Grant Morrison's Batman Run: Essential Key Issues

Launched in 2006 and wrapped in 2013, Grant Morrison's Batman run is the most ambitious narrative project in the character's 85-year history. Across seven years, Morrison builds a tapestry that embraces every era of Batman continuity — including the wildest stories of the 1950s and 60s that previous writers had been quietly retconning away — and turns them into the foundation of a coherent, mythological and profoundly human story. It's a run that rewards rereading and shifts meaning with each pass.

Morrison didn't do it alone. He collaborated with exceptional artists at every phase of the run: Andy Kubert at the start, Tony Daniel on Batman R.I.P., Frank Quitely on Batman & Robin (whose first three issues are among the most beautiful superhero comics ever drawn), Cameron Stewart and Frazer Irving on various sections, and Yanick Paquette on Batman Inc. This guide covers the essential key issues from this monumental run, with current market values and collecting advice for 2026.

Structure of the Morrison run, at a glance

The Morrison run breaks down across multiple arcs and interconnected series. To avoid confusion, here's the complete structure:

• Batman #655-658 (2006), "Batman & Son" (opening issues of the run, introduction of Damian)
• Batman #663-669 (2007), "The Clown at Midnight" + "Club of Villains / Island of Mr. Mayhew"
• Batman #670-675 (2007-2008), "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul"
• Batman #676-681 (2008), "Batman R.I.P."
• Final Crisis #1-7 (2008-2009), the presumed death of Bruce Wayne
• Batman & Robin #1-16 (2009-2010), Dick Grayson as Batman with Damian as Robin
• The Return of Bruce Wayne #1-6 (2010), Bruce across time
• Batman Incorporated Vol. 1 #1-8 + Special (2010-2011)
• Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #1-13 + Special (2012-2013, New 52)

It's a long, complex run — but every section earns its place. Morrison builds over seven years a narrative where every brick supports the structure, which makes completing the full run especially rewarding.

The foundational key issues, Batman #655-658: "Batman & Son"

Batman #655 (2006), first appearance of Damian Wayne

Batman #655 is the most important issue of the run and one of the most significant Batman key issues of the 21st century. This is where Grant Morrison introduces Damian Wayne, the biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, raised by the League of Assassins and sent to Gotham to destabilize his father. Damian is instantly compelling: arrogant, violent, unpredictable and deeply alone. In fewer than twenty pages, Morrison creates a character who would become one of the most important additions to the modern Batman mythology.

In 2026, raw Near Mint copies of Batman #655 trade between $90 and $220. A CGC 9.8 can reach $450 to $1,000 based on recent sales. The value has climbed steadily as Damian has shown up in animated films and series, and any live-action casting news could send prices significantly higher.

Batman #656-658 (2006), the "Batman & Son" trilogy

Issues #656, #657 and #658 complete the "Batman & Son" arc. #657 matters especially: this is where Damian wears a Robin costume for the first time. Collectors often treat this "first appearance in costume" as a distinct key from the civilian first appearance in #655. Batman #657 trades between $45 and $110 raw in 2026.

Issue #658 closes the arc with a confrontation between Batman and Talia. It's a pure-action issue but contains key information on Damian's origins. Trades for $25 to $55 raw.

Batman #663 (2007), "The Clown at Midnight"

Batman #663 is one of the strangest and most unique issues in all of DC Comics history. Morrison writes it as literary prose — not traditional comics dialogue with speech balloons and captions, but an illustrated short story accompanied by art from John Van Fleet. The issue chronicles the Joker's return after hospitalization, which has radically reshaped his psychology. It's an outsider-art experiment, deliberately unsettling, that foreshadows Morrison's wider take on the Joker.

The issue is scarce and in demand: its experimental nature makes it a curio in any collection. In 2026, it trades between $35 and $90 raw. For Morrison completists, it's indispensable.

Batman #676-681 (2008), "Batman R.I.P." key issues

Batman #676, opening of R.I.P.

Batman #676 opens the "Batman R.I.P." arc, the narrative climax of the Morrison run. The Black Glove and Club of Villains attack Bruce Wayne on every front — physical, psychological, social. This issue launches six chapters that systematically break Batman and rebuild him in an unexpected form. It's a masterclass in narrative construction.

Batman #676 trades between $22 and $55 raw in 2026. Still very accessible for an issue of this importance to continuity.

