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Batman by Grant Morrison Book One
One of the greatest storytellers of his generation, Grant Morrison's arrival in the world of the Dark Knight changed the character forever.
Now collecting the entirety of their legendary saga, Book One introduces Batman to his son, Damian Wayne, reunites the Club of Heroes to solve a murder, and takes the Caped Crusader from the brink of death to the edge of madness. Witness the deconstruction of a hero and the beginning of one of comics' greatest epics.
Batman by Grant Morrison Book One collects Batman #655-658, #663-675, and stories from 52 #30 and #47, from groundbreaking artists Andy Kubert, J.H. Williams III, and Tony S. Daniel.
Now collecting the entirety of their legendary saga, Book One introduces Batman to his son, Damian Wayne, reunites the Club of Heroes to solve a murder, and takes the Caped Crusader from the brink of death to the edge of madness. Witness the deconstruction of a hero and the beginning of one of comics' greatest epics.
Batman by Grant Morrison Book One collects Batman #655-658, #663-675, and stories from 52 #30 and #47, from groundbreaking artists Andy Kubert, J.H. Williams III, and Tony S. Daniel.
443 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2024
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,786 books4,623 followersGrant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 16, 2025
Strong opening with some great stories, but also kinda messy and hard to follow in places.
The main plot of this volume is the introduction of Damian - Batman's rebellious son. He's feisty and ready to claim his place as Robin, and won't let current Robin Tim Drake stand in his way. But he's still got a lot to learn!
Morrison crafts some really interesting stories, but some of them can be a little hard to follow. There's a completely, unrelated-to-anything story in the middle that was actually my favourite part, but it comes out of nowhere and disappears equally fast, bookended by Damian Drama.
Still, even with the sometimes-chaotic storylines, it was a really fun read, and I'm keen to move on to the next volume. The artwork is glorious, though sometimes story is lost to style. Some clever devices used, but some just didn't translate the story too well.
On the whole, it's a pretty strong entry into the world of Batman, so well worth the read.
The main plot of this volume is the introduction of Damian - Batman's rebellious son. He's feisty and ready to claim his place as Robin, and won't let current Robin Tim Drake stand in his way. But he's still got a lot to learn!
Morrison crafts some really interesting stories, but some of them can be a little hard to follow. There's a completely, unrelated-to-anything story in the middle that was actually my favourite part, but it comes out of nowhere and disappears equally fast, bookended by Damian Drama.
Still, even with the sometimes-chaotic storylines, it was a really fun read, and I'm keen to move on to the next volume. The artwork is glorious, though sometimes story is lost to style. Some clever devices used, but some just didn't translate the story too well.
On the whole, it's a pretty strong entry into the world of Batman, so well worth the read.
April 7, 2025
I disliked or hated most of the stories in this book. First, I don’t understand why Morrison changed it so Talia r*ped Bruce. It smells of racism, since if you read the original issue where “Damian” is born, it’s clear they love each other. Then, I was bored out of my mind with the Batman club story. Just because you, Grant Morrison, care about them doesn’t mean I do. The multiple Batman arc was solid, but even then, it took me a while to figure out what was happening, and I don’t appreciate making Batmite “grounded”. But, the story overall had a solid concept.
April 10, 2026
É um 4/5 porque não dá para dar 3,5/5
O Livro não é uma história corrente. Está dividido em historias do Grant Morrison. O problema é que algumas são boas e outras são mhe.
As primeiras duas parece que estão aqui caídas de paraquedas. Depois seguem-se 4 capítulos que formam um arco completo e que são bastante bons. A penúltima história foi agoniante de ler e a última parece-me um epílogo daquilo que foi o arco maior do Livro.
Curioso para ver o que eles enfiam nos próximos volumes.
Arte: 5/5 menos no penúltimo capítulo que é tipo um 1/5.
O Livro não é uma história corrente. Está dividido em historias do Grant Morrison. O problema é que algumas são boas e outras são mhe.
As primeiras duas parece que estão aqui caídas de paraquedas. Depois seguem-se 4 capítulos que formam um arco completo e que são bastante bons. A penúltima história foi agoniante de ler e a última parece-me um epílogo daquilo que foi o arco maior do Livro.
Curioso para ver o que eles enfiam nos próximos volumes.
Arte: 5/5 menos no penúltimo capítulo que é tipo um 1/5.
