Robin #1

Recap
After learning of the deadly League of Lazarus tournament, Damian Wayne has a new mission: to win the tournament and prove he is the greatest fighter in the DC Universe! But first he must find the secret island where the tournament is being held!
Review
Damien’s back in his very own solo ongoing book (I think for the first time), and it’s off to a bang. I don’t know if you had read the two-parter in Batman #106 and Detective Comics #1034, but the masterminds behind that story are back to continue this personal journey for Damien Wayne, son of Batman, and the most dangerous woman in the world, grandson of the demon (he’s definitely flexing how amazing his familial dynasty sooooo is). Williamson and Melnikov start the adventure with their foot to floor, giving us an action packed opening sequence, pitting the grandson of the dragon (this is probably how I’ll address Damien from now on) against King Snake. For those who aren’t aware of who King Snake is, KS is the father of Bane, aka the man who broke the Bat’s back.
The fight with King Snake was all a test to get invited to a mysterious tournament that’s being held by a clandestine group called the League of Lazarus, which makes me wonder if this League is in any way related to Ra’s Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pits. Maybe the leaders all use Lazarus Pits? I don’t know, because it’s not really discussed much in the issue.
The story itself is quick, and the energy is in an almost frenetic pace due to Williamson’s and Melnikov’s approach, not giving too much time for the cast to breathe. There’s so many cameos, and name drops of the veritable heavy hitters in DC’s stable of hand-to-hand fighters in this, which was a treat because I was like “I know them!” The few slower parts, like Bruce hitting up his Bat family allies in his search for the grandson of the demon, or the most tender part where we can see GSotD dealing with his grief over the loss of Alfred. This is something I really liked, because seeing how vulnerable GSotD really is, is something that continues to make me learn to like the character. I’ll be honest. I wasn’t a fan of Morrison’s Batman (hides behind my Penguin-esque parasol), and I really didn’t begin to warm to him GSotD until he became Dick’s sidekick in Batman & Robin, but it was finally Tomasi in his run on B & R, and later on Super Sons, when I finally gave him my full level of love (the same could be said for Jon, pre-Bendis). We get see Ravager here, as well as a couple new potential cast members, Respawn (barf), and Flatline (eye roll), whose ability is to learn the weakness of every fighter who has died, and learn to counter it. She’s not in the book for long, so I’m not going to shade her too much until Josh fleshes her out some more. Respawn looks like a kid version of WildStorm’s Pike, who was a knock-off of Deadpool, who was a discount Deathstroke when he was introduced. I guess their creators should be flattered we’re getting teen knock-offs? Jury’s still out.
Final Thoughts
The book is pedal to the metal almost from the jump, and the art and colors are kinetic, but it was the tender moments with Batman and the Bat family, and a brief interlude that’s just a figment of the grandson of the demon’s (told you) imagination that were the biggest winners for me.
Robin #1: Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night, Take These Broken Wings and Learn to Fly
- Writing - 8.5/108.5/10
- Storyline - 8.5/108.5/10
- Art - 8.5/108.5/10
- Color - 8.5/108.5/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10