Batman & Robin #1 Discussion/Spoilers

[Rakzo]

This was pleasant surprise as a whole. The last few years have not been the best for the relationship between Bruce and Damian (not helped by the underwhelming Batman Vs. Robin and Lazarus Planet stories by Mark Waid) so anything that could fix such issues would have been welcomed and I appreciate that this series is handled by Joshua Williamson who showed a great understanding on the character of Damian during his Robin series and I'm happy to say that this book doesn't disappoint about improving their dynamic.

First of all, this wouldn't be a Williamson book without some references to continuity and this is perfectly shown in a page where Damian remembers all the events that happened way back from Rebirth (when he joined the Teen Titans) to the most recent ones but this doesn't end there because we also have the appearance of more obscure villains like the White Rabbit and The Terrible Trio and all of this is done to complement the ongoing plot that Williamson is implementing, one that is building up around the mystery of why are these criminals working together.

Most impressive though, are the interactions between Bruce and Damian. The death of Alfred was one of the most useless events that happened in recent times but Williamson builds-up from it to create a logical dynamic between father and son, one that is not as focused on conflict as much as trying to understand each other, I really enjoy how both learned from Alfred in their own ways with Bruce trying to become a better father by putting his son in school or how Damian prepares breakfast and proper tea. This is the kind of normal relationship that these two have been lacking for a while and I'm glad is happening already.

Simone Di Meo handles the art and has a very energetic style with creative layouts that reminds a bit of Jorge Jimenez' style and at times that makes it a bit hard to follow the story but not enough to ruin what is overall a great work.

Solid beginning, can't wait for the next one.

[Rzerox21xx]

This was pleasant surprise as a whole. The last few years have not been the best for the relationship between Bruce and Damian (not helped by the underwhelming Batman Vs. Robin and Lazarus Planet stories by Mark Waid) so anything that could fix such issues would have been welcomed and I appreciate that this series is handled by Joshua Williamson who showed a great understanding on the character of Damian during his Robin series and I'm happy to say that this book doesn't disappoint about improving their dynamic.

First of all, this wouldn't be a Williamson book without some references to continuity and this is perfectly shown in a page where Damian remembers all the events that happened way back from Rebirth (when he joined the Teen Titans) to the most recent ones but this doesn't end there because we also have the appearance of more obscure villains like the White Rabbit and The Terrible Trio and all of this is done to complement the ongoing plot that Williamson is implementing, one that is building up around the mystery of why are these criminals working together.

Most impressive though, are the interactions between Bruce and Damian. The death of Alfred was one of the most useless events that happened in recent times but Williamson builds-up from it to create a logical dynamic between father and son, one that is not as focused on conflict as much as trying to understand each other, I really enjoy how both learned from Alfred in their own ways with Bruce trying to become a better father by putting his son in school or how Damian prepares breakfast and proper tea. This is the kind of normal relationship that these two have been lacking for a while and I'm glad is happening already.

Simone Di Meo handles the art and has a very energetic style with creative layouts that reminds a bit of Jorge Jimenez' style and at times that makes it a bit hard to follow the story but not enough to ruin what is overall a great work.

Solid beginning, can't wait for the next one.

Any pets shown. Titus the dog and Alfred the cat.

[Drako]

Very refreshing to read a Batman that isn't completely unhinged.

Good start, can't wait for the next issue.

My only complaint is Damian's hair, i don't understand why they changed it here.

[Factor]

Good issue overall. The highlight was the dynamic between Bruce and Damian. Finally they’re building towards a healthier relationship. The art looked great, but was sometimes difficult to follow because of the muted colors and different angles Di Meo uses.
I was confused about what was going on in the ending, so it felt a bit anticlimactic. And even without the artistic issues, it doesn’t make for the best cliffhanger IMO.
Not as good as the start of the last Robin ongoing or Williamson’s Superman, but certainly much better than Shadow War and Knight Terrors.

[Rac7d*]

Any pets shown. Titus the dog and Alfred the cat.

Does the Brownstone allow pets? Who’s with Goliath now that Ra’s is gone?

[Frontier]

This is the only title set during Gotham War worth reading at the moment. No nonsensical premise, OOC characterization, just good old fashioned Batman and Robin together as a team, a Dynamic Duo, fighting crime and getting along as a team for the first time in...years (not counting when they had Tim fill in). It's just a fun book.

