SYNOPSIS: Batman and Robin are back in action! The Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder have been hard at work cleaning up the streets of Gotham City, and their partnership has only gotten tighter. But when a gang of street kids starts causing mischief, Batman and Robin will need to get to the bottom of where these kids came from and who is in charge! Mark Waid and Chris Samnee return to Gotham to tell another tale of the early days of the Dynamic Duo!
Waid and Samnee, comics’ own version of the Dynamic Duo, have reunited once again to bring us another tale from the first year of the Caped Crusaders’ partnership! Picking up where they left off, the magic is back!
Starting with a terrifying human sacrifice, rendered in a nine-panel grid by Samnee, a man named Scorpio, self-professed “Messenger of Barbatos”, is making a tribute to the bat god, thinking he has manifested the demon. He’s wrong.
Ever since “Dark Knight/Dark City” (BATMAN #452-454), I’ve been fascinated by the legend of Barbatos and how Gotham has been built on and molded by an ancient demon conjured by Jacob Stockman and others (including Thomas Jefferson!). I never thought it would come up again, but since 1990 the likes of Ram V, Scott Snyder, and Grant Morrison (amongst others) have picked up on that narrative thread and have created a tapestry around it.
Now it’s Waid and Samnee’s turn and they take the baton and run with it! Samnee’s splash page of The Dark Knight emerging from a pit of skeletal remains is something to behold and Batman’s rage is perfectly captured in the action sequence that follows. This is him in his prime, now even more comfortable teaming with his protégé.
Despite being ominously bathed in red the whole time, this portion jumps off the page, capturing menace, excitement, and a bit of humor, courtesy of The Boy Wonder, who maintains a playful attitude despite the grisliness of the situation. The balance is pitch perfect, proving Robin can work in these darker situations.
The tone lightens just a bit with a return to The Batcave. Batman even somberly cracks a joke! The scene quickly shifts to Bruce Wayne on a date to the movies. After the film is over, Bruce and his date Janet get accosted by several young thieves. Obviously, this is triggering for Bruce, and the art deftly conveys his rage and frustration until a shadowy interloper puts a halt to the proceedings.
That sets up a bit of a mystery for the end of the book and lets Samnee show off his stuff when talking about possible suspects. Of course, the big splash page unveiling of Bruce’s savior looks completely stunning. Waid even reveals that one of the young thieves is named Mehitabel, an uncommon name that I looked up online. Not only does it mean “God benefits”, but it also happens to be the name of an alley cat that Catwoman actress Eartha Kitt played in the Broadway musical Shinbone Alley! Holy Coincidence, Batman! Given Waid’s extensive knowledge of all things DC and DC-related, that’s got to be intentional!
If you’re a fan of the first volume of Batman & Robin, then you don’t want to miss what Waid, Samnee, and colorist Mat Lopes have cooked up! It’s like no time has passed as they deliver yet another thrilling installment of the Dynamic Duo! With an action-packed opening, fun character beats, and a new mystery to solve, you can bet I’ll be back same Bat-Time, same Bat-Comic! – Javier E. Trujillo
GRADE: A+
