"I HATE GRANT MORRISON!"
Those were the words I actually spoke to a friend recently over dinner while we were discussing our love of comics and our favorite artists, writers, etc. Recently, Grant Morrison's run on Batman and Final Crisis has attracted much attention from comic book fans world wide. During the New York Comic Con, one of the lines I frequently heard spoken throughout the convention floor was, "So, Grant Morrison - do you love him or hate him?" You can probably infer from my above statement how I answered that question.
However, hindsight is indeed 20/20. When I spoke those words, I was looking at Morrison's work through the lens of single issues. I have been reading his entire run on Batman and Final Crisis in single issues, often waiting more than one month between books. What those periods of waiting taught me is that Morrison's writing style is very difficult to follow in that way. He makes so many subtle comments and intricate connections that are lost in the weeks between issues. Honestly, I was lost during much of his run on these books, especially "Batman R.I.P." That is, until last week...
For Christmas I received a copy of "Batman: The Black Glove," and I recently acquired a copy of the "Batman: R.I.P" hardcover. So, in order to better understand what has happened in the life of my favorite character, I began reading through these two collected volumes (I hope to also get a copy of "Batman and Son" very soon). By reading through the storylines in one sitting, rather than waiting long periods of time for a resolution, I was able to make connections between events and notice the intricate interactions between Morrison's characters that I had previously missed. For example, the phrase, "Zur-En-Arrh" and the Club of Villains appeared in Morrison's run several issues before the start of the R.I.P. story arc. However, I had simply missed these details over the course of the months it took for these storylines to be completed. Furthermore, since DC included the "Last Rites" storyline in the "R.I.P. Deluxe Edition" I was able to follow the story completely through to Final Crisis #6 where Batman confronts Darkseid. Finally, I felt that I was able to read Grant Morrison's writing and understand what is happening to the characters involved.
I write all this to say that by reading these two collected volumes, my opinion of Grant Morrison has shifted. Yes, I have converted from hating his work to actually liking it (I cannot say "love" until I have read Final Crisis and all the tie-ins in one sitting). Nevertheless, to those of you who were just like me and are weary of ever reading anything by Grant Morrison again, I highly recommend for you to purchase these trades and read them. Hopefully you won't be disappointed; I know that I'm not.
