Review: ‘Batman & Robin’ #2 Gets In Deep
by Tony Thornley
Overview
This book has its flaws. It’s getting better by the issue though, with engaging writing and art. Now if the villain could just measure up.
Overall
7.5/10Batman & Robin have only just been reunited, but the series’ second issue is throwing them deeper than we could imagine. What looked to be a unique team-up has revealed a conspiracy much deeper and darker than our father and son heroes expect.
Joshua Williamson, Simone DiMeo and Steve Wands reveal the beginnings of something big.
A criminal mastermind is leading diabolical experiments through Gotham. If they succeed, their work could tear the city apart. That means Bruce and Damian have to wage war on levels they haven’t faced before. But before they can do that, Damian has to face his toughest challenge to date, high school!
I always like a good Batman versus a conspiracy story. A villain turning people into monsters is a great hook for one as well. Williamson does that extremely well here, while continuing to build up Damian and Bruce’s relationship, both as father and son, and as Batman and Robin.
Where the issue falls short is with its introduction to a new villain, Shush (yep!). She’s not given a hook or motivation at all, and it’s even clear that she’s not the mastermind. It completely neuters the character, who’s already silly. She’s just Hush-Girl, a spin off of an already bad villain.
DiMeo’s art is way stronger than last issue. Some panels are still very busy, with weird lighting choices. As the issue gets deeper though, his action is cleaner, and he makes some really cool coloring choices. A sequence where Damian imagines beating up a group of bullies shifts from reds and yellows, to blues and greys, then goes back to reds and yellows when the fantasy ends- a subtle way to show that it was his imagination without fully disrupting the story.
I also love the dynamism of his point of view choices. Bruce and Damian both dive straight into the “camera” several times across the issue. Batman’s cape is continually swirling around him. There’s always something in the foreground to give the main focus of the panel a sense of movement. It’s almost like a CG animated movie as much as it’s like a comic.
Batman & Robin #2 is available now from DC Comics.
