Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Father and Son

Batman and Robin (2023)

by Joshua Williamson, Simone Di Meo (cover_art)

The Dawn of the Dynamic Duo Isolated from their friends and allies, Batman and Robin have moved into a Gotham City brownstone to rebuild their lives, reconnect with one another, and, of course, fight crime. No sooner do they settle in when they are attacked by their most monstrous villains, led by the mysterious Shush. Whispering from the shadows, she is intent on revenge with a plot to turn one of Batman’s greatest assets against him!With his father incapacitated by Shush, can Damian help solve the case before it’s too late? Can he survive the tribulations of high school at the same time?A brand-new fun and exciting adventure begins for comics’ greatest father-and-son duo, from DC Comics architect Joshua Williamson (The Flash, Knight Terrors) and superstar artist Simone Di Meo ( White Knight Red Hood)! Collects Batman and Robin #1-6!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[Scott]

4.5 stars

"I don't like being wrong." -- teenage Damian Wayne, a.k.a. 'Robin'

"Like father like son." -- Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. 'Batman,' with a slight grin

Writer Williamson continues his winning streak - which I first became aware of via his enjoyable 2023 run on Superman - in undertaking that other cornerstone character (and his sidekick) from DC Comics with this newest Batman and Robin series. I remarked to a fellow GR friend that this initial volume, the prosaically subtitled Father and Son, seems directed towards a family audience, and I don't mean that in some excessively saccharine or G-rated way. It is the type of graphic novel that will appeal to the YA / teenage set as well as their parents with its energetic and direct storytelling, and possibly more importantly it doesn't forget to have a sense of humor or go for a heartwarming vibe at the appropriate moment. (I especially like the closing standalone tale, with its nod towards the classic short story 'The Most Dangerous Game.') I also appreciated that the Damian Wayne character - often portrayed elsewhere with a bratty or arrogant nature - has his rough edges slightly sanded down to result in possibly the best interpretation of him so far. Again, I want to compliment writer Williamson because it takes a talented hand to produce such a fun and thoughtful work featuring that legendary crimefighting dynamic duo . . . who now also happen to be father and son.

[Khurram]

I really enjoyed this book. Damian is my least favourite Robin, but he has grown on me recently and in the Bat-family as well. The story is good, all the artwork styles are great fit their stories perfectly.

Batman and Robin, Bruce and Damian, father and son. Fighting crime, clashing head against each other, and possibly bonding?

Not quite a cut bat-line, but sniper shot signals a new villan and order to Gotham. Who are they, what are they, what do they want, and what is their connection to Batman & Robin.

As a team, Batman and Robin are great, but it is awesome in this book it the interactions between Bruce and Damian. A father raising a teenage son. Has Bruce learned from the mistakes of his past? Can Damian leave the trauma of his "up bringing" to let Bruce in. An awesome book that ends with a varient cover gallery.

[Daniel]

3.75 stars

[Bill Riggs]

I was not a fan of the storyline or artwork at the beginning but they grew on me over the course of the arc. I’ll pick up the next and give it a chance.

[Dakota Morgan]

A fine, action-packed Batman and Robin adventure that features just enough father/son bonding to earn the subtitle. Mostly, though, we see the duo smashing heads and chasing after D-list criminals. Shush is introduced (not Hush or related to Hush, though she has a similar look!) and Man-Bat is reintroduced. The story of Man-Bat creating some kind of injection that changes people into animals is abruptly sidelined in favor of a "Damian goes to high school" story that follows predictable beats.

Simone di Meo's artwork is dynamic, but incomprehensible in action scenes. Nikola Cizmesija is moderately better. Then Howard Porter's trash arrives for the annual. All told: fast, forgettable plot and dark, occasionally ugly looks.

[Paul]

2.5 stars.

[Morgan Le Fay ✨]

Awh, I love all the father and son bonding. The annual was really where this shined though. A perfect little story with a fun witty ending.

[James DeSantis]

A fun batman and robin outing but the tone feels a bit weird. It feels goofy but then gets really dark at times. But overall if like Damien and Bruce it's a good father and son outing.