Joshua Williamson has a good handle on both Bruce and Damians' voices and their chemistry together as father and son as they reconcile being partners together again after so long apart and everything that's happened between them (I noticed Damians' flashbacks seem to blatantly ignore his last Titans team). There's still a bit of tension between there, but they feel like a family again and the way Damian imparts Alfreds' wisdom during their mealtime was a really sweet scene.

Simone Di Meo's art is very appropriate for this book, colorful and dynamic but also with sharp edges to denote that this is still a Batman book at the end of the day. The colors also lend itself well to that.

I like White Rabbit's new look. Williamson seems to like her, and I know she's showing up again later, so that's cool.

I feel like that lady wants to do more than just babysit Damian when she's visiting Bruce...

That's straight up Naruto in Damian's room. And Insomniacs After School!?

I thought Bruce would re-enroll Damian in Gotham Academy, knowing Williamson is a fan, but I guess he already got expelled from there and maybe dealing with more "normal" kids will be good for him.

Who needs the Batmobile when you've got Damians' souped up ride?

Killer Croc! Orca! The Terrible Trio! The Trio looked out of place until the reveal they'd been mutated. Gotham Monsters are finally making the city their own. Is Man-Bat brainwashed again?

[Claude]

I know some people miss him, but issues like this are why Alfred should stay dead. It's just more interesting to see Bruce interact with people directly, without Alfred manouvreing them or swooping in to give Sage Wisdom.

It's almost shockingly humanising.

[Rzerox21xx]

Read it, like I said, only thing i dont like is the absence of the Bat Pets, Ace, Titus, Alfred the cat, and Batcow.

[Factor]

I know some people miss him, but issues like this are why Alfred should stay dead. It's just more interesting to see Bruce interact with people directly, without Alfred manouvreing them or swooping in to give Sage Wisdom.

It's almost shockingly humanising.

I don’t have a strong opinion either way when it comes to Alfred’s status, but I agree that in this issue Alfred’d absence gave the narrative much more weight. Bruce is learning how to be a father without being able to contact his father figure.

[Frontier]

I know some people miss him, but issues like this are why Alfred should stay dead. It's just more interesting to see Bruce interact with people directly, without Alfred manouvreing them or swooping in to give Sage Wisdom.

It's almost shockingly humanising.

It was a good moment, though not sure if it means on an ongoing basis he should stay dead, but it's probably the most effectively his loss has been handled.

[garazza]

I liked this issue more than I thought I would. It was overall a net positive, but there were a lot of highs and lows.

Man, I just can't with this art, specifically the coloring. There's just too much light and somehow not enough color. Di Meo wastes so much page real estate and for what? It's just empty space that doesn't inform the story or the plot. It serves no purpose. Worse still is that a lot of the action was not clear and really hard to follow. People talk about decompression writing, but this is decompression art imo.

I hate how this is specifically set during Gotham War, but thankfully it largely has no affect on the plot other than it's just Bruce and Damian (which is great), but my biggest pet peeve is that there are no editor's notes pointing to the specific issues they are referencing. Williamson has a podcast with Sal from ComicPop and I recall him lamenting how there used to be a ton of editor's notes when he was reading comics and how there aren't any now and I'm like, who's fault is that, Josh? You're the one making specific references to continuity and you're the one giving homework to readers to find out what the hell you're talking about instead of just saying in a little box "This happened in x issue! -JW"

A lot of people have already pointed out the "You roll your eyes like your mother" line, but I want to point out Damian's "Gotham accent" line. I'm sure what Williamson was trying to go for was to imply that Gotham has a city accent like Chicago, Boston, or New York, but it came off to me as implying that Damian naturally speaks with a non-Western accent. It could also just be Williamson bringing back one of Damian's forgotten traits, that being his vocal mimicry, like he did with his drawing.

I thought I would hate the whole Single Dad Bruce thing but I liked it overall but I felt it was a little too sappy for my tastes. What I did like is Moody TeenTM Damian shutting his bedroom door in his dad's face.

That brings me to one of the problems I've had in the lead up to this book. That being just how tumultuous everything DC has been publishing prior to this book. They've made a complete mess of things and have not even bothered to clean up after themselves before they've started to try to make positive changes to their line. It feels unearned and unjustified.

I can't muster the strength to be angry that Bruce still lives in the brownstone because it's such an unnecessary and superficial change to the status quo. I liked how it played out, Bruce introducing his son to his new living space, given these circumstances, but I would have rather this not have been under those circumstances.

