this is exactly the glorious little fusion the title implies, and Morrison here is showing early on his extremely solid grasp of the character. I appreciate how relatively grounded the story is, and the moodiness of it all. ( )

Whoops, I hadn’t realized when I bought this on discount and started reading it that I’d already read this one! I got about halfway through and thought some things seemed awfully familiar and that I could almost know what was going to happen next. So then I checked on here and found that I had in fact, already read this before haha. But it had clearly been long enough that I didn’t remember all the details and I was already halfway there so I just read it all again. It’s a good one too, so I don’t particularly mind!

This one is kind of a different sort of Batman story to me because instead of some supernatural power turning out to be something based on reality or science, this time it actually was just supernatural. The backstory of the villain is very interesting and immersed into Batman’s own history which was a different perspective as well.

The art is a much older style in this one and not my favorite, but I still enjoy the storyline enough that it doesn’t bother me too much. ( )

Like pretty much all of the comics I've been reading recently, I grabbed this out of a Comixology sale, mostly because I need to finish my advanced coursework in Grant Morrisons Batman. There's a bit of a return to the territory Morrison trod in Arkham Asylum, with architecture and geometry framing a very strange case for Batman. Morrison is much more restrained here than in AA though, and Klaus Janson's art doesn't quite do it for me. Ultimately, just kind of an average Bat-story that makes one wish for the more interesting, weird stuff Morrison has done. ( )

Batman has to stop a madman who will unleash a plague on the city. The thing is this mad guy apparently does not stay dead, and he is killing off the local mob leaders. The mystery becomes a supernatural caper. Gritty art style, a pretty fast paced tale. It was a good read overall. ( )

With the recent trend of the gritty, realistic Batman, I'd almost forgotten how supernatural the character's stories can get. Batman: Gothic is firmly in this camp, starring a villain who cannot be killed and whose origins might go back more than one lifetime.

Grant Morrison is a writer I like approximately half of the time. He's a real smart guy but, for me, he sometimes becomes a bit indecipherable. Fortunately, while Gothic explores some advanced themes Morrison clearly loves (mythology, religion, the meaning of dreams), it's a pretty straightforward story that didn't leave me scratching my head.

The artwork here works for the most part. The artist Klaus Jansen is at his best in sequences with a lot of movement (there are a couple really good falling scenes in here, believe it or not). Sometimes the characters' faces felt a little off to me, but it's a stylistic quibble.

In the end, I'd say it's a pretty solid tale of the Batman. I wasn't blown away, but I appreciated the intelligent story and it was refreshing to get back into the supernatural side of Batman comics.



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