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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I'm going to have to keep reading more from Tomasi because he gets it, man, he gets it so good.
This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite graphic novels to date.
The art is exquisite throughout, and the penciler, colorist, and inker all did a terrific job working together to create the perfect end product for this tale of Damian and Bruce.
And this IS a tale of Damian and Bruce. While the art is top notch for any Batman comic, the writing is outright spectacular. Peter Tomasi's pitch is provided in the back of the book, and you can tell that this story was dear to his heart from the get-go.
A little backstory on me: I grew up reading Marvel comics, and never really liked DC. I decided to give DC a chance when I wanted to get back into comics and the New 52 was just hitting shelves. Perfect timing! I still didn't check out Batman and Robin then, I just went with the main Batman titles. Now, I've been doing some catching up, reading older New 52 books. My wife actually got me this as a gift because I had to stay at home and watch our son on Free Comic Book Day. What a gift it was!
Damian was introduced years before the New 52 launched. I admit the thought of Batman having a kid always sounded dumb. That's why I didn't check it out before. But what I found in this book was the most touching story of a conflicted, struggling father-son love that I've seen yet in comics. I didn't know much about Damiam, and I still don't know if Morgan (the villain here) is a recurring character or one Tomasi made up just for this story, but that doesn't matter.
After reading this, I immediately looked up Damian's introduction and began buying up a bunch of old graphic novels all about Damian. I've heard Grant Morrison get complimented a lot, and he IS the guy who introduced Damian. I only hope his work holds up to Tomasi's standard (though most regular DC comics readers ask the opposite question).
The art is exquisite throughout, and the penciler, colorist, and inker all did a terrific job working together to create the perfect end product for this tale of Damian and Bruce.
And this IS a tale of Damian and Bruce. While the art is top notch for any Batman comic, the writing is outright spectacular. Peter Tomasi's pitch is provided in the back of the book, and you can tell that this story was dear to his heart from the get-go.
A little backstory on me: I grew up reading Marvel comics, and never really liked DC. I decided to give DC a chance when I wanted to get back into comics and the New 52 was just hitting shelves. Perfect timing! I still didn't check out Batman and Robin then, I just went with the main Batman titles. Now, I've been doing some catching up, reading older New 52 books. My wife actually got me this as a gift because I had to stay at home and watch our son on Free Comic Book Day. What a gift it was!
Damian was introduced years before the New 52 launched. I admit the thought of Batman having a kid always sounded dumb. That's why I didn't check it out before. But what I found in this book was the most touching story of a conflicted, struggling father-son love that I've seen yet in comics. I didn't know much about Damiam, and I still don't know if Morgan (the villain here) is a recurring character or one Tomasi made up just for this story, but that doesn't matter.
After reading this, I immediately looked up Damian's introduction and began buying up a bunch of old graphic novels all about Damian. I've heard Grant Morrison get complimented a lot, and he IS the guy who introduced Damian. I only hope his work holds up to Tomasi's standard (though most regular DC comics readers ask the opposite question).
Whoa, I REALLY enjoyed this.
So Damien is a interesting character (he's tied for my number 2 Robin with Tim.) but but thing I really liked here was just the breakdown of his relationship with Bruce. I enjoyed Damien's time with Dick but he was different with dick. He viewed him as a brother, or partner, not a father or leader. So seeing Damien readjust to it all, to follow his father's lead, is both interesting and actually really funny at times cause Damien the king of burns.
I love watching them work together, fight, and the having a strong backstory of a villain name Nobody coming into the picture really helped further the character development of both Bruce and Damien.
Some pacing issues at the start, feeling a bit like backtracking some earlier development with Damien. However as it went on it wasn't doing so much that but focusing on Damien learning to work with his father instead of Dick. So I forgave it as it went on.
A 4 to a 4.5/5 for this one.
So Damien is a interesting character (he's tied for my number 2 Robin with Tim.) but but thing I really liked here was just the breakdown of his relationship with Bruce. I enjoyed Damien's time with Dick but he was different with dick. He viewed him as a brother, or partner, not a father or leader. So seeing Damien readjust to it all, to follow his father's lead, is both interesting and actually really funny at times cause Damien the king of burns.
I love watching them work together, fight, and the having a strong backstory of a villain name Nobody coming into the picture really helped further the character development of both Bruce and Damien.
Some pacing issues at the start, feeling a bit like backtracking some earlier development with Damien. However as it went on it wasn't doing so much that but focusing on Damien learning to work with his father instead of Dick. So I forgave it as it went on.