[Roman]

Перші чотири номери розповідають про те як Бетмен і Робін помічають тенденцію в серії непов'язаних, на перший погляд, злочинів, яка приводить їх до сутички із Кілером Кроком, Оркою, Жахливим Тріо (які тут повністю мутували і їм більше не потрібні маски тварин), Мен Бетом, а також новою лиходійкою, яку звуть Шаш. Паралельно Брюс вирішує відправити Деміана до школи аби той більше спілкувався з дітьми свого віку.


Мені цей сюжет загалом сподобався, він вийшов достатньо динамічний, твіст з тим, що головним поганцем виявився Мен Бет, який тільки прикидався диким, а насправді тепер є розумним, непоганий, я міг би трохи побуркотіти про те, що черговий спокутуваний лиходій повернувся до старого життя, але це частина того з чим варто змиритися коли читаєш велику двійку, плюс Вільямсон в наступних номерах мимохідь зачепив цю тему і в принципі можна зрозуміти чому так сталося. Також певної інтриги історії додає Шаш і загадка навколо того ким вона є та, як вона пов'язана з Гашом. Крім того, з хорошого вартує виділити, що Вільямсону вдається добре прописувати динаміку між Брюсом та Деміаном, плюс порадувало те, що він також не забув, що зробив з хлопця художника.

У кінці минулого сюжету Деміан заявив Брюсу, що підозрює директорку школи в тому, що вона є його колишньою вчителькою, ще з часів коли він ріс із Талією, а також, що саме вона є Шаш. І от 5 та 6 номери розповідають про те як динамічний дует намагаючись дізнатися чи правдиві здогадки Робіна наштовхуються на те, що однокласник Деміана є сином Віктора Заса, який має намір врятувати батька з в'язниці. Загалом вийшов непоганий передих після історії з Мен Бетом, в якому нам показали шкільне життя Деміана і пару досить милих моментів між батьком і сином. У кінці в сюжеті з'являється культ Мен Бета, а також відбувається повернення Флетлайн.

Перед тим як продовжити говорити про основний сюжет хочу відмітити щорічник. У місцевій історії Брюс вирішує, що непогано було б з'їздити із Деміаном в похід, однак прибувши на місце вони опиняються здобиччю для клубу мисливців на людей, яким керує Рулет і участь в якому бере Бладспорт. Сюжетно знову ж таки вийшло непогано і є доволі хороший момент з розмовою наших героїв на фоні того як поганці потрапляють у їх пастки, однак, суттєвим недоліком тут є малюнок Говарда Портера, який вийшов аж занадто ніяким, навіть на фоні деяких останніх його робіт.

[Roman Zarichnyi]

Серія коміксів «Бетмен і Робін» від Пітера Томасі свого часу залишила в мене дуже позитивні враження. Вона чудово поєднувала екшн, драму та взаємини між Брюсом і Деміаном Вейнів. Саме тому з надією поставився до нової інтерпретації Джошуа Вільямсона та Сімоне ді Мео. Сьогодні мова піде про старт серії, першу сюжетну арку «Бетмен і Робін: Батько і син» #1-6.

Сюжет першого тому розповідає про те, як Брюс і Деміан знову об'єднали зусилля у боротьбі зі злом у Ґотемі. Основний конфлікт розгортається навколо загадкової лиходійки Шепітка (Shush), яка використовує проти Бетмена його ж інструменти. І, як ви могли здогадатися, вона пов'язана із таким лиходієм, як Цить. Водночас Деміан повертається до школи, що додає сюжету нових нюансів, зокрема зіткнення підлітка зі звичайними соціальними труднощами.

Позитивним моментом цієї історії стало саме поєднання супергеройського екшну із сімейною драмою. Особливо сподобалася лінія Деміана, який не лише бореться зі злочинцями, але й намагається адаптуватися до нового шкільного середовища. Чи бесіди батька й сина, де вони відкриваються один одному. Я завжди люблю ось такі приземлені моменти в супергероїці, адже вони намагаються додати персонажам та історії глибини.

