Battle for the Cowl

Interlude Two:  Battle for the Cowl

Battle for the Cowl asks the question, what happens to Gotham when Batman is gone? Who can fill the void left by his absence? And who will try to? Whilst Battle for the Cowl is quite central to the story; establishing the new Batman and Robin team, re-introducing Red Hood as a villain and featuring members of the Club of Heroes, I don't include it as a fully fledged member of this list as it was not written by Grant Morrison. Battle  for the Cowl was written by Tony S. Daniel, who contributed a lot of the artwork for Grant Morrison's run, so is very familiar with all the characters. My only problem with Tony S. Daniels writing was his depiction of Damian in the first comic, though it does get better. Daniels doesn't get Damians arrogance quite right; Damian thinks he can take anyone and doesn't doubt his abilities for one second.

Battle for the Cowl brings together a myriad of heroes to save a crumbling Gotham.

The trade of Battle for the Cowl also includes the two issues of Gotham Gazette, which is the beginning of a story involving Vicki Vale as she works out the true identities of Batman and his extended family of former and current Robins. Of the twelve individual comics that make up this arc Grant Morrison only wrote two, so is not vital to the story, but provides some background reading for The Return of Bruce Wayne. I suggest that if you read Battle for the Cowl you leave the two issues of Gotham Gazette until later and read them with Batman #703, in Time and the Batman, and Batman: The Road Home as Interlude 3. Overall I really enjoyed Battle for the Cowl as it offers a good insight into the formation of the new Batman and Robin pair and thoroughly recommend it for anybody interested in extending Grant Morrison's run.