Review: Batman and Robin

I am a fan of Grant Morrison’s work. I thought his run on X-Men a few years back was exceptional. In essence, he took a book that was becoming somewhat derivative of itself and turned everything on its head, he made something old, new again. I did not, however, care for his recent run on Batman in the least bit. Batman R.I.P. was a story line that just simply didn’t resonate with me. It seemed contrived to some extent like it was simply going through the paces to get Batman dead. The Aftermath however is something completely different.

With Bruce Wayne presumed dead, the mantel of the Bat has fallen to the best of all of the Robins, Dick Grayson. It only makes sense that Dick should be the new Batman since this is now the time when teenage sidekicks are replacing their mentors…Bucky anyone (oh by the way, I am perturbed that Steve Rogers is coming back but that’s a whole different story). So now that Bruce has taken a dirt nap, as we all knew he would inevitably do since he is simply a man, his protégé is now in action with the cape and cowl.

I like the idea that Batman is not Bruce Wayne but a concept, a myth, a legend. The important thing to Gotham is that Batman always exists (anybody remember the old episode of the Superman animated series “Knight Time” where Supes disguises himself as Batman when Bruce has gone M.I.A….probably its best episode). Batman is more a concept than a person. Anyway, Tim is still too young to take over and Jason is a bit too crazy and undead so Dick is our man.

The first issue of Batman and Robin introduces us to the new team of Dick Grayson and Damien Wayne, son of Bruce and Talia al Ghul (so at least there is some Wayne blood in the team). The two characters cannot be any different; Damien is headstrong, self impressed, and a bit of a loose canon where Dick is calm and collected. Since Dick was like Bruce’s first son having him as Damien’s mentor gives the reader a sense that Bruce, while dead, is still, in a way, raising his son.

The reader also gets a sense of the family that lived in Wayne manor. While not related, the Bat family is reeling from Bruce’s death. Alfred has lost the man that he considers his son and Dick has lost his father. The only character who seems undisturbed by what has taken place is Damien who, up until recently, had no contact with Bruce at all. Throw in an evil doer and you’ve got one hell of a story.

And what an evil doer we have! The villain in this first arc is the mysterious Pyg, who enjoys pillaging and mutilating people all across Gotham. Pyg seems to fit perfectly into the circus freak feel of Batman’s rogue’s gallery. He has the same creepy vibe like the Joker and Scarecrow.

Of course, the art is dead on brought to us by Frank Quitely one of Morrison’s frequent collaborators. I think the thing that I have always liked about Quitely’s work is the fact that none of his characters are of superhuman proportion, his Dick Grayson is fit but not unattainably so. I have never looked at Quitely’s characters and thought “Damn I wonder how many steroids it took to get that big” (except of course for the roided out characters).

Put simply I really loved the first issue of this book. I read it three times the day it came out. I hope it stays strong for its entire run. After the first three issues art duties will transfer over to Philip Tan, another great artist. I, for one, am looking forward to the arrival of the second issue on July 2nd.

Stoker