January 17, 2025
Have I been missing out this whole time? My graphic novel experience thus far has been limited to Berserk (insane), Gerard Way’s Umbrella Academy (disappointing, love him down though), and my dad’s copy of The Complete Frank Miller Batman (too long ago to recall). I picked this up at the library out of passing curiosity and name recognition (Grant Morrison plays the villain in My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days music videos), and I am so glad I did.
[Gotham is] the kind of town that whispers “baby” while it’s picking your pockets, that promises the world and delivers the gutter, or vice versa, and puts out your lights with a kiss, or a bullet, then forgets your name before dawn.”
Me from two days ago would’ve never believed this line was in a comic book with such a well-trodden IP. Morrison’s Batman has the darkness, as expected, but also surprising humor, emotional complexity, and breakneck cleverness that kept me glued to the page. The art is spooky and expertly employed, perfectly accompanying the text without overpowering it.
As instant classics Megamind and The Lego Batman Movie do so masterfully - and I’m barely kidding - the most delicious feature was the relationship between Batman and the Joker.
You can’t kill me without becoming like me. I can’t kill you without losing the only human being who can keep up with me. Isn’t it IRONIC?!
A few bloody moments later…
That’s why it could never be you,” the Joker slobbers on, incoherently. “I could never kill you…Where would the act be without my straight man?”
Are you kidding me?! The enemies-to-lovers drivel pumped out by romance publishers could only dream of this tension.
Their fated bond demonstrates Batman’s codependency with Gotham itself. Without his role as their crimefighter, who is he? When Alfred encourages him to “just be Bruce Wayne”, does he even know what that means anymore? Does he really want peace? Or is his devotion to the city rooted in the fact that it’s so beyond saving and therefore he’ll always have a purpose? As Nietzsche stated, “Under peaceful conditions, the warlike man attacks himself.”
Much like our hero, I’m left questioning my existence. Am I…a Batman fan? Eagerly seeking the next volume and flipping through the first to reread my favorite lines? I can’t say every story landed its punches, but who woulda thunk!
[Gotham is] the kind of town that whispers “baby” while it’s picking your pockets, that promises the world and delivers the gutter, or vice versa, and puts out your lights with a kiss, or a bullet, then forgets your name before dawn.”
Me from two days ago would’ve never believed this line was in a comic book with such a well-trodden IP. Morrison’s Batman has the darkness, as expected, but also surprising humor, emotional complexity, and breakneck cleverness that kept me glued to the page. The art is spooky and expertly employed, perfectly accompanying the text without overpowering it.
As instant classics Megamind and The Lego Batman Movie do so masterfully - and I’m barely kidding - the most delicious feature was the relationship between Batman and the Joker.
You can’t kill me without becoming like me. I can’t kill you without losing the only human being who can keep up with me. Isn’t it IRONIC?!
A few bloody moments later…
That’s why it could never be you,” the Joker slobbers on, incoherently. “I could never kill you…Where would the act be without my straight man?”
Are you kidding me?! The enemies-to-lovers drivel pumped out by romance publishers could only dream of this tension.
Their fated bond demonstrates Batman’s codependency with Gotham itself. Without his role as their crimefighter, who is he? When Alfred encourages him to “just be Bruce Wayne”, does he even know what that means anymore? Does he really want peace? Or is his devotion to the city rooted in the fact that it’s so beyond saving and therefore he’ll always have a purpose? As Nietzsche stated, “Under peaceful conditions, the warlike man attacks himself.”
Much like our hero, I’m left questioning my existence. Am I…a Batman fan? Eagerly seeking the next volume and flipping through the first to reread my favorite lines? I can’t say every story landed its punches, but who woulda thunk!
January 11, 2026
7.0
Keeping up with my comic books revival era, catching up with Grant's Batman.
Messy presentation, I think this omnibus would've benefitted from some reorganization to line the issues with their arcs. It doesn't help that the arcs jump in time, having them interrupt each other while collected feels even more confusing. And yes, I do know that they're in issues order but I don't care, Grant's way of writing is confusing enough as it is.
With that said, I still have some gripes with it. There are some really tiring moments here, thankfully they're stitched together with mostly excelent writing but in the end it feels a bit uneven. Sometimes the art feels too stylish for its own good, sometimes it's the writing that seems to ask too much and summed up with the fact that the following issue will probably be some other arc that is happening God Knows When in the past or in the future doesn't help.
