When I was a kid in the Seventies, Mad Magazine had a feature, Scenes We’d Like To Seen, in which tired tropes of popular culture would be subverted. The second issue of DC’s latest Batman mini-series has something of that ilk.
They’re a cynical bunch, but I believe this is how the good folk of Gotham Social Services would react to an unashamed playboy taking a troubled child into their home. So it’s not surprising Bruce is under close observation, which means regular visits to, as boss Laura sneers, ‘stately Wayne Manor’. Bruce employs his charm.
All Dick has to do is keep his natural exuberance at bay, show he’s settling down.
Oops.
Later, in Gotham City, the newest would-be gang leader is visited by a man who already has a reputation.
Meanwhile, Robin learns a little about standard Batman operating procedure.
Also this issue. action, lots and lots of action, all of it conjured up by the writer/artist team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, including a two-page sequence comprising 21 fast-paced panels.
Then there’s this daring rescue.
A cute commentary from the Boy Wonder nodding to his Golden Age introduction in Detective Comics #36 which perfectly suits his personality, all smartly lettered by Clayton Cowles. And look at the fatherly pride on Batman’s face in the final panel.
Samnee and Waid mesh perfectly once more, from that amusing, yet true, office commentary to the sinister note on which the chapter ends. This look at the early days of the Dynamic Duo is confident comic booking, the story laid out in sensible plot beats with regular flourishes of delightful dialogue. Mob tales are my least favourite flavour of Batman, but the early introduction of Two-Face bodes well.
Giovanna Niro colours, evoking a Noir world without sticking to black, white and grey. The mood especially suits new character Laura Lyn, who looks to be based on Lauren Bacall.
I liked Laura immediately, I hope she sticks around for the run of this series.
And how about that cover by Samnee and colourist Matheus Lopes? It’s the sort of thing we’ve seen a thousand times but the artists make it fresh.
If the entire creative team can lean into this attitude for the whole run – and I don’t doubt they can – the Batman & Robin: Year One collection will be a perennial seller for DC, and a treat for fans.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I’d almost skipped this then remembered who the creators were. Waid is never going to write a one dimensional Bat-Dick or make Bruce as fictional a character as Moses Malone. I was not disappointed.
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I looked up Moses Malone but the reason for his inclusion in the sentence evades me!
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Moses is a false identity Batman dons to achieve his goals. Too many writers treat Bruce Wayne as being functionally that as well.
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Ugh. can I blame the blow to my head when that car hit me in July for not realizing I meant Matches?
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Ha, I was pretty certain you meant Matches, because I’ve made the same mistake myself; I don’t know a of athletes’ names, but the stars on the teams my dad watched when I was in middle and high school stayed with me. If there’s ever a comic book character with a name similar to Mike Schmidt or Ron Jaworski, I’m screwed.
Sorry I didn’t say it outright after I went on about Moses Malone; I thought the Matches/Moses transposition was obvious, and while I wasn’t quite sure why you were bringing him up in a story Matches didn’t appear in, I was just ribbing you a bit.
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Moses Malone? The basketball player? I’ve seen him play live, when he was on the 76ers. I remember the announcers shouting “MOOOOOOSES!” when he made a rebound. Please don’t tell me that was a dream.
Loved this issue, and especially loved the cynicism of Gotham’s social services workers, and the introduction of Laura Lynn as a complication in Bruce & Dick’s lives. Like you, I hope she sticks around.
Samnee is fantastic at drawing children, as seen in the family dynamics of Firepower, the family kung-fu book he did with Robert Kirkman for the last few years. It’s great to see that experience carrying through, giving us such an exuberant Dick Grayson. This one’s gonna be a classic!
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Too right! Waid and Samnee have such synergy, and I’ve heard Samnee has been wanting a project like this for years.
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I am suprised with a name like Laura Lynn she isn’t a Superman book character instead!
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Seriously! Let’s hope we find out she’s a transplant from Metropolis.
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Waid may have plans!
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