Grant Morrison's first issue takes Batman out of Gotham; Grant's said some malarkey or other about returning Batman to the globe-travelling hairy-chested love god of O'Neil's 70's Batman, so he's certainly making an honest stab at exactly that.
Andy Kubert on art, and I'm unimpressed. First off, Batman has points on his shoulders, and that's just wrong. Second, Kubert (with help from the colorist) totally botches the splash on page 5--I read past it and got four pages further in before realizing that I was supposed to know something I didn't, backtracked, and saw what I had missed thanks to Kubert half-hiding the key reveal behind a foreground character.
However, all things considered, hey, ninja were-bats, playboy Bruce Wayne, Talia not being dead, Batman's son, this doesn't suck. Also, for no apparent reason, there's a small Godzilla floating upside-down in a transparent green pillar in the middle of the "Action for Africa" benefit, because, clearly, why not? (Of all times not to have a scanner!)
I agree that the art left something to be desired, especially in the first scene.
Perhaps the events in that first scene presage a changed Joker suitable for use in future issues in Morrison's and Dini's run?
Morrison has said that he plans to introduce a new Joker later on, hasn't he?
It's funny that it's so 70s O'Neil, yet being the antithesis of the 90s O'Neil. In fact, I bet 'ol Denny would hate this issue with a passion.