Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. We’ve got a new Batman and a new Red Robin but they both need their costumes taken in a little at the seams. Reviews for Batman #687 and Red Robin #1 are ahead, also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!
BATMAN #687
This issue marks the triumphant return of the Batman title after months on hiatus. How weird is it that it’s not Bruce on the cover? Actually, not that weird. Judd Winick does an excellent job handling the passing of the cowl. Far better than three issues of Battle for the Cowl in fact.
We begin with a flashback to “simpler times” that all but breaks my heart and it’s not the only time I get sentimental this issue. A young Dick Grayson sneak attacks Bruce just to prove he can and then we skip ahead to the present where he’s helping to keep order in Gotham simply by driving the Batmobile around. He never gets out of the car because he’s still wearing his Nightwing uniform. He’s not ready yet. Four weeks earlier Clark and Diana brought the cape and cowl Bruce was wearing when he died to the Batcave. They expect to hear of the contingency plan they all assumed Bruce had. And for the second time I am moved when Alfred, the only one informed of said plan, tells them all is he not ok. “My son is dead.” On his word there will be no funeral for Batman.
An attack on a Cadmus funded facility by Doctor Phosphorus lures Damian into action. Unfortunately he’s ill prepared to handle the good Doctor’s powers and Dick must swoop in to save the day. This leads to an Alfred lecture about how the boy needs a proper mentor. Dick finally sees the light but insists on a change of scenery. The cave was Bruce’s, he will operate out of the penthouse and bunker of the Wayne Foundation and make Batman his own. Really, that’s the only right way to do it. His first test? A hostage situation on the Gotham Bridge involving the Scarecrow. Will everyone be glad for the help or just point and laugh?
Winick got it right. The evolution of Batman from Bruce to Dick, while still not complete, is handled organically. The conclusion of Battle for the Cowl failed because it felt contrived, not to mention ambiguous. Ed Benes’ Dick Grayson looks like the young, handsome hero he is but it’s Alfred’s grief ridden face that’s matched beautifully with the character’s dialogue. My only wish was that this had been released prior to Batman and Robin #1 because Batman #687 truly was the start of a new era.
RED ROBIN #1
Where has my Tim Drake gone? Or should I say, Tim Wayne? Since Robin was cancelled we expected the character to show up somewhere and with Damian as the new Robin I suppose it was only natural that Tim become the new Red Robin. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. And frankly, I want my sweet little Tim back. What I don’t want is him saying things like, “Is there even a line to cross anymore? Does it even matter?”
Tim is restless and bitter. Everyone but him thinks Bruce is dead and Dick has allowed someone else to take up the mantle of Robin. So he decides to dress up as Red Robin to search for answers like any good detective would. He travels to Spain, Prague and Paris but around every corner he’s constantly sidetracked by crime he’s compelled to fight. But all of that just makes him push further. It’s almost as if, by putting on the costume, he takes on the personality traits of it’s previous wearer. He allows himself to cross lines he wouldn’t normally cross. In his own words, “It was already tarnished.” But of course he’s not the only one looking for answers. He’s being watched by three people, one of whom could totally pass for a Slayer, and they’re working for Ra’s Al Ghul.
I get what they’re going for but I have to say, as first issues go, Red Robin #1 did not succeed. Why exactly has Tim traveled to Europe and what made him come to the conclusion Bruce was alive in the first place? I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out in later issues but considering this is a new title with a new quest it would have been smart to get that out of the way from page one. And what about that pesky Bruce? Has Tim collected any clues? Doesn’t look like it. He showed a polaroid to some guys in Spain who pointed in a general direction but that was about it. It would have been smart to pair this release with the first Batman and Robin since they play off each other so well. This new title has a lot of potential to be great but it also has a lot of potential to go wrong and ruin an otherwise well-developed character.
ACTION COMICS # 878 – Fornicating Kryptonians!
BOOSTER GOLD #21 – The Black Beetle returns only to kill another Robin in the past. Does Booster have to do EVERYTHING around here? Also, it’s good to see Blue Beetle back in the second feature.
THE FLASH: REBIRTH #3 (OF 6) – The heroes gather to help Barry with his death-touch issue but he runs away and tells Superman to eat his dust.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #37 – Holy crap! Sodam-Yat just gave every Daxamite super powers by turning their sun yellow. Love the Anti-Monitors boot.
My pull list for next week:
ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #12
BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #1
GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #21
THE OUTSIDERS #19
POWER GIRL #2
SUPERGIRL #42
Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #13?
June 17th, 2009 at 4:48 am
Hi Jill,
Your reviews this week are spot-on! Why? Because I completely agree with you.
As always, your reviews are well written from the perspective of a real fan; something that is all too rare these days. Well done.
Next week I would like you to review BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #1
and THE OUTSIDERS #19.
June 17th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Looks like DC had an overall amazing week. I got so teary reading Batman. The truth is the guys who read it don’t seem to feel that way. I watched and read other reviews by male readers and they hated the issue saying it was filled with too much mush. I think it was really well done and a very important issue to serve as the transition. I only wish DC had the good sense to release the books in the order in which they should be read.
Maybe Green Canary and PG next wk.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:50 am
I loved the little interaction between Dick’s Batman and Booster Gold on the BG cover… while covers generally don’t involve what actually happens in the issue, the combination of that cover and their small sequence in the cave assured me even more that Dick, while essentially being a great guy, also has it in him to make people afraid in the manner of a Batman… but yeah, few things last week could beat the two sentences on the cover
Like you said, Red Robin could be either awesome or horribly misdirected. I liked the angst-ridden approach and the idea of traversing the world in search of clues, but they may take that too far without explanations in some pages, and seeing Ra’s at the end made me fear that this may be quite contrived. His recent DC appearances have tended to confuse things a little, a la Green Arrow/Black Canary… still, it could turn out to be awesome. I would also like to see a little bit of Steph somewhere in the series, though I can’t help but think she’d be the one in that new Batgirl teaser DC put out a few weeks ago.
As for next week, I suppose Streets of Gotham and Power Girl. As always I myself will obsess about GA/BC and will pick up the Outsiders for the continuation, but the former continues to disappoint even more post-Winnick (didn’t think it could get worse than the clusterf@$% of metas and the strange transformation of Connor, but Kreisberg’s turning this into a bit of a farce, and not in a funny way) while the latter will probably just be a bridging point between important parts of the plot this week… probably.
June 17th, 2009 at 8:41 am
I agree with you 100% on Batman - I kinda wish they’d do like they do on the Superman titles and have the old “numbers in a triangle” gimmick, so we read them in the right order!
June 17th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Eep, I’m glad I didn’t pick up RED ROBIN after all. :X Not Tiiiim!
(Psh, “Tim Wayne” makes him sound like such a poser. It’s like Tiny Tim meets James Bond. It doesn’t work.)
June 17th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I’m a big fan of Winick’s Batman, and have been excited for this book for months. Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint. Batman #687 was the first time since Bruce’s death where his absence really had the proper weight. The book was one punch to the gut after another as you saw those that lost a friend, a father, and a son. Great stuff by the Juddster.
You hit the nail on the head with Red Robin. If Yost doesn’t soon provide a reason for Tim’s thinking Bruce is alive, I’m out. Tim’s always been touted as a great detective and therefore a logical thinker, so for him to bust out a “just ’cause” goes against everything we’ve ever known about him.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Just read BATMAN, and holy shit, it was SO brilliantly written. (And I was all teary, too, Beth!)
Seriously, applause for Winick.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
The Batman artwork was amazing… I particularly loved the bit with Dick’s reflection in the Batsuit case, with the suit perfectly framing his face. The detail right there was awesome!