MATT LOWDER Looks At BATMAN AND ROBIN, VOLUME ONE

Guest review by Run The Comics 5K's Matt Lowder

BATMAN AND ROBIN, VOLUME 1: "BORN TO KILL" (DC 2011) FIVE out of a possible FIVE STARS. Peter Tomasi, story. Patrick Gleason, art. 

This is a knock-out.

I just want to thank the Run The Comics 5K group. In a tumultuous year to put it lightly, this group has been a very bright spot for me. This Batman arc was recommended by at least one member of the group, and it was powerful. In fact, This 2011 run of the New 52 is likely my favorite of all the New 52s I've started. It's that good. 

Excellent characterizations, a strong universal plot of fatherhood and responsibility, peppered beside other mainstays in Batman, like vengeance, failure, compromise, and the constant war that is morality. It's all here, and slammed into high contrast with a whip-snappin', savagely-bullheaded ten-year-old Damian Wayne. I last read Batman seriously between 2009-2011 with Grant Morrison's "Batman and Robin" run, where Batman was Dick Grayson. I liked it a bunch, but I like Dick more as Nightwing.

This volume entitled "Born to Kill" really is among my very favorite Batman arcs I've ever read, and that includes Year One, Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, The Long Halloween, Battle for the Cowl, Death in the Family, Hush, The Killing Joke, etc.

A guy named Morgan, son of Ducard, is the villain. In this book he calls himself "Nobody." Years ago, Bruce trained with Ducard, master manhunter, and Ducard's son, Morgan. There is tragedy and complexity there I won't spoil, but it's so well constructed. This is the kind of parallel story telling, focus on theme, characters, and plot which all enhance each other. 

It's a master class in Batman comics and adventure storytelling in general, and I don't say that lightly. Reading this made me furrow my brow, say "what!?" out loud, take deep breaths, think about my own role as a father, and reflect more deeply than I ever have on the reasons that Bruce continues to take young boys under his wing as sidekicks. Layers, layers, layers. The best part is you can just read these 6 issues if you don't want to commit to a long-series, because the story is perfectly wrapped up. This would be a great movie, like "Batman Under the Red Hood" (2010).

It's one of my comics of the year, and will be included in a list I create sometime in mid-December. If anyone is interested in joining a little end-of-year retrospection with me, I encourage you to post your favorite 5 or 10 or even 20 comics sometime in December. 5/5