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michaelchurch 's review for:
Batman and Robin, Volume 1: Born to Kill
by Guy Major, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Peter J. Tomasi, John Kalisz
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).