Bruce Wayne Calls a Time Out

That incredibly fount of geek news the USA Today has confirmed that Bruce Wayne will be hanging up the cowl in Grant Morrison’s Batman #681, due next week. I’m not sure if fans are pissed about the spoiler that he doesn’t die/quits coming before the comic’s been released, or if it’s all been so obvious no one cares. Still, it’s worth reporting, since Bruce has had a sick day since Knightfall.

Just as The Dark Knight closes in on $1 billion worldwide gross, DC Comics is ready to have Bruce Wayne “die” ? or at least give up the cape ? in his monthly comic.

Batman #681, due Nov. 26, wraps up writer Grant Morrison’s Batman R.I.P. story line, in which the crimefighter is so shaken by a secret from his past that a new Batman must be found.
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[Neil] Gaiman is writing a two-issue tribute to the character, starting with Batman #686 and tentatively titled Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, due in February. “This is my last Batman story,” he says. “And in some ways, it could be seen as every last Batman story.”

I’m not sure what the secret could be that forces Bruce to take a break other than the possibility that all his vacation days are about to expire unless he uses them. Still, one would suspect that Dick Grayson/Nightwing will take the cowl, as rumored. So how long do you think this’ll last? One year? Two? Six months? Until DiDio gets fired?