While Bruce Wayne may have gotten a shiny new #1 with a new volume of Batman, his adventures with his son Damian continue with Batman and Robin #25, a brand new jumping-on point for new and lapsed readers. As one of the latter, I’ve been wanting to jump back into the adventures of Batman and son since Phillip Kennedy Johnson took over with the “All In” initiative, but I kept forgetting, and when I’d remember, the book would be mid-story arc. Well now with issue #25, a new adventure kicks off for Batman and Damian Wayne that feels like a good counterpoint to the events happening in both Batman and Detective Comics.
After stopping the latest Gang War between The Penguin and Tiger Shark, Batman and Robin are in search of a little downtime together. To Damian’s surprise, Bruce suggests catching a late showing at the Monarch Theater, a shock to the younger Wayne as they will be A) off the clock for an extended amount of time, and B) Bruce’s wariness with theaters, what with the death of his parents being tied to one and all. Yet the two head out on the town, with Bruce trying convince Damian (and himself) that Penguin and his crew will be too busy celebrating and Tiger Shark’s crew will be either on the run or joining Penguin’s crew to cause any additional trouble that night. Little do they know about the mysterious new prisoner release from Allegheny State Penitentiary, who’s on his way to Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge on a mystery revenge tour. How much damage can happen during one movie and previews? The Dynamic Duo is about to find out.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s been one of the unsung talents at DC for a while now. After making a big splash on Action Comics during the “Future State” saga and the follow up Warworld Saga (an exceptional recent Superman story), moving him to a Batbook seemed like the logical next step. And he does wonders here, filling in the aspects of the character that books like Batman and Detective Comics don’t have time for. Johnson’s script covers both the Gotham Underworld and the father/son dynamic of Batman and Robin, two aspects that I love about the Dark Knight that haven’t been featured in the other books I read. The relationship between Bruce and Damian is improving from where I last saw it, but I like that there’s still some tension there, as the two seem to be cautious of setting the other off and regressing to old habits. Add in some great, actual pathos from Bruce as he tries to connect with his son, and you’ve got an issue that reminds me of the Peter Thomasi and Patrick Gleason Batman and Robin run that made me fall in love with Damian in the first place.
DC
Fico Ossio handles the art duties here, and while I haven’t seen his work before, I quickly fell in love with it. Ossio’s work has subtle changes that fit the different settings and moods of Johnson’s script beautifully. From the opening pages of the issue that feel like a dark grindhouse movie to the rich and frenetic action as Batman and Robin take down both sides of the mob war, Ossio shows he’s got the goods. His Penguin looks a little too on the “Danny Devito disgusting” side for my tastes, but I do appreciate that he’s taking a distinct visual style with one of Batman’s longtime rogues. Working in tandem with colorist Marcelo Maiolo, the two deliver one of my favorite Batman moments of the year so far with Bruce and Damian looking over the Gotham Skyline late at night as the two share a sweet moment as father and son.
While Batman’s outfit in this issue is updated to reflect the one in the newest volume of Batman, there’s no need to be aware of what’s happening in the other Batbooks to jump into Batman and Robin. Johnson and Ossio have created a fantastic jumping-on point that really feels welcoming and inviting to new and lapsed readers like myself. If this issue is a template for how the run has been so far, I’ve got some catching up to do.
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