I wonder then, is it possible that this is more a reflection that YOU think he looks silly, and thus the statement Totally makes sense to you?  Whereas people who accept the conventions of comics realize that Batman wouldn't look silly to anyone within his universe - never would occur to them, otherwise most of his stories would have never worked?  Batman doesn't get told he looks silly Not because "he doesn't give people a chance to", but because they are terrified of how he looks.

If this most simple and basic of conceits is lost upon a writer, artist, editor, or any combination -- if superheroes can be seen asking why he's been "dressed up like superheroes", as if that is something out of the ordingary, then we are clearly looking at someone (that writer, artist, editor, etc) who does not understand the form, and probably should not be working within the form at all. And if "fans" welcome such "deconstruction", chortling at the snide comments, applauding every time the genre is mocked from within (or without -- "yellow spandex" anyone?) then it is past time they got over themselves and moved on to a hobby that won't embarass them so much.

This is like writing Westerns and including in every story some snide comment about the "silly hats". Or taking on STAR TREK and including. every single time, a gag about how the warp engines would not really work.

The real tragedy is that Mark Millar wrote some fantastic issues of Superman Adventures, where he probably had many more "restrictions". Much of the blame must go to the editors.

In some interview, Millar was asked why his style changed dramatically after doing "Superman Adventures".  His response was basically, "No one bought that book." Sadly, it seems like if he has to change his style to become a third-rate Alan Moore knock-off to get work, he'll do that.

What's really sad about that New X-Men pannel and the one following it (which was not posted here and where Beast said that the X-Men were NEVE superheroes) is that many fans (especially fans of Morrison's X-Men run) actually beleave that the X-Men were NEVER superheroes. It was this belief by many fans that led me to ask JB a while ago if the X-Men were superheroes.

I remember that one coming up, I couldn't believe how many people just blindly begin quoting it (kind of like "JMS' Spider-Man is the best run ever!!!").  I NEVER heard people saying that nonsense before Morrison wrote that.  There are even people now claiming that Claremont didn't really "get" the X-Men because he wrote so many stories with the Savage Land, and alternate realities, and aliens, and time travel; instead of telling stories about "racism".  Overlooking the fact that when you see the X-Men act as superheroes, they're "protecting a world that fears and hates them".

David James O'Neill wrote: And, of course, they pitched Superman a while back, but, you know, Paul Levitz and good ideas don't mesh well

This is unfair.  Paul Levitz has been responsible for writing some of the finest superhero stories the genre has seen, and has been responsible for overseeing/greenlighting a bunch of other absolutely superior stories.  Comics would be a much poorer place without Paul Levitz.

Incidentally, I don't recall any superhero nastiness in Morrison's JLA.  Can somebody refresh my memory?  Also, I think that Flex Mentallo is a terrific love letter to the classic superheroes, and basically a rejection of everything that the "Image Era" did to them.

As a whole i really enjoyed the 2 first issues of Morrison's run.

And Andy Kubert's art is great. Not the best artist either, but very good and very fun. And at least it is everything but generic. Andy's art style is his own.

That would be better if the Talia/Batman relashionship was as intimate as it was pre-crisis on infinity earths, but i understand that we can't totaly ignore the 90's. I just hope we progressively come to something closer to their original relationship.

As a whole i didn't enjoyed Batman so much in a very long time.

This is the character I read when I was a child. The Batman from the 70's & 80's.

And there are not the things i dislike about Morrison, like mistaking the readers of the X-Men for stupids when he did his New X-Men run, or all the unhealthy things he usually put in his books.

Batman is well writen, and i chose to see only an effect of the Joker's poison in Gordon's remark about Batman's costume. The bad writing Morrison did on New X-Men stays on New X-Men for me. And as long as his unhealthy ideas stay away from the book, having this talented writer to write one of my favorite characters will be ok for me.

DJO: And, of course, they pitched Superman a while back, but, you know, Paul Levitz and good ideas don't mesh well

What a complete and utter surprise to hear such a thing from you.

Quick!  Someone say something mean about Morrison or Millar or Ellis so we can watch Dave's head explode!

Hmmmmmm........ let's see we have golden age batman......silver age batman.......after crisis batman ........after after crisis batman ......and oh yeah

crap age batman !