The two Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul chapters were unnecessary and I don't even know why they were kept here (other than, obviously, completionist reasons). There's a whole book covering this event, which was written by multiple artists on multiple comics. Grant only had two issues in this, idk, ten issues crossover? It also didn't help that it interrupted Batman and Son's interruption, the Club of Heroes arc. I'm not gonna lie, I was fighting so hard not to drop these chapters and just jump straight to the latter half of the book...
And regarding the Club of Heroes: I didn't really care for its first half (the whole And Then There Were None shenanigan) but the whole Black Glove thing from 672 until 674 Grant was On Fire. That said, the book ends on 675, which was a huge bore and an awful way to end the omnibus. Still, it felt like a transition to something better so I hope I'm wrong.
With complaints out of the way, Batman and Son was stellar and, despite my complaints, I can see how these chapters and their ideas communicate with one another. I think my gripe is much more related to the presentation than the writing itself, if the book clearly defined the lines between the arcs and went: 655-665 / 667-669 / 672-675 - I would have enjoyed it a lot more because this omnibus feels thrown together with no care.
"But where is 666?" You can definitely add that one at the end of the omnibus as a separate story since its set in God-Knows-When-Future. "But where is The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul?" Were those even necessary? I don't think they added much to the story in the way they were presented. For completionist reasons, you could add it but... You would get much more from it reading the collected book.
All that said, I'm excited for the second book.
Keeping up with my comic books revival era, catching up with Grant's Batman.
Messy presentation, I think this omnibus would've benefitted from some reorganization to line the issues with their arcs. It doesn't help that the arcs jump in time, having them interrupt each other while collected feels even more confusing. And yes, I do know that they're in issues order but I don't care, Grant's way of writing is confusing enough as it is.
With that said, I still have some gripes with it. There are some really tiring moments here, thankfully they're stitched together with mostly excelent writing but in the end it feels a bit uneven. Sometimes the art feels too stylish for its own good, sometimes it's the writing that seems to ask too much and summed up with the fact that the following issue will probably be some other arc that is happening God Knows When in the past or in the future doesn't help.
The two Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul chapters were unnecessary and I don't even know why they were kept here (other than, obviously, completionist reasons). There's a whole book covering this event, which was written by multiple artists on multiple comics. Grant only had two issues in this, idk, ten issues crossover? It also didn't help that it interrupted Batman and Son's interruption, the Club of Heroes arc. I'm not gonna lie, I was fighting so hard not to drop these chapters and just jump straight to the latter half of the book...
And regarding the Club of Heroes: I didn't really care for its first half (the whole And Then There Were None shenanigan) but the whole Black Glove thing from 672 until 674 Grant was On Fire. That said, the book ends on 675, which was a huge bore and an awful way to end the omnibus. Still, it felt like a transition to something better so I hope I'm wrong.
With complaints out of the way, Batman and Son was stellar and, despite my complaints, I can see how these chapters and their ideas communicate with one another. I think my gripe is much more related to the presentation than the writing itself, if the book clearly defined the lines between the arcs and went: 655-665 / 667-669 / 672-675 - I would have enjoyed it a lot more because this omnibus feels thrown together with no care.
"But where is 666?" You can definitely add that one at the end of the omnibus as a separate story since its set in God-Knows-When-Future. "But where is The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul?" Were those even necessary? I don't think they added much to the story in the way they were presented. For completionist reasons, you could add it but... You would get much more from it reading the collected book.
All that said, I'm excited for the second book.
May 13, 2026
for all people praise grant morrison, i find his comic Ok. I do like Bruce’s character generally, and the stories were engaging enough (specifically the one about 3 cops coming back as fucked up versions of Batman. yes everyone get WEIRD!) but i mainly read it for Damians introduction since im going through his reading order, and i was unimpressed with morrison’s introduction of his own new character. its been talked to death about morrison deciding to make Tahlia rape Bruce (and this unfortunately carries into the dc movies… what the hell?) what did my girl do to deserve this, goddamn. i’m pretty sure this has been retconned now at least (when originally Tahlia and Bruce had quite a loving and most importantly consenting relationship anyway.. there was no need for this racist change). unfortunately, this fact does influence much of my problems with the comic since i was primarily there to see Damian, and it was nice to see him team up with his mom to help his Dad and Tim.
