Oh Yeah – Yet Another Batman 681 Post

Oh Yeah – Yet Another Batman 681 Post

Dec 04

Here’s the truth: There’s no way this issue could have been anything BUT slightly disappointing.

Morrison’s run on Batman has been one of the great modern sequential stories in comics, where the writer is using the monthly installment format to tease readers with clues and tidbits about where everything is going. It’s been a great ride; I’ve been buying my comics online for more than a year now, and last Wednesday was the first time since then that I felt compelled to walk into a comic book store to buy a single floppy just because I NEEDED to finish the story. (They didn’t have the issue–didn’t have ANY of last Wednesday’s new comics–so I downloaded it. Which is a tangent all its own.)

When a story does this to an audience–when mysteries are established, secrets are promised to be revealed, and Nothing Will Ever Be The Same Again (allegedly)–the anticipation and conversation are a significant part of the fun. It was always a kick to read lengthy blog posts speculating about the climax of RIP and the identity of the Black Glove, just as it’s always fun to read speculation about the final Cylon, or the nature of the island on Lost. It’s about a journey as much as it’s about a destination.

So Morrison wraps up RIP, a major journey for readers who have dived in with both feet to discuss the details of the story on message boards and blogs, and in comic book stores and conventions across the country and around the world, and people seem to have one of two reactions:

1) The ending wasn’t satisfying, thus the run has been horseshit; or
2) The ending was pretty good, and the entire run has been good times

Ultimately, that says more about the reader than the product, I think. In the case of these long sequential stories with big questions inviting big speculation, we are meant to consider the questions and speculation as part of the appeal. Lost is a landmark in this particular space, as it really perfected the art of the long tease–mysteries consistently revealed, answers parceled out sporadically to give a minor sense of satisfaction/closure, some answers spinning out into their own new questions–an ever expanding tapestry of curiosity and fulfillment, carefully alternated so as to bring the viewer along with just enough certainty and uncertainty in equal measure to make them want to see how it all ends up.

(Lost wasn’t always good at that, of course, but I think they’ve finally gotten their rhythm down.)

Geeks are famous for getting all whipped up into a lather by speculating and discussing stories, and this is especially true in the internet age. These days, it’s not just enough that a reader can sit in privacy and mentally wonder about the identity of the Black Glove–the opportunity exists to discuss the Black Glove as essentially a part-time job, between message boards and blogs across the internet. If you want to dive in until your nostrils float barely above the surface, you sure can…just know what you’re getting into, which is the journey, and that the destination will then almost certainly disappoint.

Personally, I love taking the journey, and wondering and thinking, and reading and writing about this shit. Yeah, Morrison didn’t give us some kind of definitive conclusion to his large story. I’m guessing he never will. What he will provide is just enough of a resolution to satisfy a bit…and then a whole new raft of unanswered and newly-asked questions, to keep the engine of speculation churning. That’s the whole point.