A Batman & Robin: Eternal #1 Review – The Burden of (Low) Expectations

10/13/2015Rob Siebert 1 Comment

TITLE: Batman & Robin Eternal #1
AUTHORS: James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder
PENCILLER: Tony Daniel
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: October 7, 2015

***Readers might want to check out Grayson #12, as it sets this issue up quite nicely.***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

I’m going on record right now: If this book gets as tedious and stupid as Batman Eternal did, I’m out. For some ridiculous reason, I paid $156 for every issue of that series. And like every weekly series DC has put out that isn’t 52, it was a big waste of time and money. So if Batman & Robin Eternal goes off the rails, I won’t be sticking around to watch the awful blaze.

However, Batman & Robin Eternal may be better equipped for success. It’s only 26 issues, which means the creators hopefully won’t have to use as much fluff and filler as they did for its predecessor. Plus, a series with a cast of former Robins is an intriguing idea. The Robin legacy as a whole has been left so ambiguous in the New-52verse that spending some quality time with it would likely do it some good. This series will hopefully supply us with the sense of history we’ve sorely missed.

As an added bonus: This issue introduces Cassandra Cain into the New 52 continuity.

Playing off the events of Grayson #12, the rest of Dick’s surrogate family now knows he’s alive. This issue sees our favorite sexy super-spy help Red Hood and Red Robin catch a bad guy before returning to a familiar location on Spyral business. Then Dick is attacked by a group of well-dressed children with guns, as well as his Spyral partner, followed by a mysterious and lethal martial artist he doesn’t know. His assailant gives him a flash drive that leads him into a mystery in Batman’s past. Via recorded hologram, Bruce calls it his “greatest sin” and his “deepest regret.” The issue ends with a disturbing image which hints at what our mysterious villain, Mother, may be capable of.

Perhaps I’m reading into something that isn’t there, but this issue seems to hint that Dick, Jason, Tim, and others working with Batman was somehow preordained. As if somehow it was all part of a master plan connected to Mother. If that is what they’re going for, then I might as well tag out now. The notion that there was some sort of grand “Robin plan” in place, and that Dick and the others aren’t simply companions Bruce met during his journey, takes so much of the fun away from the Robin concept. The same goes for Batgirl. Bluebird, or whoever else Batman has taken under his proverbial wing. Can we please not make Robin into yet another stupid prophecy character?

Apparently this series will also present us with the next chapter in Harper Row’s story. In this issue we see she’s capable of manipulating Jim Gordon’s Batman suit. A rivalry between those two could be interesting. But it’s more likely we’ll see why she’s “the key to everything they cannot know. And that is why you must die.” Uh oh, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Batman’s partners have a pretty bad mortality rate, even though they do all come back to life.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Tony Daniel and colorist Sandu Florea’s art since the New 52 began, but what we see here is mostly satisfactory. I imagine the scene between Dick, Jason, and Tim taking place in the glow of a big red light wasn’t an accident. The motorcycle chase scene with Dick, leading into the fight with Cassandra was very nicely done. We also have an assassin character called The Orphan who has a cool reveal.

Sadly, Daniel is already passing the artistic baton. For upcoming issues, the reigns will be passed between Paul Pelletier, Scot Eaton, Fernando Pasarin, among others. I suppose the best we can hope for are smooth transitions between the various pencillers.

I don’t have high hopes for Batman & Robin Eternal. But in truth, I’d almost be willing to endure another crappy weekly series if they worked in new costumes for the Red Hood and Red Robin. Take the Bat-Symbol off Jason’s chest, and just start from scratch on Tim’s costume. That thing’s been an eye sore since day one.

Image 1 from ign.com. Image 2 from flickeringmyth.com.

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A Grayson #12 Review – A Hero’s Homecoming

09/29/201509/30/2015Rob Siebert 3 Comments

TITLE: Grayson #12
AUTHORS: Tim Seeley, Tom King
PENCILLER: Mikel Janin
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: September 23, 2015

***Unfamiliar with Grayson? Check out our review of the very first issue!***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Full disclosure: I’ve been absent for the past few issues of Grayson. That’s not to say the series has necessarily taken a downturn. But lately, the arrival of certain other books (Secret Wars, We Are Robin, Black Canary), pushed it down the priority list.

