I love it when DC does Year One stories. In the Batman Universe, there are many character origin stories to choose from, and even some characters have multiple variations. For Dick Grayson, there are some excellent arcs to choose from; right off the bat, it seems Batman: Year Three and Robin: Year One would be up there in choice with the “Year” theme. When the series was first announced, there might have been more excitement for the reunion of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee than for the origins of Batman and Robin. So how does this reunited duo make their tale dynamic?
DC Comics
One of Mark Waid’s talents is his depth of characters and their headspace. In our preview, Waid displays the troubles that Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth face with a young boy in the house and their lack of parenting skills. From that, we can see that both men worry about Dick Grayson’s inner rage about his loss. This opening issue has a different angle as we’ve seen Grayson mad and sad about the loss, but it usually seems that after Tony Zucco was busted, Grayson dropped a lot of the anger. There is a little bit of an edge to the Grayson that Waid gives in this series, one that seems to challenge Wayne and Batman.
That challenge is interesting as it pops up quite a bit in the story. There is a line by Waid – “Protect whoever it is you still are inside…or Gotham City will turn you into something worse” – which seems to be some fatherly doting is getting into Wayne’s mind about taking the boy in. I like the change in Wayne’s thinking. It shows the growth needed to protect the boy, but as the issue progresses, we see Batman’s thinking about how to challenge the boy to survive. The contrast is fascinating, and I am curious how it will affect their relationship and partnership.
DC Comics
Chris Samnee’s artwork is just amazing to behold. Plus, the colors by Matheus Lopes enhance the world. Sometimes, I felt like I was reading Darwyn Cooke and Dave Stewart on those pages, which was perfect. Samnee’s time on Daredevil did not go to waste, and he uses that body movement style perfectly with Robin. As the Dynamic Duo moves, you can see Samnee gives them moments of separation and then shows they have trained together, which is nice. That uniformness plays perfectly against awkward jolts in the moments when the team faces close calls, as this is their first time.
DC Comics
The opening issue gives an excellent vibe that this series is worth reading, as it promises fantastic action and drama. Batman and Robin Year One also doesn’t feel like it’s subtracting from any previous “Year” stories; rather, it feels like it could be happening alongside them. Waid is giving Batman some tremendous inner monologues, and I can’t wait till he starts to examine Robin and, hopefully, Alfred, too. Having Samnee and Lopes on the art is such a dream that I don’t know what I want to see because I would be cheating myself of their remarkable abilities.
You must be logged in to post a comment.