With the recent news that Phillip Kennedy Johnson is going exclusive to Marvel, the clock is now ticking on his DC titles. That unfortunately includes Batman & Robin, which has benefited greatly from Johnson’s mix of engaging Gotham crime mysteries with Bruce and Damian Wayne attempting to reconnect as father and son. While the interpersonal family drama takes a backseat in Batman & Robin #28, the case of the Quiet Man takes center stage, which is good since Johnson’s run (and possibly the title itself) will be finishing up in just a few more issues.
As Batman and Robin attempt to track down The Quiet Man, Penguin and Two-Face are a few steps ahead of them. After giving The Quiet Man the exact address of Albert Wesker (aka classic bat rogue The Ventriloquist and the man believed to be the murderer of Quiet Man’s son), Penguin sits back and lets the mourning father handle the assassination for him. What Penguin doesn’t realize though, is that Batman and Robin’s separate investigations have led them on a collision course with The Quiet Man and Two-Face. As Robin finds Quiet Man’s hideout with the help of local street gang The Irregulars, Batman gets the drop on Two-Face doing a deal. As both members of the Dynamic Duo soon learn, the Quiet Man has the address of Wesker, and is on a warpath to get to him and his revenge. While the dynamic duo arrive too late, they do make the horrifying discovery that Wesker’s social worker is not only the only body left in the burned out building, but she’s been dead for weeks. So who has Bruce Wayne been communicating with? Is the Scarface persona back, and has it out for Wesker too?
That’s not something I’ll divulge here, but I will say that Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script continues to revel in the criminal playground that Gotham City offers him. I didn’t see the final pages coming, which is a testament to just how engaging this war between Two-Face, Penguin, and the Quiet Man has been the past few issues. While the previous issue had some truly moving and beautiful moments with Bruce Wayne wondering how good of a father he really can be, this issue puts that on the back burner and instead launches right into the action, crafting a truly tense and engaging race against time for both Batman and Robin. Kennedy offers us some interesting insights into the slight differences that Bruce and Damian have in regards to crime fighting as well, with some really great dialogue from Damian as he searches Quiet Man’s hideout. Damian using the local street gangs of kids around his age adds a whole new layer to how these two partners differ in their investigative approaches, but also adds a fun revelation to how Batman relies on the help of everyday citizens with his cases.
While regular artist Fico Ossio isn’t on this issue, we do get Stefano Raffaele, who matches the pace of the issue really well. The race to get to Wesker’s location is heightened thanks to Raffaele’s effective line work, and combined with colorist Marcelo Maiolo, the blast that engulfs Wesker’s home feels like the heat is coming off the page. Raffaele’s art is a little sketcher than Ossio’s, and doesn’t quite have the balance of the regular artist on the series (his take on Penguin in particular is quite a bit looser and more Batman Returns than Ossio’s), but overall Raffaele is a solid addition to the book who works with the established style that was set up by Ossio.
Batman & Robin #28 is an action-packed installment of the Quiet Man story that offers quite a bit of forward plot momentum as we barrel towards Johnson’s final issue. That’s to be expected, especially after last month’s surprisingly emotional installment, but hopefully there’s a better balance of action and pathos as we continue. I’ll certainly be sad to see Phillip Kennedy Johnson leave this title, but we have two more issues to go, and by all accounts they look to be doozies.
