I agree with Andy. Batman's death is met with a shrug for me. I haven't bought an ongoing series since Strangers in Paradise back in 1999. And the last mainstream series I followed was The New Titans back in probably 1996/1997. I forget.
(Note: remember Boner from Growing Pains? Well, that's who's playing the Joker in the photo above from a fan film Batman: Dead End)
I've said it before but I feel graphic novels are the future of our business. If you look back, the best Batman stories that have been published, apart from the classic tales drawn by such luminaries as Jerry Robinson, Sheldon Moldoff, Dick (giggle) Sprang, Carmine Infantino or Neal Adams, have all been graphic novels. Either as a self-contained story or a short series.
But even in the case of the short series, did you buy Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil as a short series or did you buy it when it was published as a collection? I know I got mine in collected form. Because with a graphic novel you get all the DVD Extras like the artists blog posts about the project, sketches, excerpt from the working script and perhaps an art gallery at the end of the book.
Honestly, I don't care what happens to the characters anymore in an ongoing series. There has been so many continuity changes over the years with both DC and Marvel that the Batman you grew up reading isn't the same character.
Most artists like myself are more lured by the freedom which a graphic novel allows us. You're able to take the character like Batman in a different direction and do more as far as a story is concerned. You're not hampered down with continuity and "Oh you can't use Bruce Wayne as Batman in that story because he's dead, or Bane broke his back, or he's living in Argentina as a taxidermist and gave up being Batman" and so forth.
I feel as though that's been the direction the comic book industry has been moving since Will Eisner wrote A Contract with God in 1978 and it's only a matter of time before the ongoing series as we know it goes the way of the dodo and the graphic novel takes over.
But Batman lives on. You can watch him on the Brave and the Bold on Cartoon Network or any of his cartoon incarnation on DVD, Cartoon Network or Boomerang. See Adam West doing the Batusi on the television series. And see him in The Dark Knight or any of the Batman films that are out. With the exception of Batman Forever and Batman and Robin because the suck. And read him in The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke and Son of the Demon to name a few.
Speaking of which, be sure to purchase Andy Fish's stellar graphic novel Batman: 1939 when it comes out. Bruce Wayne is alive and well in 1939 America. You can click on the pic below to check out Andy's blog. When it is released, THAT'S the place where you can find out where to purchase it:
