read, very interesting, but the way that they begin is just very confusing. Now I thought that this was supposed to be the big book with all the answers in it, but alas, I am mistaken. It is one of multiple novels concerning the topic albeit this one does contain the majority of juicy information.The beginning starts off in Bruce Wayne's thoughts of the 'after-life' after which he is promptly thrown back in time to a prehistoric era. The jist is that he must survive through different eras in time, all the while skipping hundreds, even thousands of years. For those of you who don't know, Batman was tossed into a hole in time when he killed Darkseid... Anyways, back to the topic at hand. So, he goes back through time, of course fighting for survival along the way, and finally lands back in the present infected by these robots that I thought were supposed to be helping him? And that is where I am generally confused. The rest of the book was great, would be 5 stars, but that last bit about the aliens, erasing his memory, and his friends fighting the host's 'infection' to get him to the present was just so mind-boggling that is was confusing. After reading it 10 times it still doesn't make sense.Still, a great read and very worthy of the great Amazon price.Yours Truly,John Jones

Snapped my humerus in half and needed surgery. I didn't want to watch TV the whole time so I decided to catch up on some reading. I live in the middle of no where and there isn't a comic shop anywhere. I was a comic addict before I got married. I guess this means I fell off the wagon. Oh well. Funny and great story. The book arrived quickly and in great condition. It helped while I was on the mend.