On Wednesday July 31, 2013, it all ended. Grant Morrison‘s epic seven-year run with the character of Batman came to a close with Batman Incorporated #13.

This issue marks the end of an emotional run in which Morrison added so much to the mythos of Batman which revived older characters, created new ones, and ultimately told arguably the best Batman story of all time. I’ve been a huge supporter of Morrison’s Batman work for years now, and I’ve enjoyed it every step of the way. As a fan, what I wanted out of this issue was an oversized blowout that gave Morrison a fitting, emotional goodbye to the character and the seven years’ worth of material and life that he put into his Batman work. But that’s not what happened. What happened was more of a sweet kiss goodbye, not a world-burning epic, but honestly? I think this was definitely the right way to go. In retrospect, I can see that Morrison has been saying goodbye since the beginning of the New 52 and even before that with Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne in 2010.

However, it’s come to my attention that there will be a salute to the run in the upcoming Batman Incorporated Special #1, which features a cast of characters that Morrison has worked with, with contributions from several of the industry’s top talent. I definitely am satisfied to hear this because this series and Morrison’s run deserves to be appreciated, and if you haven’t taken the plunge into his work, it will definitely be worth your while, but don’t skip anything because what he does in the series is play off his own work and you can truly see the recurring themes, reverse tales, and quite simply put the talent the man has.

Morrison exits with class and humor with a moo of a Bat-Cow and the mew of a cat, while also giving a nod of approval to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman with a reference to the new head creators of the Batman mythos’ Year Zero story arc. Overall, the series and Morrison’s run come to a close in a nice way with a world-opening epilogue. It’s the Ouroboros. It ends the way it begins, and it’s beautifully poetic.