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bluehairedlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
This is the Dick Grayson as Batman that I've wanted: snarky and sarcastic with lots of flippy fighting. Enjoyed this way more than the disjointed Grant Morrison run.
literarygoblin's review against another edition
5.0
Do you ever read an entry in a series so satisfying that it makes you wonder how the rest of the series fell flat in comparison? That’s exactly what happened when I picked up the final volume of Batman & Robin. Volume Four, entitled Dark Knight vs. White Knight, concludes the series, and it does so in a way that was satisfying while also leaving me wanting more.
Volumes one through three, which spanned issues 1-16, were helmed by Grant Morrison, who is something of a staple of Batman comics. Volume four, covering issues 17-25, are instead written by three different authors - Paul Cornell, Peter J. Tomasi, and Judd Winick, and I honestly think it’s their inclusion that makes this final book such a strong edition to the series. The stories that Morrison told in the earlier issues started strong, but it felt as if they were becoming tired and focused on aspects that weren’t appropriately suited to the new dynamic duo. By bringing on new writers, Batman & Robin became reinvigorated for it’s final stretch, and with these new writers came new perspectives on characters and stories.
In the first story arc, the Sum of Her Parts, the story shift from Morrison to Cornell is immediately obvious. Cornell seems to have a lot of love and respect for Dick Grayson, and it shows - the issues helmed by Cornell give readers the chance to actually enjoy Dick and his relationship with Damian, whereas previous issues by Morrison seemed to not try enough to distinguish Dick’s Batman from Bruce’s Batman.
The plot and villain of this arc are also so refreshing, because they have such a fun and retro quality about them that makes the story feel familiar while also feeling brand new. In fact, I felt like the Sum of Her Parts could have gone on for at least one more issue, as it was a story that offered a lot of potential. This arc also finally tapped into all the potential that the Dick-Damian dynamic had, and it opened the floodgates to great interactions and character building in all the issues to follow.
My only major criticism of the Sum of Her Parts is of Scott McDaniel’s art, whose style I have never been a big fan of. McDaniel’s style is almost too cartoon-y for my taste, but I’ll give him my compliments, as his art in this story has improved since my first encounter with his work, which was in the 90s Nightwing run. The entirety of the Batman & Robin series is riddled with artists with styles that are too different from each other’s, so it makes things feel somewhat incohesive across the board.
The next story arc, Tree of Blood, brought on art by Patrick Gleason, who is my favorite artist of the book - his art feels very well-suited to the world of Batman & Robin, and it isn’t as stylistic as that of the other artists in this book.
This second arc also builds on the Bat-fam dynamic that was started by Cornell, and one of the things I love most in a Batman story is to see the ways that these characters interact with one another. We get a small appearance by Tim Drake, who I’ve missed dearly throughout this series, we also get a bit of Bruce, and we get further development for both Damian and Dick. As a reader, I appreciate the focus that Tomasi gives on characterization rather than letting characters fall to the wayside for the sake of developing a story. Tomasi does a beautiful job of balancing character with story, leaving me smiling and satisfied after each individual issue.
The final arc of this book, the Streets Run Red, is both my favorite while also being the arc that left something to be desired. This story focuses on Jason Todd, who, although not my favorite member of the Bat-fam, creates some fantastic scenarios when written well. Judd Winick knew what he was doing when reintroducing us to the Red Hood - he makes Jason menacing while also making him a total smart ass, which is such a joy to read.
The relationship between Jason and Dick is tense, which makes me both crave a resolution while also craving further conflict between them. I think a staple of a good Bat-fam story is that balance between conflict and compatibility, and Winick manages that quite well, because I couldn’t get enough of all these characters bouncing off each other. The strong tension between Damian and Jason was also great, because up until this point we didn’t get to see very much of it.
The reason I say the Streets Run Red left something to be desired is because the arc is so interesting that I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s a shame that this is the point at which this series ended, because I would have loved to see more and more of the dynamics between the Bat-fam, especially from the perspective of Winick. The ending also suggested a lot of possibilities for Red Hood and his potential conflicts with the new dynamic duo, so it leaves me wondering about what could have been had Batman & Robin continued.
just_fighting_censorship's review against another edition
4.0
At least this series ends on a high note.
This volume has three main story lines, the first of which was my least favorite. Some lady with a hole in her head has a grudge against Bruce Wayne because he didn't love her...
The second and title story was my favorite. It was dark and creepy and violent plus we get a few Arkham scenes. The villain's origin felt a little hokey, but he looked cool and had a pretty interesting MO.
Rounding out the volume was a story about Jason Todd AKA Red Hood, so your enjoyment of this story will be dependent on your feeling regarding this character. My personal opinion is one of indifference but I enjoyed the dynamics between Todd and Grayson.
