Review: Batman And Robin #4

Batman, Robin, Red Hood, Twitter, and lots more

Creators: Grant Morrison and Philip Tan

Don’t say that DC never learns anything.  Apparently they’ve learned not to bank on a Morrison / Frank Quitely book getting into their hands on a timely schedule–their All Star Superman “monthly” managed just 4 issues in calendar year 2007. This time, DC only had Quitely draw the first three issues of Batman And Robin (and he drew the hell out of them, I tell you what).  The second part of the story is drawn by Philip Tan, fresh off a nice run on Green Lantern.

In the last issue, we met the new Red Hood, who may or may not be Jason Todd. In typical Morrison fashion, there’s more to think about here than there first appears.  We don’t know a lot about this Red Hood, except that he is violent in his methods and slightly delusional in his outlook on life.  He’s challenging Batman by leaving calling cards (which are not a Hellboy or Nick Cave reference.  It’s from Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost.’ Don’t feel bad.  I had to look it up, too). He’s ably assisted by Scarlet, the faceless girl we were introduced to in the first arc. We see Red Hood display a genuine affection for Scarlett, which is a bit of an ironic twist.  In case you hadn’t noticed the contrast, Batman and Robin can barely stand each other.

Speaking of which, it’s worth commenting on the nice little character moment when Dick tries to teach Damian a lesson.  He ends up learning a lesson himself: that he’s underestimated Damian.  An adult Dick Grayson might not be Bruce Wayne, but Damian is definitely not a young Dick Grayson.  He’s a stone cold killer who’s only refraining from killing people as a courtesy. It makes the dynamic between the two very interesting, and very different from the typical Bat-books of old.

Next we meet the villains. In just a few pages, Morrison distinguishes several different types of players: the super-villainy of Batman’s usual gang of baddies are represented by Penguin, but so are the old-school mobsters and some foreign criminal empire.  Each has an agenda, and isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty to pursue it. Add in the chaotic vigilantism of Red Hood and Scarlet, and you’ve got an explosive mix.

Small nitpicky items:

• A lot of story is crammed into very small spaces here.  It’s represented quite well in Philip Tan’s art.  While I think he’s competing with JH Williams’ Detective Comics work for “most oddball visual layout that still works,” he gets the action across quite well.
• There needs to be an editorial directive about how old Damian is supposed to look.  Tony Daniel made him look maybe 15.  Tan seems to think he’s 10.
• This is the second time in a couple months that Twitter is done wrong.  It’s supposed to be Scarlet tweeting, but the way it’s drawn it looks like people are @ replying to her.  Joe Casey’s Dance miniseries is doing something similar.

All in all, this book continues to be the most exciting Bat-book on the stands.  Smart storytelling, snappy art, and an interesting storyline.

Recommended if you like: pretty much any decent Batman story, Damian Wayne, the fact that Grant Morrison is smarter than you.