I've been very vocal about my...dislike for some aspects of Damian's new status quo. I was displeased when I found out Damian was going to be high school instead of middle school, but I've been very slowly coming around on it. He'll be at the absolute most a freshman, and what makes me kind of look forward to this is that he is now the same age as Tim when he was introduced and was going to school while being Robin. He's even going to Tim's old high school. Combined with his black and gray costume being his equivalent to Tim's red and black one, this is now a definitive next step in the history of Damian.

I think my feeling can be boiled down to change is scary and it is, but it's necessary and that's a good thing. I just dislike how we got here to this point.

[garazza]

It was a good moment, though not sure if it means on an ongoing basis he should stay dead, but it's probably the most effectively his loss has been handled.

Much like when Superman revealed his secret identity, everyone and their mother shouted down the reasonable criticisms, saying "But imagine all the new stories and plotlines that can come from this they could never tell before" and then no new stories using this radical and permanent change actually came out to justify such a change.

This is too little, too late and should not be the justification for keeping Alfred dead, especially for how long it's been.

[thwhtGuardian]

Much like when Superman revealed his secret identity, everyone and their mother shouted down the reasonable criticisms, saying "But imagine all the new stories and plotlines that can come from this they could never tell before" and then no new stories using this radical and permanent change actually came out to justify such a change.

This is too little, too late and should not be the justification for keeping Alfred dead, especially for how long it's been.

I'd be open to just bringing him back and pretending he was never gone.

[Frontier]

I liked this issue more than I thought I would. It was overall a net positive, but there were a lot of highs and lows.

Man, I just can't with this art, specifically the coloring. There's just too much light and somehow not enough color. Di Meo wastes so much page real estate and for what? It's just empty space that doesn't inform the story or the plot. It serves no purpose. Worse still is that a lot of the action was not clear and really hard to follow. People talk about decompression writing, but this is decompression art imo.

I hate how this is specifically set during Gotham War, but thankfully it largely has no affect on the plot other than it's just Bruce and Damian (which is great), but my biggest pet peeve is that there are no editor's notes pointing to the specific issues they are referencing. Williamson has a podcast with Sal from ComicPop and I recall him lamenting how there used to be a ton of editor's notes when he was reading comics and how there aren't any now and I'm like, who's fault is that, Josh? You're the one making specific references to continuity and you're the one giving homework to readers to find out what the hell you're talking about instead of just saying in a little box "This happened in x issue! -JW"

A lot of people have already pointed out the "You roll your eyes like your mother" line, but I want to point out Damian's "Gotham accent" line. I'm sure what Williamson was trying to go for was to imply that Gotham has a city accent like Chicago, Boston, or New York, but it came off to me as implying that Damian naturally speaks with a non-Western accent. It could also just be Williamson bringing back one of Damian's forgotten traits, that being his vocal mimicry, like he did with his drawing.

I thought I would hate the whole Single Dad Bruce thing but I liked it overall but I felt it was a little too sappy for my tastes. What I did like is Moody TeenTM Damian shutting his bedroom door in his dad's face.

That brings me to one of the problems I've had in the lead up to this book. That being just how tumultuous everything DC has been publishing prior to this book. They've made a complete mess of things and have not even bothered to clean up after themselves before they've started to try to make positive changes to their line. It feels unearned and unjustified.

I can't muster the strength to be angry that Bruce still lives in the brownstone because it's such an unnecessary and superficial change to the status quo. I liked how it played out, Bruce introducing his son to his new living space, given these circumstances, but I would have rather this not have been under those circumstances.

I've been very vocal about my...dislike for some aspects of Damian's new status quo. I was displeased when I found out Damian was going to be high school instead of middle school, but I've been very slowly coming around on it. He'll be at the absolute most a freshman, and what makes me kind of look forward to this is that he is now the same age as Tim when he was introduced and was going to school while being Robin. He's even going to Tim's old high school. Combined with his black and gray costume being his equivalent to Tim's red and black one, this is now a definitive next step in the history of Damian.

I think my feeling can be boiled down to change is scary and it is, but it's necessary and that's a good thing. I just dislike how we got here to this point.

Damian's always read to me as having an accent more like Ra's and Talia compared to everybody else. More posh.

Damian can't write his own manga without the proper high school experience.

[thwhtGuardian]

Does the Brownstone allow pets? Who’s with Goliath now that Ra’s is gone?

Ra's is already back, we saw him in Flashpoint Beyond like nothing ever happened and honestly that's the best way to do it. Shadow War was horrid so it's best to forget it ever happened.