Is this what you wanted?
Is this the “new direction” you hoped for?
Is this the personality of Gotham City you’re willing to cozy up to for the next 12 months?
It better be, because for better or worse, Grant Morrison’s BATMAN AND ROBIN will be the new flagship for a character who just celebrated his 70th anniversary last month as the devoted await the inevitable return of Bruce Wayne to the pages of BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS.
Following the events of “Battle for the Cowl,” we know a few things: Dick Grayson has reluctantly assumed the role of Batman; Tim Drake has slipped into a fascinatingly ominous state of mind; And yeah, unfortunately, Damian wasn’t some cruel manifestation of our imaginations, having now annoyingly taken on the role of Robin to Grayson’s Caped Crusader.
In the first installment of the new title, we’re immediately introduced to a fresh world of villainy. A grotesque plumper called Toad, spouting what Grayson would later call “European Circus slang,” high-tails it through the streets of Gotham after “a simple exchange” gone awry. The details of the exchange are of course saved for later issues in the arc, which brings to mind something this book happens to get right: planting the seeds of future intrigue.
The opening sequence also introduces us to The Dynamic Duo’s new ride: a hovering Batmobile rendered beautifully by artist Frank Quietly. Though a double-page spread of the cockpit is perhaps too reminiscent of a similar image of Cyclops and Wolverine in the pages of NEW X-MEN #114 (the first issue of the “E is for Extinction” arc, Morrison and Quietly’s “new direction” of the X-MEN franchise in 2001).
There’s a lot of NEW X-MEN vibe to this, actually, which begs the question: Is Morrison planning to piggyback his own covered territory? It’s too early to judge, but the suits at DC would likely hope for nothing more. After all, “E is for Extinction” re-ignited the floundering X titles and ushered in a new era of vibrant creativity. But was the Bat universe really all that desperate for a facelift? I submit that it’s the writing talent that hasn’t been up to par (Paul Dini excepted), but that’s just me.
Getting back to the book, it moves along nicely and has a richness of mood that’s rather unmistakable. Morrison owes much of this, no doubt, to Quietly, whose textured pencils work a lot more than may have been expected by the seemingly caveat-laden cover we’ve seen for months. (There is actually a JG Jones variant cover that is more appealing, if somewhat against the grain of the narrative’s tone.) Quietly has moved effortlessly from the high key elements of Metropolis and the Fortress of Solitude in the pages of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the grit and drab streets of Gotham. I’m reminded of Tim Sale’s similar tendency, even if both artists have drastically differing styles.
What Quietly’s work really brings out, however, is Morrison’s macabre-soaked vision. The book’s final moments with a diabolical new villain, Pyg, drive this point home. I have mixed feelings on Pyg because he seems somehow derivative, and with a rogue’s gallery such as the Bat’s, is a new antagonist really appropriate? Will Morrison leave Pyg to finally be defined five years later as Jeph Loeb did with Hush or does he actually have thematically pertinent plans for him? Time will tell, but as a start for the hopeful, BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 certainly introduces a well of potential.
We’ll see what they do with it.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: "The new Dynamic Duo hit the streets with a bang in their new flying Batmobile as they face off against an assemblage of villains called the Circus of Strange. They also tackle their first mission investigating a child who's been abducted by the mysterious Domino Killer. But will everything go smoothly? And who exactly are the new Batman and Robin? The newest era of The Dark Knight begins here!"
