Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Paperback – January 10, 2012

At the end of Final Crisis Darkseid has sent Batman to the beginning of human existence but enables him to return to the 21st century but there is a catch; Batman has been turned into a living bomb full of omega energy and when he reaches his own time period all life on earth will be destroyed. The Return of Bruce Wayne is about Batman's struggles to stay alive as he travels through the time stream and the efforts of the Justice League to find a way to remove the omega energy from Batman or to stop him from returning if they are unable to accomplish the first objective. Bruce Wayne and it is Wayne not Batman who is the focus of the book shows his adaptability and his survival skills as he goes through time and as he gradually regains his memory of who he is another complication of Darkseid's revenge.To see the real Wayne persona put on display is the best part of the novel.The art is designed by different artists for each time period and is quite good in every case and the frustrations of Batman's allies are strongly potrayed.This graphic novel can be enjoyed on its own but works better if read with Time Hunters bwhich tells the JLA story in detail A great Batman story I RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY

So what is this book? It is basically the aftermath of an event that took place in a limited series (Final Crisis) that was foreshadowed in previous batman books, that were the conclusion of a saga that was written back in the 70's. Confusing? Yeah- kinda. Although it really isn't as bad as it sounds. This book is one of two conclusion books to Grant Morrison's current Batman epic (the other being "Batman and Robin vol. 3" coming out in May), but it easily stands on its own. As far as art is concerned, there are many different artists, and while in most comics it may be a little jarring, it makes sense in this particular instance, and contributes to the story. The story is told in a brisk and enjoyable manner. Now, here's the thing: as said before, this is the cumulation of an ENTIRE run on the batman books, as well as a follow up from Final Crisis. For Final Crisis, I found that those who praised it did the extra back-reading, while those who just read it without knowing history of the current DC universe didn't like it. Now this book is much more accessible than Final Crisis, but to get the whole story, one should read "Batman: R.I.P" and "Final Crisis". Once again, you will be able to enjoy this story without the extra reading, but this book really is a part of a larger epic. So, in conclusion: this book is for: Grant Morrison fans, Batman fans, people who like good art, and people who don't mind digging into a little extra thought in order to get the most out of the story. WHo is it not for: People looking for a brisk read, people who believe that Batman should be 'down to Earth' and not really have supernatural adventure. For me though, I loved this book, found the story to be very engaging, and can't wait to see what the next chapter is for the Dark Knight.

I was thrilled when DC Comics announced The Return of Bruce Wayne (the one true Batman) was going to be told in a 6 part mini-series. It was an ambitious tale of time-travel featuring (Bruce Wayne) Batman in various periods through the ages, each story showcasing the many elements of The Batman (Bat-Caveman/The Fighter, Bat-Pilgrim/The Detective, Bat-Pirate/The Adventurer etc...)While the series started off excellent! full of great art, action and fun, the pacing of the story however was very slow and gave little info as to what was actually happening in the overall story!Book 4 was pretty much where the story started to turn south for me. Missed deadlines and lacking art began to surface. Where the early books only had subtle hints of the over-all big story, the last 3 books had to cram too much explanation of what was going on, to get to the conclusion.Even though i own the comics from the original mini-series i decided to pick up the Deluxe Hardcover. There are some excellent sketches and concept drawings at the end of the book.I can only recommend this book to hardcore Bat-collector completists, those who wish to follow the Grant Morrison Run on Batman starting with Batman and Son, Batman: The Black Glove, Batman R.I.P., Batman: Time and the Batman.To the casual Bat-fan the first 3 stories were a lot of fun and had excellent art that you may want to read when the book comes out in trade paperback.I will say that this does make a lot more sense after multiple re-reads.Also, if you have read and enjoyed Final Crisis that will help clear some of the more ambiguous aspects towards the end of this story.

Snapped my humerus in half and needed surgery. I didn't want to watch TV the whole time so I decided to catch up on some reading. I live in the middle of no where and there isn't a comic shop anywhere. I was a comic addict before I got married. I guess this means I fell off the wagon. Oh well. Funny and great story. The book arrived quickly and in great condition. It helped while I was on the mend.