Batman RIP may not be doing as well as DC hoping for
Broken Frontier says that the oh-so eventful Batman RIP isn't making headlines as big as what they might've hoped for:
Batman R.I.P. was supposed generate buzz about Batman. But fans spent too much time trying to figure out what was going on to talk about it.Well, the mistake they made to begin with was trying to stir controversy instead of telling a simple enough story, and building around a character's death is becoming way overused as a plot lately.
The result is an event that feels like a non-event. If Bruce Wayne is to join the choir invisible at the end of this arc, no indication has been given in the story. If DC does intend to kill off its current Batman, it will be quite anticlimactic. Having Bruce giving up the cape and cowl? That seems logical from the story at this point. Having Bruce die? Not so much.Maybe a decade ago, this kind of story could've worked, but under Dan DiDio, I have no faith in anything. What's more, the sales-by-controversy tactic has overshadowed everything.
We can see some of the planned after effect of this storyline already. Batman is conspicuously absent in future DC solicitations. Bat-titles such as Robin, Nightwing and Birds of Prey are being cancelled. Batman and Detective Comics are rumored to join them.I'm sure the 2 flagship titles won't be cancelled, but the editorial mandate is obvious, and that's one more reason why this umpteenth "event" does not impress me.
