tec79

Batman departing and forming a new outsiders team would be interesting. Dick Grayson joining the league would be cool and keep a connection between the Bat family and the JL but would require a plausible solution and great execution.

I love RIP but would like to suggest Arkham Asylum. Morrisons' first Batman work is self contained and had an impact on the comic industry. Neil Gaimans Whatever Happened to The Caped Crusader two part story from the Morrison era is a personal favorite and a work I feel doesn't receive nearly the recognition that it deserves.

Since the Dark Knight Returns has already been mentioned I would cast a vote for Year One the definitive origin of Batman and perhaps the greatest origin story in comics.

Nice to read a thread where Englehart is mentioned. Unfortunately the lack of his work being available these days prevent a lot of fans from getting to read the work of one the truly great Batman writers. Marshall Rogers and the great Walt Simonson deserves mention for the incredible art provided for those issues also.

@ghinzdra: This is excellent analysis and one of the better posts I have seen in these forums.

I voted for Dick Grayson, I really enjoyed his time under the cowl. The sixteen issues of Batman and Robin that Morrison wrote were some of the best comics I have ever read. The real shame of the New 52 is that the Grayson Batman era did not get a proper conclusion. I have always suspected that the Court of Owls was intended to feature him as Batman and would have made for a much stronger story.

I give the writing a seven.

The art team gets an eight.

The story overall gets a seven.

Not killing is simply Batman seeking justice and attempting to set an example. The simplest reason is Gordon would never allow him to operate and would bring him to justice. Batman not killing makes him a far more interesting character also he has battled corruption at all levels in many stories over the years. Superman executed three Kryptonians during John Byrnes run, that decision lead him down a path of depression and questioning himself. Those issues were explored in subsequent stories.

Simply put no!

Miller

Morrison

O'Neil

Finger

Englehart

Rucka

Just a brief list of better writers. Snyders' work has been elevated by the art team. He has reached back to to many other stories and has retread to much territory that has been done before and has failed to stick the landing at the conclusion of every arc with End game being the possible exception. I find his work like Dixons to be enjoyable but hardly historic. The writing and execution has been down hill since his initial run on Detective. I would like to reiterate I find it enjoyable just not on par with the all time great writers.

Gotham would be a mix of Blade Runner and Tim Sale, Heavy Blacks with splashes of color. The Main Street would be lit up like New York at night.

I always like the addition of new villains but for these purposes Professor Pyg would due for a murder mystery. Scare Crow would play a supporting role, Pyg enjoys taking variations of fear toxins while he works.

The story would feature Batman as the soul protagonist with Gordon making a brief appearance for exposition done through dialogue at one of the crime scenes. Alfred would appear through some minimal radio chatter. Both would be featured because I view those as perhaps the two most important relationships historicaly to Bruce with Dick Grayson being a very close third but would not be featured in the story.

Batman would wear the Year One suit it truly does have its roots in Detective 27. I also prefer the cloth as opposed to the body armor. The Batman character design would draw heavily from Neil Adams with Tim Sale bat ears and Cape.

0801 has popped up over the years mostly due to the fact it was Jokers cell number in Dark Knight Returns.