All in all, this was a solid bridge between these two eras of Batman, with the focus perhaps being a little too much on the future, and not enough cleaning up the past. This was essentially Batman Inc. #0. But hey, who can argue with Bruce being back, and being portrayed as an international bad-ass and head of his own anti-criminal organization, who is always one step ahead of the villains? Read Full Review

Morrison sets up nicely the next big Batman story in this concise and direct issue. There isn't a lot of hidden goodies in here, though he does hint at the future once or twice. Instead Morrison creates a fast-paced, wild ride that brings Bruce up to full speed so the real action can start. You could argue that Batman is already incorporated because he has a small army of comic books out there. If you plan to only pick up one then you might want to grab this one because it will point you in the direction of which series to follow long term. Don't let the five dollar cover price scare you off. This was a great read. Read Full Review

This issue just barely misses the Must Read verdict. You have writing from Grant Morrison that easily earns the verdict, but the art just barely falls short and, when combined with an unjustified $4.99 price point, I can't rationalize bumping this book to the next level. That being said, it's still a very strong comic that has me extremely excited for the future of the Batline and, perhaps most importantly, Grant Morrison's participation in it. He casts aside the chains of his convoluted highconcept Batman versus Dr. Hurt epic in favor of a more directed and grounded approach that should appeal to both his loyalists and his fans that were disenchanted with his recent output. It's not quite a Must Read, but it's still a winning comic. Read Full Review

Batman: The Return is a one-shot from an absolute superstar team of creative talent set to bridge two eras as Bruce returns to the cape and cowl following Dick's time as Batman, but this particular issue finds success in not just its look at Bruce's return but also the Batfamily that has held down Gotham in his stead. Read Full Review

Still, I'll reserve judgment on those elements until I see how they're employed in future issues of Morrison's bat-saga. If nothing else, this issue provides a great setup for the Batman Incorporated title, as well as functioning as a neat epilogue to the previous phase of Morrison's Batman run. Now let's see what comes next. Read Full Review

If there's one thing you haven't learned about Grant Morrison's writing, it's that he likes to drop little bits and pieces of major story elements throughout his books. While you can easily step into Batman, Inc. and not be confused or alarmed about what is going on, the moment Leviathan raises its head down the road, many are going to be confused if they haven't read Batman: The Return. When Bane showed up to break Batman's back, those who had read the Batman: Vengeance of Bane one-shot were in the know. I think the same thing is happening here, and makes this issue worth picking up. The Batman and Robin adventure with the freaky genetic experiments is a nice diversion as the story builds to reveal the bigger villain, the art is really well done, and a few future plot lines appear to be set up in this issue. All in all, Batman: The Return is a good book, well worth 4 out of 5 Stars. Read Full Review

Batman The Return is a great start to the new Batman Incorporated direction. Outside a few problems Grant Morrison and David Finch combined to tell a great story. A lot of the ground work for the new direction has now been set in place including the villain. I am very excited to see what Morrison and the other Batman writers have in store for this new direction for the franchise. If you are a Batman fan or are looking for a great jumping on point to Batman comics this is the issue you should pick up. Read Full Review

Though the art is a mix of good and bad, Morrison's writing is spot on to make "Batman: The Return" the exciting first chapter in a new era for the hero and his allies. A larger mission, a new enemy, and plenty of new ideas are provided, but they all adhere to the same basic concept of Batman. "The Return" is a brisk, entertaining read that kicks off the Batman Incorporated era with style. Read Full Review

Batman: The Return isn't the glorious, burst-out-the-gates first chapter I expected from Morrison, even if it does show a lot of promise for this new direction while hinting that Bruce glimpsed a horrific truth about the future on his romp through time. Fans of Morrison's previous Batman work will find Batman Inc. to be a far more worthwhile, entertaining and fully realized kick-start to this new chapter of Batman's history. That said, this one's definitely worth checking out. Read Full Review

At least Grant Morrison is trying new stuff. And for that reason alone, from this moment forward, I will not score ANYTHING Grant Morrison does for DC lower than a 6. No matter how confusing/bizarre/insane his work is, at least he's trying NEW ideas. That's more than GEOFF is doing... Huh, that rant came out of left field... Um, yeah, as for this comic, it wasn't really worth the $5 cover price, but it might be worth grabbing if you want to see where Morrison plans on taking DC's Dark Knight. Read Full Review

At least the cover is kinda cool. Read Full Review