What could be worse than Grotesk?

I didn’t read enough books this week to bother with a Worst to First, so you’ll have to settle for a rant. On that note, are the editors of Batman trying to ensure that I never buy this book again? I dropped the series from my pull list to avoid that John Ostrander/Grotesk debacle, but I was willing to pick it up again once Grant Morrison’s run returned from hiatus with this week’s issue #663.

Sure, the first part of Morrison’s run was marginal (if fun), but the guy has written good stuff before and seems like he has a good Batman story inside him. And maybe he does, but we sure didn’t see it this week. No, the creative talent and editors deigned to replace an issue of what was supposed to be Batman returning to more carefree ways with a high school goth freak’s poetic ruminations on the nature of the Joker.

Last I checked, a comic book contains illustrations. And no, crappy photoshopped images of creepy clowns don’t count. Also, most comic books contain a plot, or action, or, well, something entertaining. I don’t know who this book is for, but it’s not me. I’m sure Morrison might say to his critics that they’re just too simple-minded to accept a more literary effort, but first, this is freaking Batman! It’s not the Alaska Quarterly Review! Second, I’ve written my share of fiction and read plenty more. This stuff was okay, but nothing great, certainly nothing worth spending $2.99 on.

So, color me confused. But at least I flipped through the thing in the store. If I’d bought it and then realized it was a Trojan horse filled with poo, well, I’d be even more outraged. I’m even able to find something of a silver lining — I’m going to save a decent chunk of change by not buying any Batman issues for a very long time.

The rest of the week’s take was decent but nothing to shout home about. Astonishing X-Men was a lot of setup, though with the expected number of “Joss Whedon is clever” moments. I’m starting to fill with dread that Colossus is biting it again. And I enjoyed this week of 52, even though it also was lots of setup. And, yeah, that’s it. Tiny week, which is a good thing, if you ask my wife.