This issue, however, merited a look. After deceiving the world into thinking Dick Grayson/Nightwing died during the events of Forever Evil, Dick returns to Gotham City to come clean to his surrogate family. This includes the amnesiac Bruce Wayne, who as Batman, was the one who sent Dick to infiltrate Spyral in the first place. And speaking of Spyral, they’re not going to let Agent 37 leave without a fight.

Seeley, King, and Janin use a unique device in this issue. Each time Dick reunites with someone, we get a splash page with a black background and various pieces of actual dialogue from the 75-year history of Batman’s world. Naturally, they correspond with Dick’s relation to that character. This not only gives the reader a very real sense of what the dynamic was between Dick and the character in question, but it’s a fitting substitute for the repeated and redundant “You’re alive!” moments we might have seen under a different creative team. It’s also extremely cool that actual dialogue is used. These quotes can actually be traced back to specific issues. You certainly can’t say effort wasn’t made in terms of research.

The device works best with Bruce, who due to events in Batman, has no memories of his time in the costume. The original Dynamic Duo look like a distant memory here, which is fairly sad. But the Grayson team makes good use of its time in the Snyder/Capullo sandbox, particularly when Dick has to protect his former partner, using the very skills Bruce taught him years ago!

The reunion between Dick and Damian is the only one that bucks the “You’re alive!” moment pattern. Apparently, Dick had no idea Damian had been resurrected. From an in-story perspective, that’s really weird. Dick knew Bruce was trying to bring Damian back. He even made a brief appearance in the Robin Rises story. How could he not have known? Is Dick feigning surprise for some reason?

With the splash page/quotes device, this issue harkens back to the pre-New 52 continuity in a way that still maintains a certain fluidity. But surprisingly, Seeley and King harken back to something very specific in the reunion between Dick and Barbara: The trapeze scene from 1999’s Birds of Prey #8. Written by the great Chuck Dixon and drawn by Greg Land, the issue saw Dick take Barbara on a date of sorts to Haly’s Circus. In an empty tent, Dick and the partially paralyzed Barbara go swinging on a trapeze, in a sequence that culminates with a kiss. To my knowledge, this is the first time this event has been mentioned in the New 52 continuity, and it’s really cool to see them show this moment such reverence.

On the flip side of the memories coin, this issue has plenty of flashback images featuring “Red Nightwing,” a.k.a. Nightwing in the red and black suit. If we’re using quotes and plot points from the pre-New 52 continuity, can we at least acknowledge that Nightwing wore a black and blue suit at one point? Yes, I understand it’s probably an editorial mandate. But still, you’re killin’ me…

The conclusion to this issue does the Dick Grayson character a lot of justice. While Bruce Wayne is a natural loner, Dick is a people person, and is more than comfortable as part of a team. In Grayson #12 we see that is a strength, not a weakness. Not only did Seeley and King nail the character, they showed us that with Bruce on the sidelines, Dick Grayson may in fact be the glue that holds the Bat-Family together.

Image 1 from craveonline.com. Image 2 from comicbookresources.com.

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A Batman #28 Review – Back to the Future

02/14/201405/01/2015Rob Siebert 1 Comment

TITLE: Batman #28
AUTHORS: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
 PENCILLER: Dustin Nguyen
 PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $3.99
 RELEASED: February 12, 2014

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

***WARNING: SPOILERS LAY AHEAD FOR BATMAN #28***

After living in the past for quite some time, Batman comes back to the present in issue #28 to give us an appetizer for the upcoming weekly series, Batman Eternal. While I’ve given the guy a decent amount of criticism for his run with the Dark Knight, I’ll freely admit that issue #28 is very effective. It gets the reader psyched and asking questions about Eternal. And indeed, there is no shortage of questions…

Set “soon,” Batman #28 sees Harper Row finagle her way into The Egyptian, “the only nightclub left in New Gotham.” Yes, New Gotham, a city which is apparently in some kind of crisis. Citizens live under an 8 p.m. curfew, the police wear S.W.A.T. gear and aren’t at all shy about brutality. People have apparently been dying, possibly due to some sort of infection. Once inside, Harper allows the Dark Knight to make a hell of an entrance before donning her uniform and becoming the gun-toting character we’ve seen sketches of in recent months, Bluebird. Yes, Harper Row seems to have officially joined the Bat-family. But Batman calls her off when they come face-to-face with Gotham’s newest crime lord….Selina Kyle. Apparently something has happened to Selina, as “that Catwoman is gone,” because “[Batman] left her to die.” But apparently, there is enough good will left between the two that Selina allows this new Dynamic Duo into a top secret safe, which imprisons “the only one in this city who knows how to stop what’s coming next.”

