Customer Reviews

Batman: The Black Casebook

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I hated Grant Morrison's Final Crisis. So why am I mentioning that in a review of Batman's Black Casebook? Because the one thing Morrison did right in Final Crisis was base it on Jack Kirby's Fourth World and the more you know about Kirby's works the more you know that Morrison did his homework. One thing that really caught my attention was the amount of material Morrison culled from The Forever People, a very short lived series from the early 70's that few comic fans have ever read or possibly even heard of. Unfortunately the plot of Final Crisis was an incoherent mess. By contrast I loved Batman R.I.P. including the Black Glove. I had this suspicion that Morrison was using old Batman stories to develop the tale in particular the Batmen of all Nations but I also had this feeling that the Doctor Hurt/isolation chamber story and the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh were drawn from somewhere. The Black Casebook contains all these stories that inspired Grant Morrison in the Black Glove/R.I.P. storyline.

It's clear that Grant Morrison is more that just a comic writer; he is a student of the genre with a real passion for its rich history. He reminds me a bit of Roy Thomas although Thomas was even more of ravenous devourer of arcane comic book. The stories vary in how much they can be considered inspirational. The characters of Wingman and Man-Of-Bats each have a story in the casebook but they just sort of get thrown into the Batmen of all Nations. Two of the stories Morrison even admits to having never read and they only got included because he thought the covers looked trippy. On the other side of the coin the story with Dr. Hurt (who, in the original story is never referred to by name) and the one with Batman of Zur-En-Arrh were clearly huge influences.

All of the stories are from the 1950's and early 1960's, a very lighthearted era for DC Comics when just about anything could happen. Morrison mentions that this era is despised by Batman fans for putting the character into such ridiculous situations but I find the stories quite enjoyable particularly since the writers were given so much leeway to flex their creativity. What Morrison did with R.I.P. was to integrate the most absurd stories of the 1950's into Batman's established canon. He did this by referencing a rather obscure villain named Doctor Milo who waged a brief psychological attack on Batman. Morrison's logic is that the more esoteric Batman stories were lingering after effects of some of the hallucinatory assaults Batman had endured. I find that to be a very cool way of tying these classic stories in with the modern dark and serious stories.

If these stories were not tied into Morrison's R.I.P. storyline I would still enjoy them because they are just a load of fun. I doubt we will ever see these kinds of inventive, wild tales unbound by rules of continuity and let me add that Sheldon Moldoff's artwork is brilliant. Morrison may consider the 1950's to be a reviled era but not in my book and with just a little creativity he managed to pull these stories back into the Batman history. This doesn't make up for the train wreck called Final Crisis but I really appreciate the effort. It may be overly generous but I'm giving this one a perfect score because I really enjoyed it tremendously.

"Batman: The Black Casebook" is a collection of Batman tales that inspired and served as a foundation for writer Grant Morrison's controversial "R.I.P." epic. Derived from apparently the most reviled era in Batman history, the 1950s to early 1960s, these stories nonetheless are charmers that will appeal to young fans of Cartoon Network's "Batman: Brave & the Bold."

Discerning adults will also find some treasures here, particularly the oft-reprinted (and understandably so) "Robin Dies at Dawn," in which Batman faces his greatest fear, and "Am I Really Batman?" in which the Caped Crusader awakens in an asylum and questions his sanity. I wish DC would dip more into this well for such treats. Most of all, "Batman: The Black Casebook" is another chance to appreciate the genius of writer Bill Finger, who penned most of these tales and whose imagination seemed limitless.

This is a beautiful book. Several stories were more complex than I expected and the majority are good stories.
This softcover has more or less the same type of paper like the original comics of those years. It's a good point cause the creators worked with that paper in mind. Probably put those images in the current paper could see a bit strange and very different with the brilliant colors.
There is an introduction by Morrison and it helps to understand its role to create Batman RIP:
-Covers that drew the attention of Morrison, he says that didn't read it. They are just two, one of them, "The Batman Creature!", is really good (But those covers aren't in the book!!!).
-Ideas or characters that drew the attention of Morrison. For example the first one, "A partner for Batman" introduce a Wingman. Also these are just a few, stories perhaps not very important itself but with details that after Morrison use.
-Stories importants to build RIP. Fortunately they are more and have a great dose of creativity. They tells about the confidence, the cordure, the mind attack, and other features that someone can see en Batman RIP.

The bad: the lack of the original covers.

I wasn't a big fan of Grant Morison's run on Batman, specifically Batman R.I.P.. Morrison has always been an esoteric writer, one who blends obscure comic mythology with pop neo-magik and psychology. Sometimes this works amazing with a character, like his run on Animal Man and All Star Superman. But with Batman I thought he had finally lost the plot. He didn't seem to understand the core of the character, the things that make Batman fundamentally what he is.

With "Batman: The Black Casebook" I discovered that Morrison knows perfectly well who Batman is. It is just a different Batman than I am used to.

Over his multiple-decade history, Batman has been many things. A grim avenger of the night. A standard-issue smiling and joking superhero. And for awhile, he was a surrealistic, psychologically troubled individual whose life was filled with fantastic sci-fi beasts and who more than once wound up in the loony bin with his psyche shaken to the core. Comic readers/writers are mostly ashamed of this Batman and try to hide him away and pretend he never existed, but Morrison drug the deranged, colorful Batman from the cellar and pushed him into the light for everyone to see.

So what is "Batman: The Black Casebook?" It contains all of those stories that Morrison mined for "Batman: R.I.P.." It is the hidden history of Batman at his most bizarre. I knew about some of the sillier aspects of Batman's history, like the Batmen of Many Nations and the Club of Superheroes, the Bat-Mite, and Chief Man-of-Bats. But I had no idea that the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh was an established character, complete with his red, yellow and purple Batsuit. And I had no idea that Batman suffered numerous psychological attacks from a man called Dr. Milo, who planted suggestions in the corners of Batman's subconscious causing him to doubt his own identity and transforming Batman into a raving lunatic.

On their own, the stories in "Batman: The Black Casebook" are a fun reminder of a time when the Batman comic was a wild ride where anything could happen. Some of the stories are good, some are not so good. However, as a supplement to Morrison's run on Batman "Batman: The Black Casebook" is essential. Read this, then go back and read "Batman R.I.P.." It is like reading a different series.

The collection made a mistake by not including the covers to the stories collected. I know that, due to the anthology nature of comics at the time, to story may not have been connected to the cover, but Morrison points out that he was inspired by the covers of a couple of these stories, without even having read the interior, so it is a shame that DC didn't allow us the opportunity to see what Morrison was talking about.

This still isn't the Batman I love the most. I prefer a more reality-grounded Batman with an indomitable will and drive to a surrealistic superhero battling Rainbow Beasts. But it is a valid part of Batman's history, and I have to give Morrison credit for championing an era most people tried to pretend never existed.

This too, is Batman.

I have the ultimate Batman RIP run read guide:

Batman and Son
Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul
The Black Casebook
The Black Glove
Heart of Hush (not so much)
Batman RIP

On course the series is far from over and continue in "Battle for the Cowl" and "Batman Reborn", "Batman VS Robin" and keeps going.

Regarding the Black Casebook, I can say I enjoy it. These are a bunch of silly Batman stories that are giving relevance for a modern tale. Is pretty clever if you ask me. Pages are not recolored, but the paper they use plus the modern inking makes the drawing looks fresh, old school though.

Is not awesome, but is a light fun read, and it'll give you a better perspective for The Black Glove and RIP.