Detective Comics #853 - DC

This book took a little while to come out. Almost 4 months, to be exact. But . . I definitely think it was worth it. Well, except that it pretty much confirms our worst fears . . Batman is truly dead. Or . . is he? I like the way that Neil Gaiman put this story together. It's all told in a rather obtuse fashion because . . well, we don't really know if any of this is real or not. It all may just be part of Batman's near-death-experience. Or . . it could just be his life flashing before his eyes as he departs. We're not really sure. And, I don't think it really matters. More or less, this is the process of Batman sorting out everything that's happened, and the current situation so that he has some semblance of continuity in his subconscious. He knows whats happened, and he knows where he probably is. But, he also know that he's still connected to an awful lot out there . . people, places, family and recognized paradigms. He's sorting through it all the best he can . . with his mothers help. "I get it. I mean, I really get it. The end of the story of Batman is, he's dead. Because, in the end, the Batman dies. What else am I going to do? Retire and play golf? It doesn't work that way. It can't. I fight until I drop. And one day, I will drop. But until then, I fight." But then we seem to get the sense that there's a rebirth process going on. "You don't get Heaven or Hell. Do you know the only reward you get for being Batman? You get to be Batman. And . . when you're a child . . you get a handful of years of real happiness, with your father, with me. It's more than some people get. You're done, now, Bruce, this time. You can stop fighting now . . just for a few more years . . it's over." He's thinking of the Bat-signal in the night sky and the bat turns in to hands. Out stretched hands looking to receive . . a new born. "Mrs. Wayne? It's a boy." "Hello, Bruce. Hello." So where does that leave us? With more questions than answers, obviously. Like I said . . I'm not sure if this was all a dream . . a near death experience . . or just . . someones way of saying 'goodbye'. I'm just not sure. Andy Kubert does the art for this story, and . . it was fantastic. The whole book looked simply incredible. It was perfect. In future issues it looks like Batwoman will be taking the lead in this book. At least until we discern the final fate of Batman and the rest of the Bat-family. This story however, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, was perfectly done . . both in story and art.