

In 2006, it was "Batman." In 2009, it was "Batman & Robin," "Return of Bruce Wayne," and "Batman" again. Now, Grant Morrison's run on DC's most popular character enters its fourth year in a comic titled "Batman, Inc." slated for November with frequent Morrison collaborator Yanick Paquette ("Seven Solders: Bulleteer," "Return of Bruce Wayne") , as revealed on the "Batman: The Return" panel at San Diego Comic-Con.



While Grant Morrison kept mum on explaining exactly what the series is about, he did say that he looked to two interesting things for inspiration: "The Brave & the Bold" cartoon and the Johnny DC comic books. He likes seeing Batman teaming up with other people and wants to bring some of that flavor in the new series. Morrison explained that "[i]n '[Batman] R.I.P.' you got to find out what happens when you take Bruce Wayne out of the equation. ['Batman, Inc.'] is what happens when Bruce is more in the equation and what he does with the Batman idea and how he turns it into a franchise... Everything in [Batman's] operation is about to change."

A careful reading of Morrison's run thus far suggests that, as foreshadowed in "Batman" #666, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are going to be sharing the cape and cowl while Damian Wayne remains Robin. This means that the Dynamic Duo is more of a Terrific Trio, though exactly how their identities and relationships will work out will not be known "The Return of Bruce Wayne" and "Batman: The Return" finish their run.

While Morrison was hesitant to offer details about his upcoming stories in the world of Batman, he mentioned that Professor Pyg would be experimenting with Botox, and that the art in one upcoming story involved five straight pages of bats. "It's like a natural history document," joked Morrison. He also referenced the next issue of "Batman & Robin," saying that "Dick Grayson's got a bullet in the brain the next issue, so you'll see how that works out."