With Battle for the Cowl gone and done with, (the one where Damian acts uncharacteristically afraid of Killer Croc?) we have a new Batman AND Robin.  What’s also great about this issue is Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely working together again.

Some may say that Morrison’s Batman is a complex, backwards-and-forwards mess, (and sometimes it is,) but here, we finally get to watch the seeds of what he was planning.  (And if you haven’t read Battle for the Cowl) Dick Grayson’s filling in the shoes of the Dark Knight.

We see Dick Grayson and Damian settling into the new Batcave — underneath (what is probably a Wayne-owned) building that looks like a bat.  (A batbase under a building?  Paracapes?  It’s starting to seem like movies…)  Dick’s still struggling with taking over his mentor, and Damian’s just waiting ‘til he can become Batman.

What’s fun about this title is the way Dick and Damian is different as Batman and Robin.  It’s refreshing, really — of the countless Bruce/Tim comic books I’ve read over the years?  (Bruce gets a bit … dark A LOT OF times, and Robin isn’t even there 89% of the time — he’s too busy becoming his own man.)  It’s really something new.  There’s also the throwbacks to the old Bat books — giant text describing an event?  “Boom boom” goes the explosion, and “SPLSH” [sic] goes the splash that makes the book superhero-ey.  Best panel?  That one-two punch on The Toad.  (A new Bat foe.)  It just feels like the dynamic duo is … well, dynamic again.

For the last few panels, we get a taste of what sick new villain this new Batman’s going to have to face — Pyg.

Personally, I loved (and boy, have I loved a lot of things) this issue — it was a refreshing take on Batman and Robin; I mean, this is the best we’re going to get ‘til Bruce comes back, but hey, good stuff, good stuff.

Also, FLYING BATMOBILE?!  Brilliant!

5/5

Related posts:

1. batman 666.
2. Batman: Battle For The Cowl 1
3. all-star batman and robin 6.
4. Bruce, You Magnificent Bastard.
5. batman: arkham asylum game.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.