A 4 to a 4.5/5 for this one.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I'd heard great things, but I've never been much of a fan of Damian (until now) even conceptually. The way that Tomasi writes this pair, though, is phenomenal. Of course, Damian comes off as considerably older and more mature than most 10 year-olds, but he's not exactly average. There's a great little epilogue from the creative team talking about the story and what the goals were of the book. It's a nice piece to help you zero in on what the book does so well - exploring the relationship between Bruce and Damian. This is actually the first time that a Robin's backstory really makes sense, too. Sure, Tim supposedly discovered Batman's identity and took up the mantle without any permission. This is even more solid (though twisted) in that Damian was raised to be a weapon. You get the sense that there's no way he could fit in somewhere else and pushing him to do so could be a terrible mistake.
Anyway, enough rambling. Tomasi establishes a strong relationship between the two. It's supposed to be a reboot, but the previous tensions are clear from the start and you can tell there's give and take between the two. Everything flows and while you can definitely disagree with some of the comments or decisions they make, it all makes sense. There's also some neat story-telling devices. For one, there's a span where Bruce is doing some pretty uninteresting (though important to the story), so it's interspersed with exposition and backstory in a way that makes pretty decent sense.
The art is also absolutely fantastic. There are some great scenes and splash pages that are just epic. A couple top of mind are when Bruce shows up at the end for the big showdown. He's terrifying in a way that he hasn't even approached up until then. There's also an image of Damian at the beginning of issue 8 that is just unbelievable. The expression that Gleason has drawn on his face and the whole panel in general is just so intensely emotional and moving. It's one of the best-drawn panels I've seen in comics.
The only thing I didn't like was the design for Nobody, the villain. It was kind of neat but felt too forced, though it was very much in the New 52 style. Just none of it really made sense and it felt sort of superfluous for a character named Nobody. I also didn't really like how they glossed over the incident in Moscow, but I'm hoping that got some more attention in Batman Incorporated or something.
Overall, a fantastic book. And so I begrudgingly add a 5th bat-book to my pull list... (Batman, Batgirl, Batwoman, and Red Hood are the others).
Anyway, enough rambling. Tomasi establishes a strong relationship between the two. It's supposed to be a reboot, but the previous tensions are clear from the start and you can tell there's give and take between the two. Everything flows and while you can definitely disagree with some of the comments or decisions they make, it all makes sense. There's also some neat story-telling devices. For one, there's a span where Bruce is doing some pretty uninteresting (though important to the story), so it's interspersed with exposition and backstory in a way that makes pretty decent sense.
The art is also absolutely fantastic. There are some great scenes and splash pages that are just epic. A couple top of mind are when Bruce shows up at the end for the big showdown. He's terrifying in a way that he hasn't even approached up until then. There's also an image of Damian at the beginning of issue 8 that is just unbelievable. The expression that Gleason has drawn on his face and the whole panel in general is just so intensely emotional and moving. It's one of the best-drawn panels I've seen in comics.
The only thing I didn't like was the design for Nobody, the villain. It was kind of neat but felt too forced, though it was very much in the New 52 style. Just none of it really made sense and it felt sort of superfluous for a character named Nobody. I also didn't really like how they glossed over the incident in Moscow, but I'm hoping that got some more attention in Batman Incorporated or something.
Overall, a fantastic book. And so I begrudgingly add a 5th bat-book to my pull list... (Batman, Batgirl, Batwoman, and Red Hood are the others).
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this first storyarc of the New 52 B&R for the father-son dynamics between Bruce and Damien, which force Batman to articulate his "code," when faced with Nobody, whose vigilantism is of a distinctly different flavor than Batman's. Why doesn't Batman just kill all the villains he subdues? Wouldn't that save Gotham from its chronic woes of Joker attacks and Penguin attacks and ... etc.? This arc focuses on those questions.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
AMAZING IN EVERYTHING! character driven factor plot with character development love it
Wow. I loved the psychological arc of this book. Tomasi and Gleason really nailed it. I especially enjoyed issue #8: the dénouement was a perfect way to end the arc.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to, given how much I dislike Damian’s personality. They do a good job with an extremely disagreeable character of making him tolerable without making him nice. That’s a tough thing to do but I think they’ve nailed it here.
The art was particularly nice. I stopped and carefully examined several of the pages, both the fantastic double-page spreads as well as the normal single pages. All of it is immersive, clear, and impressive. This is a book I will put right back on my “to-be-read” pile with excitement!
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to, given how much I dislike Damian’s personality. They do a good job with an extremely disagreeable character of making him tolerable without making him nice. That’s a tough thing to do but I think they’ve nailed it here.
The art was particularly nice. I stopped and carefully examined several of the pages, both the fantastic double-page spreads as well as the normal single pages. All of it is immersive, clear, and impressive. This is a book I will put right back on my “to-be-read” pile with excitement!