Overall, Dick Grayson's Batman is wonderfully characterized and has been the highlight of this book and the entire series. I thought I would absolutely hate reading Batman books pretty much devoid of Bruce Wayne, but it was well done and interesting. Additionally, Damien Wayne was tolerable. This is the best treatment of the character that I've read. First, the other characters openly acknowledge that Damien is annoying. Second, Damien whines a little less and is actually useful. Third, he misses his father, the reader can sympathize. And lastly, I think that teaming up with Dick makes Damien more than just the "son of Batman". It allows him to be a fuller character and interact with a Batman that isn't teaming up with him out of obligation or parental bias.
This volume has three main story lines, the first of which was my least favorite. Some lady with a hole in her head has a grudge against Bruce Wayne because he didn't love her...
The second and title story was my favorite. It was dark and creepy and violent plus we get a few Arkham scenes. The villain's origin felt a little hokey, but he looked cool and had a pretty interesting MO.
Rounding out the volume was a story about Jason Todd AKA Red Hood, so your enjoyment of this story will be dependent on your feeling regarding this character. My personal opinion is one of indifference but I enjoyed the dynamics between Todd and Grayson.
Overall, Dick Grayson's Batman is wonderfully characterized and has been the highlight of this book and the entire series. I thought I would absolutely hate reading Batman books pretty much devoid of Bruce Wayne, but it was well done and interesting. Additionally, Damien Wayne was tolerable. This is the best treatment of the character that I've read. First, the other characters openly acknowledge that Damien is annoying. Second, Damien whines a little less and is actually useful. Third, he misses his father, the reader can sympathize. And lastly, I think that teaming up with Dick makes Damien more than just the "son of Batman". It allows him to be a fuller character and interact with a Batman that isn't teaming up with him out of obligation or parental bias.
carolinalikesdembooks's review against another edition
5.0
Omg yes, probably my favourite out of all 4 volumes
captwinghead's review against another edition
4.0
Update: So, this is still pretty damn good. Unfortunately, the art took a turn for the worst in the last 2 issues and it pained me to look at it. I still really like that story with Jason Todd but I wish they'd kept the artist that did the first part of that arc.
This is my favorite out of the Dick Grayson!Batman and Damian!Robin series.
There are 3 arcs here and I loved everyone of them. For once, every villain had depth and held my interest. So, each story is written and drawn by different teams.
The first is written by Paul Cornell/with art by Scott McDaniel which gives it a Batgirl, Nightwing kind of 90s feel. I don't mind this art and Paul Cornell does the Damian/Dick banter very well. Una Nemo is leading them around the city has a hole in the middle of her head and was on a vendetta to make Bruce miss her. Admittedly, not great making her into a version of the woman scorned but she isn't reduced to being a love interest. At least, I didn't feel that way.
The second one is the strongest one. It's written by Peter J. Tomasi with art from Patrick Gleason. A new villain, the White Knight performing some seriously screwed up art pieces around Gotham dressing the family members of Arkham Asylum inmates as angels and dropping them from buildings. His backstory was interesting and the last shot of that arc was amazing.
Then we end with a story written by Judd Winnick and the art in the first part is from Guillem March and Andrei Bressan and then Artur Fujita does the last 2 issues and it was a major bummer. Dick and Robin having to protect and then capture Jason Todd. We get lots of Jason unapologetically killing other inmates and the art was gorgeous for the first half of this. Dick and Jason were amazing and I got a bit distracted, not gonna lie. The ending was kind of unexpected.
There's character development as Dick and Damian are working more like a well oiled machine. There's a lovely scene where all of Bruce's kids (sans Cassie and Jason, of course) sit down to watch Zorro with milkshakes and popcorn. It was adorable! There's banter between Dick and Damian. There's a moment where they discuss nature v nurture and Dick and Alfred tell Damian how proud they are that he made the choice to be good. It was all very heartwarming.
I was really impressed by the parallels between Jason and Dick's upbringing. There's a lot of Jason admiring the differences between Dick's Batman and Bruce's. He notes that Dick gets so angry when he's taking on bad guys and he could be a great Batman if he'd let that anger help him but he's too busy trying to be Bruce. He calls Dick the "Good son" and that's fascinating considering how Dick quit being Robin.
Essentially, Dick never felt like he'd live up to Bruce's standards and then Jason never had the same morals as Bruce. Tim is the one who appears the most in line with Bruce's thoughts but he tells Cassie in Fresh Blood that he thinks Bruce needs to work more with law enforcement and he doesn't quite subscribe to Bruce's view. Damian is slowly coming around to Bruce's viewpoint but there's a darkness there that is a bit more in line with Jason's Robin's viewpoint. Oddly enough, Cassie is the one most like Bruce and I think that's why people think she's the perfect candidate to be Batman.
Anyway, really enjoyed this. It actually made the think and the villains were interesting. Definitely recommended.
