An Issue Worthy Of Being # 700

For reasons known only to the comic book gods, this month will feature 3 major milestone issues from DC Comics: Batman # 700, Superman # 700 and Wonder Woman # 600. For the final of those three, DC had to resume the numbering from the Golden Age Wonder Woman series and combine it with a couple of subsequent runs, but all of that still makes it a legitimate celebration in its own right.

Batman # 700 came out this week, with an extra long tale written by Grant Morrison and drawn by four different artists. I've learned to love Morrison's take on the Caped Crusader, even though at times it's taxed my ability to suspend my disbelief as well as my willingness to decipher complex storylines. What I've discovered over the past few years is that it's almost always worth the effort to do both of those things where Morrison's Batman is concerned. And this anniversary issue is no exception.

Here we're treated to a tale spread over four different time periods. In the first ("Yesterday"), Bruce Wayne is the Batman and Dick Grayson is his Boy Wonder; next, we're shown the present ("Today") in which Dick is wearing the Bat-costume (as Bruce is missing and presumed dead by most of the heroes) while Damian Wayne is running around as Robin; then we're given alternate, possibly competing versions of the future - the first, ("Tomorrow") has grown up Damian having inherited his father's Bat-mantle as Morrison has suggested will happen in past issues, while the final one ("And Tomorrow") showcases the Batman Beyond vision of the future in which young Terry McGuiness is the new Batman who is mentored by a frail and aged Bruce Wayne. All four of the scenarios focus to one degree of another on the murder of a scientist who developed a form of hypnotism that allowed its participants to seemingly visit the past, providing a nice tip-of-the-hat to Silver Age Batman yarns in which B&R did exactly that. Because it's a Morrison story, there's a lot more to it than that, but that's neither here nor there. What's important is that it all works wonderfully together and provides a special issue that's sure to be enjoyed by generations of future Bat-fans.

I've read that some of today's readers were "disappointed" with Batman # 700, but I certainly wasn't one of them. Well worth every nickel.

CNN.com has a short piece on the issue, as well, if you're interested.