Not knowing where to start is a common complaint I hear from non-comic reading friends, and it’s a fair point. On the surface, comics, especially from the Big Two, can be intimidating. There are often 60+ years of stories by many writers and artists. Not to mention the occasional reboot and re-numbering that occurs. It’s a subject I’ve written about extensively here at AIPT. From Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter, Batman and Robin Annual 2024 is the perfect answer to that ever-confounding question.
If you haven’t been reading Batman and Robin, that’s not a problem. As of late, DC Annuals tend to be kick-offs or extended finales to ongoing storylines, but that’s not the case here. Annual 2024 is a truly standalone story starring the Caped Crusader and his son/partner in crime fighting, Robin.
The story opens in Gotham as Batman and Robin are wrapping up a night of nabbing some low-tier criminals. One of the criminals mentions they were planning on a road trip and were looting some diamonds for extra spending money, as you do. As the police are taking them away, Robin asks his dad, “What’s a road trip?”
Cut to an eerie but beautiful wide shot of the Gotham skyline and the surrounding mountains as a car is driving on the winding roads. Artist Howard Porter and colorist Rain Beredo create a really moody but somehow cartoony depiction of the greater Gotham area. It might be dawn, but there’s still plenty of shadows for villains to hide in.
It’s revealed that Batman and Robin, in their civilian clothes as Bruce and Damian Wayne, have decided to take a brief break from apprehending criminals to go on a road trip. Writer Joshua Williamson gives everything a new reader would need to know about the duo’s dynamic right here on this page. In this brief bit of dialogue, we learn that Batman and Robin have been through it recently and need this break, even though they’ve never been camping together before. It’s a father and son learning how to be themselves around each other. Although Damian puts on a tough and smart-beyond-his-years exterior, he’s still a kid, asking Bruce, “Are we there yet?”
The twist of this Annual is, of course, Batman and Robin can’t take a night off! They soon find themselves in a force field enclosure, being hunted by criminals including the Suicide Squad’s Bloodsport. Armed with minimal gadgets and camping gear, Batman and Robin must defend themselves without giving away their secret identities.
One really impressive sequence has Bruce and Damian playing bait, while a series of hunters fall into their Home Alone-style traps. It’s a real bonding moment for father and son and a genuinely funny series of events as Porter cuts back and forth between our heroes and the hunters’ being foiled over and over.
While Willaimson alludes to Batman and Robin’s previous adventures, it’s not essential to the enjoyment of this story. And while things that happen here could be referenced in the future, the story is contained completely to Annual 2024.
It’s very easy to recommend Batman and Robin Annual 2024 to readers of any experience. The story is entertaining, with funny dialogue and more than enough action. The artwork mirrors that tone, swapping between a lighthearted, colorful aesthetic and the dark and brooding one we expect from Batman titles.
So, if you’ve somehow never read a Batman comic before now, Batman and Robin Annual 2024 is a great way to get your feet wet. And if you did read it and are looking for where to go next, I highly suggest Joshua Williamson’s ongoing Batman and Robin. In it, you can find the father/son dynamic playing out over a longer form story with equally impressive art. For a more complete story, you could go back to Grant Morrison’s or Peter J. Tomasi’s runs on previous iterations of Batman and Robin. You really can’t go wrong with the Dynamic Duo.
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