Batman by Andrei Bressan
“Another Batman book?” — an annoyed Facebook friend
I love Batman. He’s a fascinating hero who is ripe for psychoanalysis and, thanks to many talented creative teams and the loving care of his corporate keepers, has had some of the best stories in comics history. I’m also a Grant Morrison fan, so I’ve already added the relaunched Batman, Inc., which returns to the lineup in May, to my pull list.
But seriously, how much Batman does the world need? He’s already the star of several ongoing comics, and this year we’ll see Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Batman: Earth One graphic novel. Don’t forget the Batman: Noel hardcover that dropped before the holidays, and we’re not even counting his appearances in other Bat-related titles or his role in Justice League. DC/Warner Bros. released the animated version of Batman: Year One late last year, and the main event is this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.
That’s … a lot.
I get it. A handsome billionaire crime-fighter who a) is a genius, b) makes bad guys wet themselves and c) sleeps with beautiful, dangerous women is the stuff fan fantasies are made of. I’m also aware that, with the film coming out, it makes sense for DC to put out even more Bat-product. It’s not like Superman and Green Lantern have exactly been relegated to the dustbin, though I really wish DC would devote half as much attention to other worthy characters. Perhaps Marvel fans feel the same way about, say, Wolverine and Spider-Man.
This isn’t a complaint so much as a question: Is it time to pull back from the Batcave?
Intriguing post, Erika. I enjoy a good Batman story, but given the breadth of the DC Universe, I’d like to see fewer resources devoted to Bruce Wayne and chums. I’d stick with Batman, Detective, the Johnny DC Brave & Bold and a couple of new titles, Batwomen (rotating and sometimes teaming Babs, Kate, Steph and Cassandra) and Robins (ditto for Dick, Tim and Damian).
I’m a fan of Batman also but I don’t read any of the titles. The fact that there are too many titles is probably the reason why I don’t read any of them.
Because of the success of the movies, I think we can blame that on the reason there are so many titles.
Batman and Logan are great characters, but the suits have slightly different goals than the artists and writers. A popular character who’s titles are pulling in big numbers can only pull in bigger numbers if there’s more of him or her to go around. The down side is saturating the market. Eventually people will get sick of the character and stop buying. The upside is it brings in more revenue to support the well-written but not as popular titles.
I definitely see the financial incentive for DC to blanket shelves with books starring such a popular character. But man, there sure is a whoooooole lot of Batman out there lately. I told my LCS owner that I could probably drop all my other comics and only pull Bat-titles, and I’d still have a book to buy every week.
How convenient that it works out to one title a week now. It’s practically a guaranteed seller for every publishing week each month. You’ve got to watch those sales guys.
One of the current Batman books is so bad it has dropped off of my personal reading list (and I read ‘em for free!), and yet it still sells better than 70% of Marvel’s titles in my store. People just love a comic about a man dressed as a bat, I guess.
Good Lord, have I had a morphic field moment?
A Robin Comic?
Oh shoot, apologies for the ugly link, Erika.
In light of this post, I feel guilty for being excited about a possible Robin comic. And no apology necessary! :-)
No worries. I made it pretty.