Batman #681, the conclusion of R.I.P. and Batman's "death"

Batman #681 closes "Batman R.I.P." with a deliberately ambiguous final scene: Batman apparently killed by Dr. Hurt, his body in a burning helicopter. But the last page — a gloved hand emerging from the mud — leaves the door open. Morrison resolves the ambiguity in Final Crisis. This issue is technically Morrison's "death of Batman," an event in itself.

Batman #681 is the most in-demand issue of R.I.P. In 2026 it trades between $28 and $80 raw. A cover variant (Batman as Batman of Zur-En-Arrh) is more sought-after.

Batman & Robin #1-3 (2009), Frank Quitely at the peak of his craft

After Bruce Wayne's presumed death in Final Crisis, Dick Grayson takes up the Batman mantle and Damian Wayne becomes Robin. Batman & Robin #1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely kicks off this new dynamic and is one of the most graphically sublime comics of the decade. Quitely draws the first three issues (#1-3) before passing the baton to other artists.

These three issues are the most valuable in the series. In 2026:

• Batman & Robin #1: $35 to $90 raw, $180 to $400 in CGC 9.8
• Batman & Robin #2: $18 to $45 raw
• Batman & Robin #3: $18 to $45 raw

The "sketch cover" variant of Batman & Robin #1 (Quitely's pencil art) is the rarest and most sought-after. It can reach several hundred dollars depending on condition.

The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 (2010), Bruce across time

The Return of Bruce Wayne is a six-issue miniseries following Bruce Wayne flung into the past by Darkseid's Omega Sanction (Final Crisis). Each issue drops him in a different era: prehistoric, Puritan, 18th-century piracy, the Old West, 1920s film-noir, then the present. It's pure Morrison — conceptually dizzying, visually varied (each issue has a different artist).

Issue #1 (Morrison/Chris Sprouse) is the most in-demand. In 2026 it trades between $18 and $45 raw. A short run (6 issues), easy to complete as a lot.

Batman Incorporated, key issues across both volumes

Batman Incorporated Vol. 1 #1 (2010), the global Batman concept

Batman Incorporated Vol. 1 #1 launches the final phase of Morrison's run: Bruce Wayne, returned, decides to "franchise" Batman on a global scale by recruiting and funding local Batmen worldwide. It's the kind of idea only Morrison could pull off — absurd and logically coherent within the DC Universe at the same time. This issue is an important key issue because it launches the run's closing phase.

In 2026, Batman Inc. Vol. 1 #1 trades between $22 and $55 raw. Accessible and frequently overlooked on checklists, but it's the starting point for an essential phase.

Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #8 (New 52, 2013), the death of Damian Wayne

Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 #8 is one of the most devastating issues in the entire run. This is where Damian Wayne is killed by his giant clone (The Heretic) on Talia's orders. Morrison spent seven years building the father-son bond between Bruce and Damian only to destroy it at the very moment it had reached its purest form. A brutal editorial decision and a narrative masterstroke at once.

Batman Inc. Vol. 2 #8 is the most in-demand issue of Vol. 2. In 2026 it trades between $28 and $80 raw. A CGC 9.8 can reach $170 to $340. Damian has since been resurrected (in Batman and Robin #37, 2015), but "death of" status still gives this issue unique standing in the continuity.

Current prices, Morrison key issues summary

Complete reading order for the Morrison run

The main challenge with the Morrison run is the complexity of its reading order. Here's the recommended chronological order for a first read:

Why the Morrison run is the most ambitious in Batman history

Two things set the Morrison run apart from every other great Batman run. The first is its relationship to continuity. Where Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One) deliberately ignores continuity to tell a standalone story, and where Scott Snyder invents a new mythology that fits quietly into existing continuity, Morrison does something radically different — he embraces all of continuity, including the most absurd Golden and Silver Age stories, and declares every one of them canonical, every one of them real.

The second is his thematic ambition. Morrison writes a counter-argument to Frank Miller: if Miller's Batman is a proto-fascist (something Miller himself acknowledges in DKR), Morrison's Batman is an absolute humanist, an ordinary human being who refuses to let his trauma destroy him and instead chooses life, optimism and family — literally with Damian, and more broadly with the Bat-Family. It's a political vision of the character few writers have pushed this far.

For collectors, that means Morrison run issues carry double value: value as key issues (first appearances, major narrative moments) and value as standalone works of art. Both justify acquiring them and preserving them in the best possible condition. To learn how to protect your most valuable copies, check our complete guide to CGC grading.

FAQ, Grant Morrison Batman run