Малюнок Сімоне ді Мео має дуже виразний стиль: динамічний, з акцентом на контрастні кольори. Хоча він добре передає напруження в багатьох сценах, іноді створюється враження, ніби сцени переповнені яскравим світлом, що особисто мене трохи відволікало. Але ті випуски, які малював Нікола Жижмесія, були для мене хорошими.

У підсумку, старт серії вийшов цікавим і доволі інтригуючим. Хоча були певні нюанси у стилі малюнку та подачі сюжету, загалом мої очікування виправдалися. Сподіваюся, що подальші випуски лише посилять ці позитивні враження.

[Hannah Loughran]

Finished this yesterday and it’s lowkey a book for babies but I rlly like pictures and also I’m rlly into this whole superhero thing rn

[Mytzky C. ✨]

My least favorite Batman comic I've read. The plot was all over the place. The artsyle kept changing and none of them were particularly good. Damian had potential for an interesting arc, but they kept squandering it. Don't recommend!

[Guilherme Smee]

Joshua William fez um trabalho muito bom no gibi do Robin e depois na saga Guerra das Trevas que envolveu os títulos do Robin, do Batman e do Exterminador. Este segundo volume da coleção Batman Especial da PaniniTM traz a continuação natural dessas histórias no título Batman & Robin. Bruce e Damian Wayne são reunidos novamente e passam a morar juntos em um subúrbio de Gotham. Bruce obriga Damian a frequentar o ensino médio. Mas ao lado desses acontecimentos em suas vidas civis, precisam combater as ameaças do Morcego-Humano que quer voltar todos os morcegos da cidade contra o Batman. Com a ajuda da Coelha Branca a dupla dinâmica impede os planos do vilão. Uma história bem aquém das anteriores de Williamson. Além disso os desenhos e cores de Simone Di Meo me irritam muito porque parece que todo mundo está levando um flash na cara o tempo todo. A melhor parte do encadernado é o Annual do título, em que Bruce e Damian vão acampara, mas acabam presos numa redoma e se tornam alvo de uma caçada. Mesmo assim, tudo fica muito aquém do que Williamson já tinha feito antes.

[Melia Glubka]

3.5

[Belfry]

Actual rating: 3.75 stars but I'll round it up

[Luke Malone]

4 stars for Batman being a suburban Dad and Damian trying out for the soccer team

[Sarospice]

Meh. More of the domestication of Batman. If his marriage doesn't bore you this volume of father son baloney might. Bruce decides Damien needs to go to an average high school, forgetting he's Damien, and he's already missed out on being a kid. One tiny good part when Damien tells Bruce if he wants to bond they should do it as themselves, not this normative Beaver Cleaver baloney. Great now I'm hungry.

[Jesse A]

Not bad Batman action but I dont think Williamson quite has the characterization of Batman down yet.

[Beatriz Robalo]

O Batman a ser um pai minimamente decente é crazy, até fico confusa

[Nai]

i love my bisexual son damian wayne his little self-insert detective comic he's such a cornball (affectionate)

[liv]

Good art for most of the book. Fun scenes with father-son bonding, even if it gets harped on a little bit too much. The road trip at the end was boring, though.

[Victor]

Some solid art throughout. That is this volume's greatest strength.
D. Wayne's growing pains are a tad interesting but ultimately cliche. I found the story to be a tad pedestrian overall and quite mid. Um, that's all I got.

[entuzjastka]

we really needed this after gotham war, i love how williamson writes damian i’m so glad he doesn’t hate him LIKE SOME OTHER COMIC WRITERS CURRENTLY DOING A BATMAN RUN

[Adam Fisher]

Next up for my reading of "Dawn of DC" is Batman and Robin, and this was really fun. Joshua Williamson already has proven he can handle Robin, but I also really loved his work on Nailbiter and Birthright. This book doesn't seem like it will be a long running title for DC, just a hunch, but it will be an excellent run.
Highlights:
- Damian moves into the brownstone with Bruce, and is forced to go to High School, as a way for him to have a more human experience.
- Damian shows off his art skills in a comic he's writing in a journal, and I think it would be a cool idea for a kind of Noir Robin.
- Damian is convinced that his high school Principal is both his teacher from the League of Assassins, Mistress Harsh, AS WELL AS their new villain Shush (a younger female version of Hush) but he is unable to prove it.
- One of his classmates proves to be obsessed with Zsasz and almost helps him escape custody
- Man-Bat is rising to power and has a cult who is following him. He is also speaking again and much more intelligent (made me laugh, reminded me of the Smart Gremlin LOL)
- We also see a campout road trip where they have to fight off a bunch of hunters who are trying to capture them

The story is excellent and the art is good. This is definitely on the higher list of things going on at DC. Strong recommend.

