Comic Info
Comic Name: Batman and Robin (Volume 1)/Batman: The Return
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frazer Irving/David Finch/Cameron Stewart/Chris Burnham/Batt/Ryan Wynn
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2011
Batman and Robin (2) #16
Reprints Batman and Robin (1) #13-16 and Batman: The Return #1 (August 2010-January 2011). The game is up! The Joker is facing off against the Black Glove and Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne are caught in the middle. Fortunately, Batman and Robin are about to get some help…from the real Batman—Bruce Wayne!
Written by Grant Morrison, Batman and Robin 3: Batman & Robin Must Die! Follows Batman and Robin 2: Batman vs. Robin. The volume has been collected in a deluxe addition and serves as a lead-in to Batman Incorporated.
Grant Morrison is one of those tricky writers. He can be great or he can be dismal. Morrison’s run in Batman did make me interested in the character again (which is ironic since I am not a huge Batman fan). The series does hold true for Grant Morrison. It sometimes works and sometimes fails.
There are some great moments in Batman and Robin Must Die! From Dick Grayson getting shot in the head to the Joker’s sadistic plans, the comic book also has the return of Bruce Wayne as Batman. The comic book is kind of all over the place however and Morrison does try too hard to shock and impress the readers. He doesn’t really need to. The basic story is strong, but it seems to get caught up in the theatrics.
Batman: The Return #1
Batman’s return is the highlight of the book but also kind of wrecks the story. Grant Morrison’s Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne was pretty poor. This really ties into it, but I wish that the story had been incorporated into Batman and Robin instead of a tie-in series. I had really enjoyed Damian and Dick’s antagonistic relationship and Bruce Wayne’s return shatters that.
The book has a lot of style. It features the work of multiple artists and the artists also vary in talent. It is kind of fun to have a changing book and you can definitely pick out favorite artists from the batch.
Batman and Robin 3: Batman & Robin Must Die! indicated the end of the title for Morrison. Morrison took over Batman Incorporated which ran until the New 52 relaunch (and then post-New 52). Paul Cornell took over for the follow-up storyline and Batman and Robin 3: Batman & Robin Must Die! was followed by Batman and Robin 4: Dark Knight vs. White Knight.
Related Links:
Batman and Robin 2: Batman vs. Robin
Batman and Robin 4: Dark Knight vs. White Knight
