The cover by illustrator Chris Samnee and colourist Matheus Lopes is a thing of joy, and that’s what we get in the final issue of a maxi-series that’s been a total treat.
Yes, there’s serious business in the peculiar shapes of Clayface and Two-Face preparing to pour poison into Gotham Bay…
… and the barely established Batman and Robin team at risk of being torn apart…
… but even when the Boy Wonder is at the business end of a gun barrel, Samnee and co-plotter/scripter Mark Waid keep us smiling.
And an injury to the Bat-body is no reason to get downcast.
Who knew Batman had that grapnel gun back in his first years? Not me, but its uselessness opens the door to the first of at least three wonderful nods to the Batman 66 TV show.
The issue ends on a very happy note, and I’ll be very disappointed if Waid and Samnee, along with Lopes and letterer Clayton Cowles, don’t bring us Batman & Robin Year Two. Or even a solo Robin mini updating the type of stories Dick had in his Forties solo strip, because while the creative team’s Batman is great, their Robin is brilliant. As well as the traditional humour and acrobatics, Waid and Cowles showcase his ability to read a person, his empathy. He even has the sling that was a trademark in the Golden Age.
Waid’s dialogues sizzles throughout, while Samnee’s compositions and characterisations are head and shoulders over those of most artists working today.
One thing that had me scratching my head, though, was Robin’s belt? Has that huge ‘R’ at the rear been seen previously? Is it a mini-back brace?
Lopes dials down the primary colours that are part of the point of Robin, but the choice works with the rest of his palette, which gives us a gritty Gotham that stays the right side of grim. And the lettering by Cowles is no fuss, all win.
If you’ve not been reading this series, put the collection on your Christmas list now – it’s Holy Brilliant.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I don’t think I’ve read even a dozen issues of any Batman series since Crisis. My Batman died before Jason did. Waid’s Batman I loved it and to a lesser extent his Robin. I think he’s gone just a wee but too far with Dick’s buffoonery here and in World’s Finest but not enough to turn me off like decades of Bat-Dick. Samnee is his usually amazing self too, the spotlight panels made me emotional and I almost cracked up seeing that nod to Batman ’66. I’d give up JLU in a heartbeat if Waid and even a part-time Samnee gave us an ongoing Batman & Robin The Early Years. I’ve barely finished any JLA/I/E/Nada/Task Force ever so I wouldn’t miss it. Unless Colleen Doran was involved. I’d reaa a JL series by her even if she used the OYL team.
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Gosh, I didn’t realise you’d been off Batman for so long. Mind, ‘my’ Batman died with Crisis too, I just tend to dip back in, sometimes for a while.
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I’m actually pretty sunny on the Batman titles right now, although this is the only one I’ve been buying. But Tom Taylor & Michel Janin’s Detective Comics feels of a piece with my 80s Batman, and the first two issues of the Fraction/Jimenez Batman book have impressed me, too. And on the darker side, I’ve enjoyed Batman: Dark Patterns, and the last long arc of PKJ’s Batman and Robin. I’ve been reading them on DCUI, and have enjoyed them all.
That said, THIS is my jam. I loved it, tip to tail — especially Waid & Samnee’s portrayal of Robin. And the detail I might have loved most of all is that Bruce tries to adopt Dick as he regains custody of him, and it’s just not legally feasible at the moment. That rings true to both Bruce’s devotion to him, but also a sensible reluctance of the courts to go all-in with this billionaire dilletante without more of a track record.
A great capper to a great series.
I hear there’s a sequel in the works, but I don’t know when it’ll arrive, or if the focus will be different in some way (in time period, in characters). But I think we’ll see more Bat-action from Waid and Samnee before 2026 is through.
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I really do need to try Dark Patterns, I reckon it could be my cup of tea.
I’m sure you’re right about a Waid and Samnee sequel, I know Waid was keen at the start, and it’s certainly been very well received.
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