I must say having Batman shoot Joker is absolutely hilarious and then the fucker coming back with a bullet wound right in the middle or his forehead? Gold. I like his more sadistic depiction, and god is he FREAKY here.
Another note is how CORNY some of the dialogue is most notably Batman claiming in order to take down an “alpha male” you need to be an “alpha male plus”. please put him in a nursing home, its his time.
Now what in the fine fuck is “Batman of Zur-En-Arrh”. those garish colours? talking to gargoyles? oh its a personality Bruce has programmed to take over in case he’s compromised? no yeah ok no yeah.
Having Thomas Wayne, but no not Bruce’s dad just another relative who idk has a grudge or something? yeah ok yeah.
some call it peak cinema. some is not me but im happy for some people.
tldr; it was fine, i’m excited to read all-star-superman! but for a Batman omnibus it was kinda forgettable, extremely weird and whimsical in that comic book way and im kinda scared to read Batman&Robin now since he remains the writer LOL
I must say having Batman shoot Joker is absolutely hilarious and then the fucker coming back with a bullet wound right in the middle or his forehead? Gold. I like his more sadistic depiction, and god is he FREAKY here.
Another note is how CORNY some of the dialogue is most notably Batman claiming in order to take down an “alpha male” you need to be an “alpha male plus”. please put him in a nursing home, its his time.
Now what in the fine fuck is “Batman of Zur-En-Arrh”. those garish colours? talking to gargoyles? oh its a personality Bruce has programmed to take over in case he’s compromised? no yeah ok no yeah.
Having Thomas Wayne, but no not Bruce’s dad just another relative who idk has a grudge or something? yeah ok yeah.
some call it peak cinema. some is not me but im happy for some people.
tldr; it was fine, i’m excited to read all-star-superman! but for a Batman omnibus it was kinda forgettable, extremely weird and whimsical in that comic book way and im kinda scared to read Batman&Robin now since he remains the writer LOL
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2025
Another new edition of Grant Morrison's terrific but trippy Batman run. This one collects the first 2 trades, Batman and Son and The Black Glove. The first one introduces Damion Wayne to the canon, one of the best new DC characters of the 21st century. I love how he's such a little shit. He's the character you love to hate, at least here he is. He's been toned down over the years. Then there's the issues where J.H. Williams draws. I love the Club of Heroes and how it's kind of like an Agatha Christie mystery. There's just so much fun to be had in this era of Batman.
April 14, 2025
2.5 stars. I am literally only reading this for Damian. Occasionally there would be a page where the art and paneling was REALLY cool, but the way it writes women (mostly Talia) is weird and flatly and boringly evil. This collection in particular hopped around a lot in a way I found incredibly frustrating. I thought this was an editorial decision on placing issues weirdly but looking again no, it seems like they're in order and the story just takes some side detours? I also wish the full Ra's event was here instead of just the first and last issue :/
October 6, 2024
It's a while since I read these stories, which I bought as single issues. I enjoy them more now than I did at the time, perhaps because Damian Wayne has developed into a more interesting character since his introduction, perhaps because without a gap between issues I'm following the stories better. He's no Paul Dini, who I gave five stars last month, but Morrison's Batman is recognizably and enjoyably Batman, which is more than many Batman writers accomplish.
June 13, 2025
Holy PEAK! Grant Morrison might be the best Batman writer of all time in my opinion and this book only pushed me more towards that thinking. Morrison proves the range of Batman stories he can tell in this collected edition. He’s incredible at writing the characters around Batman too (Robin, Damian Wayne). The Black Glove story was SOOOOOOO good, felt like a movie, and layered in some comedic moments that allowed the story to not take itself too seriously.
December 26, 2025
This included fun stories. It was interesting seeing Damian’s origin and introduction to Batman. I also enjoyed the Black Glove story, it was like putting Batman in an Agatha Christie novel but with superheroes. There was also the story of the three Batman impersonators who are villains and were created to replace Batman which was a fun story too. However, The story with Ra’s Al Ghul for example was largely told through narration like a catch-up and the stories seem to be a bit jumbled and potentially some parts are missed out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2026
Morrison’s obviously a great writer but there’s a lot of stuff in this run I just didn’t really click with.
For example, Damian is introduced and then very quickly disappears so they can shift focus to setting up Batman Inc. in a very strange way. I’m also not the biggest League of Assassins guy, so the whole subplot about the power struggle between Ra’s and the Sensei was not doing it for me. Good comics overall, but not really my thing.
