★★★★★ 4
Seriously? His name is Damien?
Morrison redeems himself in his Batman writing. I was a huge fan of All Star Superman, and thought his take on the Man of Steel was pure genius and very heart-warming, but his other work has been a bit of a disappointment to me. Final Crisis was pure drivel, and maybe there was a lot lost in the editing and compiling of such a massive cross-title story, but the dialogue left much to be desired as well.
Batman and Son certainly has an intriguing premise. Set before the "death" of Bruce Wayne and his nearly two year disappearance after Final Crisis, Batman and Son initiates a series of changes in the Bat-world that no doubt frustrated and angered die-hard fans. Bruce, has a son, Damian, who has been raised by his mother, the daughter of Ras Al'Ghul, who is plopped right back into his life at a time when Bruce is suffering a bit of an identity crisis, and boy does this complicate things. Damian is a 10 year old terror that matches his genetic and symbolic legacy.
What's brilliant: Morrison absolutely delivers in several key panels, especially toward the beginning of the book and some of the best dialogue is between Bruce and Alfred, especially over Alfred's concern that Bruce has forgotten to be anything, but Batman. In his words, "The growl and edge to your voice that you used to rehearse to put fear into criminals while wearing your costume never leaves when you take off the mask. It's like you've forgotten how to be anything but Batman." Part of what makes Bruce such an interesting character even after all of these years is that you're not really sure who he really is deep down inside. Is he really Batman pretending to be Bruce Wayne, or is he Bruce Wayne pretending to be Batman. You don't get that conflict with any other character in comics. Morrison also delivers on comedic relief with some hilarious scenes of Bruce, half-dressed as Batman learning to be a father and yelling at Damian (one imagines in the Batman growl) to go to his room.
Anywho, much, much better writing from Morrison, which I know he's capable of.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2011
