Morrison is at it again with Batman and Robin
We missed the news, but apparently, last week it was revealed that the new Batman is Dick Grayson (finally) and the new Robin is Batman’s strange illegitimate kid, Damian. (With a name like that, only trouble can ensue.) What could follow that up? Why, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on BATMAN AND ROBIN, of course. Morrison talks at length about the series in a new IGN interview, and to the surprise of no one, it sounds like this new series will be something worth going to the shop for every month:
IGN Comics: It sounds like that goes back to what you were trying to do with Final Crisis, where you cut out all the quieter moments and just got down to “the drums and the bass”, as you called it – the meat of the story.
Morrison: Yeah. I went to see Crank: High Voltage when we were in Los Angeles. I had just watched that, and I thought everything else just looks like slow motion, really. I wanted to get that effect into the comics as well. To me that was just a great action film, and every action film after is going to have to try and move at that speed. I really wanted to get that into Batman and Robin. Again, the stories are really easy. There aren’t big multi-layered Gnostic parables this time around. Like I said, it’s like a really bad trip cartoon.
Many more entertaining sound bites in the link.
05/28/09 at 10:03 am
I’ve always thought of Grant Morrison as sort of the anti-Neil Gaiman - all big, bold ideas without any of the skill to execute them. (It’s my opinion Gaiman basically uses the same ideas over and over but executes them with perfect skill.) Reading that quote above, it just makes me wonder what Morrison is thinking. Without the quieter moments and some sort of nod to backstory, all you end up with is a bunch of meaningless scenes stringed together. It’s sort of like when someone acts as if every task is the #1 most important task to work on - what results is nothing is important because nothing stands out as special from anything else.
I just do not understand the man’s appeal. He’s Michael Bay without any of the fun, guilty stuff.
05/28/09 at 10:23 am
Man-Bat Ninjas aren’t “fun, guilty stuff?”
05/28/09 at 12:17 pm
I don’t want this to devolve into a “He’s great!” “No he’s not!” debate, but let me put a few thoughts out in Morrison’s favour.
He specifically talks about Crank, and I’m not sure if you’ve seen it but it’s as close to a comic as an action movie can get –it’s ALL CAPS action, and it’s fun as hell. It doesn’t aspire to any of the flat “emotion” that gets tacked on to most movies (and comics).
Morrison’s described his style as going from A-to-D. I personally find it exhilarating, through style alone. It requires the reader to pay close attention to details while also shrugging off any parts where we lose track –the story is simply moving too fast to catch up! At least, that’s the impression you get. It also gives the reader an imaginary backstory where you literally have to fill in the blanks (parts B and C).
Michael Bay is the opposite. Everything is spelled out in painful, brutal detail. His characters are underdeveloped and the action, while frantic, is often impossible to follow because it’s so artlessly done.
I like Neil Gaiman, but I’d argue that action and kinetic storytelling are not his strengths –they’re nowhere to be found, in fact. And I’d debate your comment that Morrison lacks skill. Did you seriously find All Star Superman or WE3 poorly executed?
05/28/09 at 1:22 pm
@ Nate: Stop thinking. It apparently isn’t working out for you.
05/28/09 at 2:31 pm
@gene: Only for babymen.
@red: Bite me.
05/28/09 at 2:38 pm
@red: I’m sorry, that was immature. Here’s the more mature version - let me know how those average monthly sales of 80,000 will work out. Let me know if anyone gives a flying f— about what the comics version of Batman is up to or what his new secret identity is. And let me know if Morrison ever appeals to 1/1000th of the audience either Gaiman or Bay appeal to. In short, let me know if any work Morrison ever does has any cultural or literary significance ever outside of the tiny, dying pool of babymen he keeps selling himself as a writing god to.
05/28/09 at 3:57 pm
@Nate: That’s the more mature version? I don’t care how sales of anything work out. I don’t care whether Morrison will ever appeal to anyone else besides me. I don’t care if the books/movies/plays/painting/games/music/whatever, that appeal to me, appeal to anyone else. I don’t define myself through other people’s approval for the things that I enjoy. I don’t care. Stop being so precious. Grow up.
05/28/09 at 4:18 pm
Here’s a sample of in-depth commentary on Grant Morrison, from Douglas Wolk, and here’s Grant Morrison on magic.
SRS
05/28/09 at 4:32 pm
And here’s a spirited interview of Morrison.
SRS
05/28/09 at 6:32 pm
Let’s not assume this will be a monthly. Neither creator has a good recent history of getting their work out that quickly. It will be a good story, but it won’t be out every 4 weeks.
05/28/09 at 6:33 pm
I’ve always thought Morrison was a narcissistic pseud. Nothing quoted or linked here has changed my mind.
05/28/09 at 7:09 pm
When did they start drawing Robin’s head as round as a basketball? No one really has a head like that, unless they are 400lbs!
05/28/09 at 7:28 pm
@Nate Thank goodness its a comic book, a work of sensational fiction meant for an audience who enjoys the odd, amazing and absurd, or else that would be a bad thing.
Also, his head *is* in proportion…
05/28/09 at 8:26 pm
Nate Horn: does The Matrix count?
05/28/09 at 9:30 pm
I doubt “baby men” would have much use for Animal Man or Doom Patrol or the Invisibles or Sebestian O. Academics do, though.
05/29/09 at 9:56 am
Nate, it’s always great to see people celebrate originality and maturity by calling their opponents “babymen.” Thanks for that special and unique, never-to-be-repeated experience.
Mark: Well, someone must have bought the first 3 on your list or they wouldn’t have survived to be collected into tpb’s. Are there enough “academics” buying comics to make those numbers?
05/30/09 at 2:18 pm
Ok, now I’m confused. I usually fall squarely into the definition of the “babymen” but I hate Grant Morrison.