This is my favorite out of the Dick Grayson!Batman and Damian!Robin series.
There are 3 arcs here and I loved everyone of them. For once, every villain had depth and held my interest. So, each story is written and drawn by different teams.
The first is written by Paul Cornell/with art by Scott McDaniel which gives it a Batgirl, Nightwing kind of 90s feel. I don't mind this art and Paul Cornell does the Damian/Dick banter very well. Una Nemo is leading them around the city has a hole in the middle of her head and was on a vendetta to make Bruce miss her. Admittedly, not great making her into a version of the woman scorned but she isn't reduced to being a love interest. At least, I didn't feel that way.
The second one is the strongest one. It's written by Peter J. Tomasi with art from Patrick Gleason. A new villain, the White Knight performing some seriously screwed up art pieces around Gotham dressing the family members of Arkham Asylum inmates as angels and dropping them from buildings. His backstory was interesting and the last shot of that arc was amazing.
Then we end with a story written by Judd Winnick and the art in the first part is from Guillem March and Andrei Bressan and then Artur Fujita does the last 2 issues and it was a major bummer. Dick and Robin having to protect and then capture Jason Todd. We get lots of Jason unapologetically killing other inmates and the art was gorgeous for the first half of this. Dick and Jason were amazing and I got a bit distracted, not gonna lie. The ending was kind of unexpected.
There's character development as Dick and Damian are working more like a well oiled machine. There's a lovely scene where all of Bruce's kids (sans Cassie and Jason, of course) sit down to watch Zorro with milkshakes and popcorn. It was adorable! There's banter between Dick and Damian. There's a moment where they discuss nature v nurture and Dick and Alfred tell Damian how proud they are that he made the choice to be good. It was all very heartwarming.
I was really impressed by the parallels between Jason and Dick's upbringing. There's a lot of Jason admiring the differences between Dick's Batman and Bruce's. He notes that Dick gets so angry when he's taking on bad guys and he could be a great Batman if he'd let that anger help him but he's too busy trying to be Bruce. He calls Dick the "Good son" and that's fascinating considering how Dick quit being Robin.
Essentially, Dick never felt like he'd live up to Bruce's standards and then Jason never had the same morals as Bruce. Tim is the one who appears the most in line with Bruce's thoughts but he tells Cassie in Fresh Blood that he thinks Bruce needs to work more with law enforcement and he doesn't quite subscribe to Bruce's view. Damian is slowly coming around to Bruce's viewpoint but there's a darkness there that is a bit more in line with Jason's Robin's viewpoint. Oddly enough, Cassie is the one most like Bruce and I think that's why people think she's the perfect candidate to be Batman.
Anyway, really enjoyed this. It actually made the think and the villains were interesting. Definitely recommended.
stronggirlreads's review
4.0
I really liked this story and I don't really follow the batman storyline. I will admit I had to do some research on who was who but I probably could have gone with out.
The first villain, absence, was kind of a mix for me. Her condition completely baffled me and I was a little bothered how it was so impossible but hey it's a comic so I didn't really care. I liked her style though and I feel she raised some great points. However, I don't know if they should bring her back, not sure what else she can do.
The second villain, white knight, was very shiny. He seemed to have a promising idea about him and would like for them to bring him back. They didn't explain his condition at all and I really want to find out more about him.
Jason Todd, I think he is one sexy beast and insanely smart. However, I got super pissed when the artwork changed after the first installment. It went from a sharper style to one that had a lot of soft lines and such. Other than that they shouldn't hide him in that silly red hood costume.
I will probably buy the rest of the series.
The first villain, absence, was kind of a mix for me. Her condition completely baffled me and I was a little bothered how it was so impossible but hey it's a comic so I didn't really care. I liked her style though and I feel she raised some great points. However, I don't know if they should bring her back, not sure what else she can do.
The second villain, white knight, was very shiny. He seemed to have a promising idea about him and would like for them to bring him back. They didn't explain his condition at all and I really want to find out more about him.
Jason Todd, I think he is one sexy beast and insanely smart. However, I got super pissed when the artwork changed after the first installment. It went from a sharper style to one that had a lot of soft lines and such. Other than that they shouldn't hide him in that silly red hood costume.
I will probably buy the rest of the series.
booknooknoggin's review
3.0
The first half of this had some really lame new villains. The story with the Red Hood redeemed this book. a hole in the head....really DC???
saphirablue's review
3.0
I love Dick and Damian as Batman and Robin. <3 I also love the brother and mentor relationship these two have. <3
The scene with Tim, Dick, Alfred, Damian and Bruce watching a movie together? <3
The stories are interesting and the art is (mostly) great.
The scene with Tim, Dick, Alfred, Damian and Bruce watching a movie together? <3
The stories are interesting and the art is (mostly) great.
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