A lot of hype surrounded the RIP story line before it was even released. Was this truly the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman? Who is the Black Glove? And the like. Yes, expectations were very high, and with acclaimed scribe Grant Morrison as the writer, these expectations increased. So, was this to be the Dark Knight's greatest tragedy or a travesty? Well, now that all six issues have been released, we can look at the series as a hole. The fragmented panels and storytelling were interesting at first, but got old quick. The story quickly became hard to follow. This, too, can make a good story a great story if everything comes together and makes sense at the end. Resulting in the proverbial "Aha" moment. But, alas, no substantial questions were answered, no true ending was given to this set of events. The "Aha" moment came from DC when they said 'This sure is a great way to increase issue sales'. Many professional critics praised Morrison for his "work of genius", and that the answers are there if you look hard enough. Well, evidently I'm missing something big! I looked and looked and looked, and was more confused after my time of contemplating. Complicated, well thought out stories are a welcome change from some of the "we have to meet a deadline" stories. But, the idea is not to write so far above your readers heads that they have no idea what the heck is going on. If that was how Morrison was writing at all. Referencing back to the professional critics who said if you look hard enough, you'll find it; they never gave one shred of evidence that they actually found something, and that they weren't just trying to seem smarter than every one else. How hard can it be to say "I found it....but I'm not telling." COME ON PEOPLE! That is not how this game works! This story does have one redeming quality: Batman's comeback at the end was awesome, but nothing we haven't seen before. I thought I was paying, not only for a great story, but a great (lead up to the) conclusion of my favorite hero's legacy. It doesn't take a genius to see that this story isn't it.
BW4E
Final Verdict: Drop It
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