Batman and Robin #1: Father-Son Bonding

The last time we saw a proper Batman and Robin ongoing featuring Bruce and Damian Wayne was in Peter Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason’s run which ended in 2015. A lot has changed since then, both good and bad. Josh Williamson and Simone Di Meo’s Batman and Robin takes place concurrently with Chip Zdarsky’s Batman where there is no Wayne Manor, no Alfred Pennyworth, and due to the Gotham War from Chip Zdarsky’s work in Batman and Batman / Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines #1, no Bat-Family. It is just Batman and Robin; Bruce and Damian Wayne. 

The new series boasts some incredible art from Di Meo, who pencils, inks, and colors the entire issue. Di Meo’s sleek and vibrant style brings a lot of high energy to the issue and is packed with fun action. The action sequences feel quite dynamic and fluid creating a great sense of movement that works really well with the Batman and Robin designs. There is an obvious manga influence in Di Meo’s work and it works so well with Damian as a character. Di Meo’s style does an excellent job showing the more futuristic and high-tech elements of Gotham while still showing the heavy gothic influence that Batman titles are known for. Issue #1 includes some old foes but things take a slight turn with some otherworldly and fantastical elements.

It seems that a lot of writers don’t know what to do with Damian. Williamson’s Robin series did a lot as well as Tomasi’s work on Super-Sons, and now with the stability of a book with Batman in the title, Williamson hopefully will be able to develop the character even further. The simple act of enrolling Damian in school has a lot of potential for interesting growth. Williamson is a fan of the character and while a lot of readers have a different favorite Robin, Damian has been here awhile and it is time we really lean into it consistently. After reading issue #1, it is obvious that the creative team is all on the same page. Steve Wands is such a solid letterer and makes a lot of design choices that fit incredibly well with the art and Williamson’s script. It seems like there will be a lot of room for fun in this series. Early on we see a fist-bump between Batman and Robin and later we see that Robin has his own Robinmobile.

Even the hinted-at all-new villain “Shush” seems like a fun idea.