Written by Ed Brisson.
Art by John Timms; Michelle Bandini; Rex Lokus; & Clayton Cowles.
Cover Art by John Timms.
SUMMARY:
Released by DC Comics in 2023, this 213-page hardcover compiles Batman, Incorporated # 1-7 from 2022-2023. In addition to Ghost-Maker, the team includes Chief Man-of-Bats, and his son, Raven Red; the Batman of Japan; the Bat-Man of China; the Knight (formerly the Squire – sidekick of the original Knight); Dark Ranger; El Gaucho; Nightrunner; Wingman; and Ghost-Maker’s reluctant protégé: the teenage Clownhunter. They are subsequently joined in Eastern Europe by Gray Wolf – previously recruited by Lex Luthor.
Note: This team’s machismo quotient is considerable, as its sole female member (The Knight) ruefully notes.
A brief flashback (as the prologue) has a masked Bruce Wayne and ninja-like Ghost-Maker teaming up to thwart a terrorist group in Madrid, Spain, to rescue hostages. It’s emphasized that the duo has a conflicting viewpoint on the lethal use of force.
In the present-day, Batman Incorporated now has an underwater secret headquarters. Batman subsequently shocks his international alliance of Bat-associates by anointing the controversial Ghost-Maker as their new leader. Ghost-Maker then splits the team into international and local divisions. Essentially, the international squad is under his direct command while the others are assigned smaller-scale cases.
The international team probe multiple locales overseas to seek out Lex Luthor’s renegade Batmen that he has since abandoned. More so, varying degrees of damage control becomes necessary. Meanwhile, the Knight alerts Ghost-Maker to a murder in Dublin, Ireland. It appears to be the latest grisly entry in a series of high-profile homicides of expert criminals linked to Ghost-Maker and Batman’s shadowy pasts.
Per a mysterious adversary called ‘Phantom-One,’ Ghost-Maker’s own death will become the climax of a personal grudge. Worse yet, the vengeful Phantom-One is hardly alone, as Batman Incorporated must face its own treacherous team of imitators.
In Gotham City, the insidious Professor Pyg is abducting various Bat-villains thinking one of his rivals ripped him off or knows who did. He intends to brutally kill them to get back his most prized possession. What Pyg doesn’t realize is that two teenagers looking for a fast and easy heist have unknowingly crossed him. It becomes a team game across Gotham City to win this game, as Clownhunter’s instincts play a pivotal role. A grim last scene sets up the next storyline, as a longtime Batman Incorporated member is ambushed and evidently assassinated.
Apart from the Dark Knight’s brief presence (in Issue # 1 only), subsequent Gotham City cameos include: Nightwing, Batwoman, Tim Drake’s Robin, Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl, the Signal, and Stephanie Brown’s Spoiler.
Notes: This title is also available digitally. DC Comics will presumably release a paperback edition in the near future.
REVIEW:
Including its high-caliber artwork, this latest incarnation of Batman, Incorporated mostly delivers the necessary goods. Still, what readers are getting is Ghost-Maker’s glorified answer to the Jason Todd/Red Hood saga. Writer Ed Brisson’s dense storytelling, in that sense, is neither always cohesive nor particularly original.
By conveniently linking Batman and Ghost-Maker’s backstories so closely together (as rival students to all these criminal underworld masterminds), the premise is far-fetched. Brisson at least concocts enough twists to make riding this storyline to its finish line a worthwhile experience.
With DC Comics retroactively inserting additional Bat-mentors (i.e. the recent Batman: The Knight series), most readers won’t be able to identify so many new characters. This muddling of Bruce Wayne’s past is further exacerbated by his otherwise non-presence – as if Phantom-One’s homicide victims were solely created as fodder for this one storyline.
Had the murder spree exclusively involved Ghost-Maker’s old associates, Brisson’s premise would make more sense. More so, No More Teachers’ ante could have been logically upped as a personal threat to Ghost-Maker – without questioning the future Dark Knight’s own dubious choice of international crooks as mentors.
One can also surmise that there is a glut of Bat-associates working in Gotham City, i.e. Batman’s growing army ought to be practically bumping into each other. Upon this volume’s plentiful cast being further expanded by Lex Luthor’s rejected Bat-commandos, only the more astute readers can keep track of them all (at least 16-17 Bat-characters) – no less, by name.
In spite of various plot contrivances, Batman Incorporated, Volume 1: No More Teachers makes a great read for Bat-fans, ages 15 and up. Even if this book isn’t necessarily a must-have, its page count alone for a welcome library option.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Each of artist John Timms’ covers precedes its story in a full-page format. However, reprints of the credited variant covers for each issue are not included.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7½ Stars
