Batman's Back

Today I finally caught up on Batman. Well, Grant Morrison's Batman anyway. And by caught up I mean only on recent developments; I still haven't read most of his run. For today, though, I'm going to set aside all those comics, as well as the final issue of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne and Batman: The Return. Why? I'd rather talk about the awesome Batman Inc. #1, "Mr. Unknown Is Dead."

The premise behind the new book is that Bruce Wayne has decided to take his war on crime global. He's leaving Gotham City in the hands of Dick Grayson and Bruce's son, Damian, who will continue as Batman and Robin (as will that title). Bruce has picked up the mantle of Batman back up as well and this issue has him traveling to Japan with Catwoman after a little B&E at Dr. Sivana's lab.

Japan is the home of Mr. Unknown, about whom I know nothing - brand-new character or has he been seen before? No matter, as the title of the issue suggests he is no longer among the living, having been killed by Lord Death Man, who has a skull for a head and dresses in a long black robe. Mr. Unknown's sidekick (?) survives and confronts him at the end of the issue. Meanwhile, Bruce and Selina chill out by working out and bantering sexily before getting involved with the goings-on at the end of the book.

So, we have new mysteries and new directions. The book is a ton of fun and is helped tremendously by the art team of Yanick Paquette and Michel Lacombe. The visuals of Lord Death Man and his henchmen are creepily cool and his Catwoman is as curvy as you would want her to be.

This is a great starting point for anyone interested and I can't wait to see where the book goes from here.