Enter the Spoiler.

Yes friends, Stephanie Brown has returned. Poor Spoiler. She’s only been back for one page, and she already in deep trouble.

When I read the line about Spoiler being the key to stopping what’s next, the first thing that popped into my head was the big War Games crossover from 2004-2005 (My God, has it been that long?). In an attempt to regain Batman’s trust after being fired as the latest Robin, Stephanie, as Spoiler, tries to enact one of Batman’s contingency plans to unite all the city’s crime factions under a single crime lord. The whole thing goes to hell, resulting in a gang war in Gotham City. A great many lives are lost, and it’s a huge disaster. It wouldn’t shock me if something similar has happened here. Stephanie found herself in the middle of something, made the wrong move, and madness erupted. That’s pure fan speculation, mind you. But it would certainly be consistent with the Stephanie we knew before.

One side note: I like the new costume. The colors make it somewhat reminiscent of her Batgirl suit. *sigh* It still hurts, damn it…

In terms of Catwoman being Gotham’s new kingpin of crime, my biggest impression thus far is that the Egyptian is pretty damn cool. When we first walk in, we see two gigantic golden cat statues (the Egyptians worshipped cats, after all), and when Selina makes her entrance we see a smaller black one. The safe in which Steph is imprisoned is also covered in hieroglyphics, and the backgrounds give it a really nice ancient Egyptian throne room feel. To an extent, it seems like a lair we’d have seen Julie Newmar prancing around in on the ’60s Batman show. In terms of how this will effect Batman and Catwoman’s relationship, well…at least they’re used to things being complicated.

Bluebird is different, to be sure. She’s a bit of a mixed bag as far as I’m concerned. If you’ll indulge me as I argue with myself…

I’ve never been in love with members of Batman’s crew using firearms. That’s one of the reasons I have issues with Red Hood and the Outlaws. Jason Todd wields twin guns while wearing a Bat symbol on his chest. It just seems off to me. I even had trouble with the use of rubber bullets in The Dark Knight Returns. Given what happened to Bruce’s parents, it doesn’t make sense to me that he would endorse someone who uses them. I bring this up because in Batman #28, a thug calls Batman out on Bluebird’s use of guns.

Thug: “And here I thought Batman hated guns.”
Batman: “I do. She doesn’t.”

Sorry folks, I don’t buy that logic. From where I sit, if you work with Batman and carry on his legacy, you play by his rules. And “no guns” is like…rule #2. It’s right behind “No nipples on the Batsuit.”

However…

Bluebird’s use of shock pellets means she’s not as big an offender as Jason. The incorporation of electricity into her heroics is also undeniably fitting with her backstory, and her work on the Gotham power grid. It also makes her stand out among the rest of Batman’s allies. Plus, her costume is pretty damn cool, as was that trick with the zip line and the clip on her boot. The blue portions of her suit seem to be a callback to Nightwing’s old v-stripe, which I don’t think is a good sign in terms of Dick Grayson’s fate in Forever Evil. But that’s a different issue entirely. All in all, while I’ve got my issues with her, Bluebird gets a pass from me for now.

We’ve also got a mystery character in the Batcave, essentially playing the Alfred/Oracle role. The most obvious candidate for this role would be Carrie Kelley, given what we’ve seen in Batman & Robin recently. But the hair doesn’t seem to match up. Could it be Cullen, Harper’s brother? That seems a bit more likely, but the figure on this character looks very feminine. Ah, the joy of speculation.

Frankly, I’m a little sad to go back to Zero Year after this issue. This is the most satisfying installment of the series since #23.2 in September. Zero Year is selling, and nobody can deny it that. But personally, I’m ready for Snyder, Capullo, and the Batman crew to come back to present day. Especially if we get more issues like this.

Image 1 from bleedingcool.com. Image 2 from darkknightnews.com. Image 3 from newsarama.com.

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A Batman & Robin: Eternal #1 Review – The Burden of (Low) Expectations

A Grayson #12 Review – A Hero’s Homecoming

A Batman #28 Review – Back to the Future