[Maxine]

There's a lot of imagery of bats and birds being killed/dissected in this one. I understand what they were going for, but I just wasn't expecting to see animal dissection on the first page.

I really enjoy seeing Bruce and Damian portrayed as a normal-ish father and son duo. I liked the sequences of Damian struggling to adapt to his new high school environment, and the PTA moms thirsting over Bruce was an incredibly funny moment! And I enjoyed how often we got to see Damian's sketchbook throughout these issues, and we see him developing a self-insert story of some sort about a bird-themed prince who wants to make his family proud of him.

My biggest complaint is that Damian often doesn't look like Damian; depending on which artist was rendering him, he changed from looking more like a young Dick or Tim or Jason to looking a lot like Superboy Jon Kent. I understand that Damian is one of those characters that tends to fall into the crowded category of "all of these characters are drawn to look nearly identical so the artists don't have to look at character sheets so often," which I still wish he was just a *little* more distinct.

[Bryan Morgan]

I think this is a good father and son story so far, can't wait to get my claws on the next book to find out what happens next.

[Gabriel]

O início da nova jornada da clássica ''dupla dinâmica''.

Seguindo os acontecimentos do universo Batman (Pós Renascimento) e seus respectivos paralelos em edições da bat-família, essa nova história parte de um novo frescor na relação entre o homem morcego e o garoto prodígio. Dessa vez testemunhamos um Bruce Wayne experiente e consolidado no universo, com cicatrizes oriundas de suas últimas aventuras como homem morcego.

Cicatrizes essas que afetam até mesmo seu super poder e não! Não estamos falando do seu preparo mas sim de sua fortuna. Isso mesmo, Batman perdeu parte de sua fortuna e agora se encontra muito mais modesto, se é que podemos dizer isso, e terá que lidar com esse empecilho junto da ausência de sua figura paterna Alfred. E para completar, terá também que entender seu papel nessa sua nova realidade quanto pai, pois agora ao seu lado, tem Damian Wayne, o novo Robin. A qual criado em um mundo de assassinos, luta para entender o seu próprio papel em uma realidade completamente diferente dessa a qual foi criado desde seu nascimento e como isso se mescla em sua nova realidade nada ortodoxa de Robin.

No meio desse caldeirão de acontecimentos e sentimentos, surge uma história até que simples para os padrões das aventuras do morcegão, contudo, uma história suficientemente boa para que possa dentro dela colocar ambos os personagens, seja Bruce//Batman ou Damian//Robin, em situações que necessitem deles o desenvolvimento de sua relação de pai e filho, o que pelo menos agora nesse primeiro volume mostra-se ser o foco principal do gibi.

A história é fluida e gostosa de acompanhar, a ilustração é clara e bem dinâmica o que acaba por auxiliar nessa fluidez narrativa, e a coloração é bem bonita e estilizada, nada foto realista mas também nada muito litúrgico, cores vivas com algumas predominâncias e um uso bem forte nos momentos noturnos de um filtro azulado com retoques de neons, lembrando até mesmo uma estética quase cyberpunk.

Tudo isso para dizer que é sim um belo começo para a dupla dinâmica nessa nova era de AURORA DA DC, um início solido com um toque ao final de um belo cliffhanger para nos manter curiosos com o próximo desenrolar dos capítulos. Junto do volume vem uma mini história, também de Bruce e Damian, bastante interessante no mais estilo jogos vorazes. Fica a recomendação aos amantes de um tradicional quadrinho de aventura.

[Subham]

This is probably one of the best titles at DC right now and I just love it, the father-son team and how they are fighting their enemies and I like the continuity aspect of it with the other books and all that and then introduction of Man-bat's new form "The bat" and Shush, whoever she is and their plans for Gotham and how the monsters are involved like Killer Croc and Terrible trio and how that challenges father-son dynamic and it leads to some interesting face off and its just awesome seeing that!

