Batman and Robin #8
Story By : Peter Tomasi
Art By : Patrick Gleason
Review Score: 9/10
What started of as a disjointed arc featuring a new villain Nobody and an odd characterization of Damian Wayne has turned into quite possible he best Damian Wayne story ever written. Born to Kill wraps up this issue and with an action packed issue before it Tomasi pulls at your heart-strings from the opening page this issue and doesn’t let up until the very last.He manages in one issue to make you believe that while Damian and Bruce may be farther apart than they thought the love that they share for one another hasn’t been stronger.
Tomasi gives most of the dialogue to Damian in the opening pages and allows Bruce to follow-up later on as both father and son nurse their physical and mental wounds from the fallout with Nobody. Oh and it has to be noted that Tomasi finally brings in a character from Batman Beyond we’ve always wanted to see.Titus the loyal dog is now a part of DC’s new 52 and I couldn’t be happier .
I have to say Patrick Gleason has to continue to draw Batman for the foreseeable future . His work is simply stunning and he has adapted from Green Lantern Corps to Batman and Robin very nicely. Relying on heavier inks and more shadow than I’ve seen . The first few pages alone blew me away with the amount of detail on each page and the expressions on both Bruce and Damian’s faces.There is also a chilling seen as the Batplane’s reflection gleams in the eyes of Nobody as his mask is the last thing we see sink into the ocean.
I also like the way Tomasi uses Alfred as comic relief with how heavy and dark this arc has been its nice to see some levity inserted . This arc takes place just before Court of Owls and solidly confirms Bruce and Damian’s relationship with one another. I love that this at its core has always been a father and son story and I can’t recommend this issue to you enough. When Damian was first introduced I scoffed at the notion of another Robin being added to the Bat Family but after reading this story I wouldn’t have it any other way . Kudos to Tomasi and Gleason for putting out the best single issue of any comic this week.
Mike DeVivo
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