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Casual Batman fans can learn from my experience: this was impossible to follow, so much so I almost gave up halfway. I needed one of those "Previously, on Batman..." bits at the beginning to bring me up to speed. Instead it was like being dropped into Harry Potter 7 with little to no understanding of who people were ("I know Harry and Dumbledore, but who the heck is Bellatrix Lestrange?"), how they got there ("Why aren't they at Hogwart's fighting He Who Shall Not Be Named?") or what was going on ("What in the heck is a horcrux?"). The parts that I did understand, quite frankly, seemed cheesy, but I'll be the first to admit I'm no authority to listen to. Again, this review is just for the casual reader...

Having just read StoryTellerShannon's review, I see that "there were three stories before this one that should be read (it doesn't say on this volume about previous volumes). In order they are: “Batman: Batman and Son�, “Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul� and “Batman: Black Glove�. A fifth follow up covers the whole JLA team and was titled “Final Crisis�." Thanks, StoryTellerShannon! Still, it would have been nice if this volume had any indication whatsoever that there were other volumes.

Alternatively, Brian's review says: "This is the third part of Morrison's Batman epic which in order is as follows "Batman and Son" "Batman: The Black Glove" "Batman: RIP" "Final Crisis" "Batman and Robin vol 1,2,3." "The Return of Bruce Wayne" and finally "Batman INC. vol 1, 2", In between there is "The Battle for the Cowl" but it was not written by Morrison."

Others explain that Morrison's goal here was to incorporate all parts of decades of Batman storytelling, even those things many would rather forget. I imagine this could make the book quite rewarding for Batman scholars.