So here we go. The reason I have not written anything since my first review way back when is because of my utter frustration with DC comics. Until about six months ago I had not read a comic in awhile. In fact it had been a long while and that is why I chose to cover for my first review an old personal favorite, Batman: Year One. When I decided that I wanted to re-visit my passion for comics I headed to the comic book store and  the first comics that caught my eye was from the Batman R.I.P. series, Batman Detective Comics #846. I was stoked.  My re-entry into the comic book world was at a pivotal point for the DC universe, the death of Batman! I realized that it was obviously a series, I mean you can’t kill Batman in just one issue, but at the time I didn’t realize the extent of the series. DC had decided to crossover titles covering Batman, Batman Detective Comics, Robin, Nightwing, and Batman and the Outsiders. I thought it was a great idea. I mean the death of Batman is going to affect everyone so why not cover it over a plethora of titles. Boy was I wrong.

Spoilers and more after the break.

In the Heart of Hush part 2 of 5 on the ninth panel Hush has a gun to the back of Batman’s head and pulls the trigger sending blood splattering against the wall in front of him. I thought damn, Batman is really fucking dead! The comic then flashes to the back story of Thomas Elliot a.k.a. Hush and his relationship with Bruce Wayne. This is what lead me to believe that the rest of the series was a flashback, because in the same comic, only pages later, Batman is alive and kicking. It wasn’t until the final issue #850 that they return to Batman lying on an examining table where all of the sudden he gets up and fires his grappling hook escaping out of the skylight!? I mean wait a minute; didn’t he just get shot in the back of the head? Apparently that wasn’t a big deal and Batman is now truly a “super hero” (for all those out there that argue that he’s not) and can take a bullet to the dome. I even backtracked a couple times trying to figure this one out.

So I accepted the fact that Batman didn’t die from a bullet to the head and thought for awhile that maybe they’ll explain everything in the crossovers. Nope. The story of Hush and the bullet to the head was never addressed again. Each of the other titles were simply other stories about the title character(s). Some of them didn’t even address the fact that they were supposed to be leading up to the death of Batman. They just mention something like… hmm, wonder where Batman is? Now am royally pissed.

The crossover I read was Batman. Now here I thought this was the title that’s going to explain it all. This is where I thought I would learn what actually had happened to Batman that all of the rest of the characters in the other titles were wondering well. Kind of. It didn’t address anything about Hush, but it did conclude the question where is Batman? Apparently he was investigating a group known as the Black Glove who was trying to kill him when he blacked out and woke up in an alley with amnesia. He mutters, “Zur-en-arrh,” and suddenly pulls a purple, pink, and yellow bat-suit out of nowhere as the Bat-mite (which is another story) appears hovering behind him. It  just gets more ridiculous from there.  I care not to elaborate on it due to the vomit that enters the back of my mouth every time I think about it.

I guess really I’m just pissed off that DC drug me through 20 comic books just to see Batman die in a helicopter crash, which wasn’t confirmed but implied. I would’ve been much more satisfied if they would’ve finished him the same way he started, with a bullet. So here’s to you DC, cheers.