My Gaiman Disconnect

Upon putting down the second and final chapter of Neil Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" (Detective Comics #853), I knew it would be considered a classic. That, before the night was over, I'd be able to get online and find a bevy of 5-star and 10-out-of-10 reviews. If comics were the NFL, I'd soon hear the roar of fans spilling into the streets to celebrate a historically thrilling Superbowl victory. This was by all accounts a great comic. Too bad I wasn't able to join in on the fun.

From an objective standpoint, of course, I could explain to someone all the reasons that they should love this issue. Its near poetic dialogue and sincere and reverent nostalgia. The spectacular highlight-of-his-career artwork of Andy Kubert. The comic's pinpoint observations of the core of Batman's character and the fundamental elements that have allowed him to persevere over the decades. The fact that, after Gaiman, no one will ever again be able to write a "final" Batman story without looking like they've committed plagarism.

Subjectively, though, I couldn't lovingly embrace "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" the way I knew I was supposed to. The plot device Gaiman utilized to convey his ideas was a depiction of Batman's spiritual experience of death, a fictionalized theory of what happens to a person as they die. And as a Christian, one who has firmly held convictions about what death entails and the role God has to play in it, Gaiman's portrayal of the event took me immediately out of the story. I just couldn't shake the contradiction between what I saw on the page and what I knew in my heart of hearts to be true.

To the unbeliever, my objections surely sound like the science geek who can't enjoy a summer action blockbuster because of all its technical inaccuracies. Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that I was seriously distracted by the New Agey details of Batman's "death" in this issue. A Christian knows death to entail a fearsome judgment by God, not the pleasantries of ancestor sprit guides and cyclical reincarnation. From my perspective, the presence of these elements bring undue attention to men like Gaiman's vain efforts to soften the sting of death. They coat it with sentimental stories and warm thoughts, none of which ultimately hold water. All when I'm supposed to be reflecting on the enduring literary legacy of my all-time favorite character.

Readers of this blog will know of my affinity for spiritual and mythological themes in superhero comics. And under different circumstances, I would surely welcome these concepts in Gaiman's story. But given the concrete specificity with which "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" presents the details of the afterlife, I'll regrettably have to turn my search for such things elsewhere.