The Comic You Need to Read This Week: "Batman Incorporated" #1

Grant Morrison is, of course, a beloved writer, but even beloved writers have their off-days.

Not this issue. It’s both classic Morrison, and a great Batman comic.

Most of the story is told from the perspective of Goatboy, a killer-for-hire who’s surprisingly formidable and yet surprisingly down to Earth. He gets his name from a Bill Hicks routine, something he acknowledges. He’s got no superpowers, just a son he wants to keep out of foster care, decent aim, and a pretty good knowledge of Gotham.

Just don’t eat before reading this issue; there’s a lengthy fight in a slaughterhouse that isn’t shy about showing what a slaughterhouse is actually like, and a truly disgusting scene introducing the main villain of this arc. Morrison makes it just over the top enough to not be disturbing (the introduction of “Batcow” is hysterical), but it’s still a little surprising DC gave Morrison that much leeway.

In short, it’s a great launch, and Goatboy is a great new character. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

image courtesy DC