Because of this book, I have the biggest crush ever on Bruce Wayne.

Batman R.I.P.

Mike lent me Batman R.I.P. and Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? a couple of weeks ago. Because I was still reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac — and still am — and was too busy to even really spend a lot of time reading that, the books just sat waiting on my nightstand/filing cabinet.

Lucky for them, I got sick and stayed sick from Monday afternoon through Tuesday night, so I had plenty of time to read both Batman books between cat naps Tuesday.

I became fully immersed in R.I.P. right away. The art is gorgeous, and the Alex Ross covers make it even more worthwhile. (And let’s not forget the Bruce Wayne eye candy. I’ve never before thought that Batman was hot, but his character design in this book is delicious!) Aside from the beautiful art, the storyline is brilliant. I loved the final showdown at Arkham. There really isn’t anything I didn’t love about this book.

I really liked that it incorporated a lot of Bruce Wayne’s and Batman’s history, as well as a few characters I wasn’t too familiar with but quickly learned a lot about and came to love (read: Nightwing). After reading this book, I really want to learn more about Damian. Honestly, I’m not super familiar with Batman, though I’ve recently been getting really into the story. So I am not exactly sure if Damian is just a little side story thrown into this book or if there is a “universal” story arc including him and his mother.

(Please don’t hurt me!)

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though I liked Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, I liked R.I.P. much better.

Any suggestions for what Batman books I should read next?