Its one of those volumes which has so much aside from the relationship and the superhero dynamic it does well to focus on the villains too and makes them intriguing and yeah Shush is a ridiculous name but the way the suspects are presented who it could be and the tie-in to Damian's past teacher, it makes for a fun guessing game for the fans of these characters and that mystery angle is something I just love!

This was awesome from that angle and seems like Man-bat will be elevated as a villain but I don't want him to become cookie cutter villain, another one whose obsessed with taking over Gotham because we have had that a lot but still it will be fun to see what the writer has planned overall for the series.

And then you have other story elements like the 2 part with Victor Zsasz and Damian's school and one boy there who thinks he is his father and it does lead to a good 2 parter but its a story about fathers and sons, and well the moment between Bruce and Damian flicking over Damian's comic books were so fun and really one of my favorite moments between father and son and this is the objective of tis volume I feel like, its a father-son tale and the complicated life of being superheroes and it makes for a nice read amidst all the other dark and grim books of Batman titles.

SO yeah, in short, fun title with great villains and has a potential to be one of the best Batman runs and loved that cameo/return in the end!!

[Emile Rudoy]

Leí el primer número de esta serie cuando salió y la verdad no me encantó así que no seguí con ella. Sin embargo hace varios meses me topé con este compilado y decidí darle otra oportunidad. Y lo tuve cinco meses en mi dispositivo móvil y no, nada mas no me llamaba. Anoche decidí ya por fin leerlo.

Tiene un punto a su favor, es de lectura muy fácil. Me explico. Hay muchos escritores que deciden escribir muros de texto. Escriben tantos diálogos que la verdad es que es complicado leer mas de uno o dos números por día (por lo menos para mi). Aquí no. La historia se desarrolla de una manera muy ágil y al final si tiene momentos divertidos. Esta padre volver a ver la interacción entre Damian y Bruce. Pero hasta ahí. La verdad es que la historia no me alcanzó a atrapar. Y no ayudó nada que no sea autocontenida. Es decir, en mi experiencia últimamente los compilados traen arcos completos. Aquí no, no se por cuantos números mas siga, pero después de seis (y un annual) la historia se quedó en un cliffhanger. Y, aunque si estoy un poco intrigado, la verdad es que no estoy seguro de estarlo tanto como para leer el siguiente compilado o leer los números sueltos.

El punto en contra es el arte. El equipo creativo original solo dibujó dos o tres números. Y después el arte cambia mucho. Me choca eso. Se que ya no estamos en la época en la que un dibujante sacaba a veces hasta dos números al mes, pero el que no puedan sacar seis números consecutivos me choca y obviamente eso le resta puntos.

[Adam Fisher]

Well apparently I read this Volume before.... didn't remember, and with me finally getting to Vol 2, a refresh was in order. Here is my previous review. Still works. LOL

Next up for my reading of "Dawn of DC" is Batman and Robin, and this was really fun. Joshua Williamson already has proven he can handle Robin, but I also really loved his work on Nailbiter and Birthright. This book doesn't seem like it will be a long running title for DC, just a hunch, but it will be an excellent run.
Highlights:
- Damian moves into the brownstone with Bruce, and is forced to go to High School, as a way for him to have a more human experience.
- Damian shows off his art skills in a comic he's writing in a journal, and I think it would be a cool idea for a kind of Noir Robin.
- Damian is convinced that his high school Principal is both his teacher from the League of Assassins, Mistress Harsh, AS WELL AS their new villain Shush (a younger female version of Hush) but he is unable to prove it.
- One of his classmates proves to be obsessed with Zsasz and almost helps him escape custody
- Man-Bat is rising to power and has a cult who is following him. He is also speaking again and much more intelligent (made me laugh, reminded me of the Smart Gremlin LOL)
- We also see a campout road trip where they have to fight off a bunch of hunters who are trying to capture them

The story is excellent and the art is good. This is definitely on the higher list of things going on at DC. Strong recommend.