For example, Damian is introduced and then very quickly disappears so they can shift focus to setting up Batman Inc. in a very strange way. I’m also not the biggest League of Assassins guy, so the whole subplot about the power struggle between Ra’s and the Sensei was not doing it for me. Good comics overall, but not really my thing.
November 1, 2025
You trained for decades? I’VE HAD CENTURIES
December 24, 2025
it's over it's oveeeeer THANK GOD IT'S OVER
January 11, 2026
Overrated
February 2, 2026
3.5 stars
March 1, 2026
best part of all of this was damian wayne. sorry but i love him. all the other stuff was like kind of meh. jezebel jet was cool too tho… but mostly damian was great. whatever to everything else
April 22, 2026
One of the best Batman books ever.
May 15, 2026
3.5 stars
"Father, I imagined you taller."
Grant Morrison's Batman run starts with a bang (technically it's a "blam", if you're a stickler for accuracy), and the first arc introduces Damien Wayne. This was actually my favourite part of this collection, and it has the perfect blend of action, humour and twists. The Three Ghosts of Batman was good as well, but I wish it was written continuously instead of being spread out so much in this volume. I didn't really care much for The murder mystery was kind of boring to me, since I predicted from the start who did it. I was kind of hoping to know more about the Black Glove, but I guess this will come in a later volume. Overall, it was a good read for me, but I'll table Morrison's run for now and revisit it later, since I had some issues with the writing style. The art is very good, with a lot of memorable panels throughout the book.
What I liked:
- Damian's personality shines through, and although he's kind of a brat, the reader understand him and sympathize.
- The fight in the comic book gallery is a masterpiece of blending story and art.
- Bruce's playboy antics, and his dynamic with Jezebel Jet.
- The issue with Damian as a future Batman, I wish that plot would be continued somewhere else.
- The art throughout.
- I liked the Ra's al Ghul crossover enough to try to read the whole story.
- Batman's interactions with Alfred.
What I didn't like:
- the way Morrison jumps from one plotline to another without finishing the arc. We don't know what happened to Damian after the first arc ends, but instead we continue with the three ghosts story; but after meeting the second ghost, we get a story about a possible future, and then the Black Glove murder mystery; and then a crossover with R'as al Ghul; and then back to the three ghosts; and then the Ten-Eyed Man?
- The Clown at Midnight is tedious to read, not because it's prose, but because for some reason Morrison insists on being overly descriptive.
- The murder-mystery storyline had too many characters I didn't care about at all, I didn't feel Morrison made any effort to make any of them endearing.
"Father, I imagined you taller."
Grant Morrison's Batman run starts with a bang (technically it's a "blam", if you're a stickler for accuracy), and the first arc introduces Damien Wayne. This was actually my favourite part of this collection, and it has the perfect blend of action, humour and twists. The Three Ghosts of Batman was good as well, but I wish it was written continuously instead of being spread out so much in this volume. I didn't really care much for The murder mystery was kind of boring to me, since I predicted from the start who did it. I was kind of hoping to know more about the Black Glove, but I guess this will come in a later volume. Overall, it was a good read for me, but I'll table Morrison's run for now and revisit it later, since I had some issues with the writing style. The art is very good, with a lot of memorable panels throughout the book.
What I liked:
- Damian's personality shines through, and although he's kind of a brat, the reader understand him and sympathize.
- The fight in the comic book gallery is a masterpiece of blending story and art.
- Bruce's playboy antics, and his dynamic with Jezebel Jet.
- The issue with Damian as a future Batman, I wish that plot would be continued somewhere else.
- The art throughout.
- I liked the Ra's al Ghul crossover enough to try to read the whole story.
- Batman's interactions with Alfred.
What I didn't like:
- the way Morrison jumps from one plotline to another without finishing the arc. We don't know what happened to Damian after the first arc ends, but instead we continue with the three ghosts story; but after meeting the second ghost, we get a story about a possible future, and then the Black Glove murder mystery; and then a crossover with R'as al Ghul; and then back to the three ghosts; and then the Ten-Eyed Man?
- The Clown at Midnight is tedious to read, not because it's prose, but because for some reason Morrison insists on being overly descriptive.
- The murder-mystery storyline had too many characters I didn't care about at all, I didn't feel Morrison made any effort to make any of them endearing.
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