Janelle Asselin

As someone who is pretty new to Batman (I've read a bunch of single issues as a kid and other stories in the DC world) I knew there was going to be some disconnect on my end going into this, but even considering that I thought this volume was a mess. The writing, the plot, the characters: none of it clicked with me.
The plot overall just seems erratic and disjointed, bouncing around from one villain to another to another to ANOTHER - seriously, why are there so many villains in here? They're show more also BIZARRE, even for a comic book world. Pyg is downright abhorrent, and Red Hood literally looks like a red tampon applicator. Whoever designed that costume needs to be fired. This huge cast is overwhelming and leaves so little time to breathe, or develop other things that are brought up, such as Dick's struggle to feel comfortable with the Batman mantle (the Batmantle?) and find his footing with Damian. Dick and Alfred were the only characters in this I enjoyed reading. Damian could have been cool, but I just struggle believing a 10-year-old could handle himself for a second in any of these fight scenes. He also uses "gay" as an insult and isn't corrected for it, which sucks.
The extreme violence against women was also just off the walls. It felt like it was also used primarily for shock value and never offered up any narrative/dialogue on that. Sasha's character ~almost~ went there, but it lasted for like 1 page and then was abandoned. Breadcrumbs, people, breadcrumbs. There is also not a single female character in this volume who is mentioned without being characterized in terms of her relation to/interactions with a man. So that was disappointing, especially when, again, Sasha could have been used in a much more dynamic way!
I'm looking forward to reading OTHER Batman stories my friends recommend because I know they can be told better than this. But honestly most stuff is written better than this, sooooo ¯_(ツ)_/¯ show less

I think Batman actually died in Final Crisis, a big mega-crossover that hasn't arrived from the library yet, but this dovetails nicely with the end of Batman RIP - ex-Robin Dick Grayson and current Robin and Bruce Wayne's son by a queen of assassins Damian Wayne take on the mantle of Batman and Robin, and it is not a easy ride. Grayson is unsure of himself and Damian's a bit of a git. Nonetheless, this turns into a brilliantly readable pairing, replacing the father-son dynamic with a show more older/younger sibling one to fantastic effect. This volume is still early days in the relationship, but it's delightfully sparky and snarky and their villains are right monsters like Mr Pyg, or challenges to their, er, more ethical approach to vigilantism, such as Red Hood and his sidekick Scarlet, who murder criminals with aplomb. It all looks amazing, particularly the cartoony realism of Frank Quitely, and is merely the opening salvo in a long and enjoyable saga. show less

I’ve been pretty resistant to the Grant Morrison Batman books because of all the radical changes: Bruce Wayne is dead, he has a son named Damian, Damian is now Robin, Dick Grayson (the original Robin) is Batman, Bruce Wayne is actually not dead but lost in time... It’s all a bit much.

Still, this first collection of the Batman & Robin books featuring Dick and Damian is a pretty good read. These are some of the most fun and yet dark/bloody Batman stories I’ve read in some time. And show more it’s nice to see a focus on two Batman heroes, rather than the veritable Batman family featured in the books preceding the Grant Morrison run. Unlike the dynamic duo of yore, Batman and Robin don’t always get along, but in the end they always come together to stop the bad guys. Morrison also invents a gaggle of psychotic new villains who fit into Gotham perfectly. And the artwork by Frank Quitely and Philip Tan is always colorful and expressive.

I’m probably still going to avoid the Bruce-as-caveman comics, but happy to see there still is good writing in Batman. show less

This reboot is not only for regular readers of the monthly Bat titles, but also for casual fans of the Bat. It's quite good, and in the Morrison/Quitely tradition, often gruesome.

There are villains aplenty, like Pyg and the Flamingo, and a new antihero, the Red Hood. The first trade paperback collects issues 1 to 6, but doesn't resolve everything. I look forward to the rest of the series; so far it's a wild ride.