James Tynion IV is unequivocally one of the most exciting names in comics right now. Between The Department of Truth, Something Is Killing The Children, and Wynd, not to mention taking over the main Batman title, he's undergoing a period of massive critical & commercial success. And what I haven't seen people talking much is how utterly bizarre this is. Not that he doesn't deserve it — in the last year, I've gone from being something of a skeptic to a huge fan — but because this just isn't how careers like Tynion's are supposed to go.

Spurred by one of @DavidMann95's tumblr answers, I think I've realized both why Tom Taylor became so instantly popular and why a bunch of my clever comics mutuals have difficulties with him: he's the comics writer that most perfectly embodies MCU-style storytelling. It fits, doesn't it? Everyone cites how well he does with DC's characters, his reverence for their histories/personalities while distilling them to an easily-liked core. His stories are well-oiled machines, always a pleasure to read, rarely if ever challenging.

I've just finished my re-read of Grant Morrison's Batman run, and I want to take a moment to talk about Batman, Incorporated, the New 52, and how the circumstances under which it was published obfuscated what the ending was doing, thematically. When the first volume of Batman, Incorporated came out in 2010, it was exciting, fresh, and new. The beginning of what looked to be a triumphant third act of Grant Morrison's Bat-epic, with brilliant artists Yanick Paquette and Chris Burnham on board.