Comic Review: Batman and Robin #1

Batman and Robin #1
By Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quietly

Overall: 8/10

Thank god that we got the "All-Star Superman" Morrison on this book and not the one that wrote the incomprehensible "Batman RIP". Just for that fact, this comic rates high.

The basic summary is that Batman--Dick Grayson, in case you haven't heard--apprehends a frog-looking man who calls himself Mr. Toad. Mr. Toad is somehow connected to another villian by the name of Pigg. We see Pigg in another part of the city, toturing a mobster and his teen daughter. He is burning new faces onto their's--odd, clown-like faces. The storyline is called "Circus of Strange" so you can see where this is headed.

We also get a few pages of commentary between Alfred, Dick, and Damian (the new Robin). There are a few gems of dialouge in these sections, but nothing nearly as good as what's found in Batman #687. Mostly it consists of Dick feeling like he's in over his head while simultaneously trying to control Damian.

My opinion:
This was a good start to the series. I would have liked to see some more talk between the batfamily, and not just this stock "I am Batman now" "I must control the city" and Damian's usual bratty attitude, which fills most of the pages where Morrison could have taken the opportunity to show Dick truly grieving. As for Damian, it doesn't seem like he cares, save for a few panels where he says that he has vowed to finish what his father began.

The Circus of Strange seems, well, a little strange. I wonder if its some of the RIP Morrison showing through. This first issue doesn't say much about the plot to come, however, other than that there are drugs involved, as well as sadistic madmen. It is quite different from other plots, though, and that may be a good thing--or prove this book's demise.

All in all, I got the sense that the creative team was a little unsure of themselves in this first issue, reverting back to old standbys for the batfamily dynamics and trying a pinch too hard on the circus aspect. The art, however, was wonderful, and the page of "things to come" shows some promising bits.