Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn

Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Batman Reborn: In their first case as Batman & Robin, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne take on Professor Pyg and the Circus of the Strange.

I'll be honest, despite reading comics off and on for the last 30-ish years, I haven't read all that many Batman comics. When I heard Grant Morrison was doing the Batman monthly, that's when I got on board. Batman and Robin is Morrison at his best.

Remember when Bane broke Batman's back and they replaced him with someone who wasn't Dick Grayson? Well, Morrison didn't make that mistake. I love the dynamic between Dick and Damian. Damian saying "That will be all, Pennyworth" made me laugh when I read it, even the second time. For once, Batman is the lighthearted member of the dynamic duo. Professor Pyg is pretty creepy and made a good first foe for Batman and Robin. Other things I liked: the flying Batmobile and the paracapes.

Revenge of the Red Hood: While looking for the man behind Professor Pyg, Batman & Robin run up against a different dynamic duo, The Red Hood and Scarlet.

I didn't like this one as much as the first story. Batman and Robin were made to look like chumps, which is no way to get the fan boys behind them this early in their run. On the plus side, Flamingo seemed like a very credible threat in his first outing. Jason Todd chewed the scenery as always but he and Scarlet contrasted well with Dick and Damian.

The sketches in the back provided an interesting look behind the scenes.

So what gripes did I have? Only that I know all of this will be nullified when whomever follows Morrison on the title hits the reset button on everything so no one will ever have to read interesting Batman stories again.

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