By Chris Fenn
The story of Batman and Robin has come a long way since the death of Damian. We’ve encountered a lot of characters; whether they’ve been trying to stop Batman from resurrecting Damian, or helping Batman stop Ra’s al Ghul, but now the Batman comes head to head with The Demon.
My admiration goes to the colorist of this issue, John Kalisz, as I was simply awestruck with how the first seven pages created such a mood and atmosphere. I think the predominant use of green and black really made the conversation between Ra’s and Batman feel so intense; this wasn’t a Saturday morning cartoon character talking down to the hero, this was two hurt fathers pouring their souls at each other, and the colours really made it that much more heartfelt and impressive.
Going hand in hand with colours, the art is what I come to expect from Patrick Gleason; brilliant. There’s a lot of ‘Batman Poses’ where you just see the eyes against a black silhouette, which is something I can never get enough of, and he also manages to make a fight feel brutal and real. The fight between Ra’s and Batman isn’t a typical ‘superhero’ fight with people in swimsuits throwing buildings at each other and looking unscathed, it’s a brawl in the snow with no rules and no finesse, just rage and anger.
Tomasi’s writing is really good in this issue; he has a task of explaining everything about this special Lazarus pit and its origin as well as having some meaningful dialogue with Batman and Ras. I think he deals with this spectacularly, having Frankenstein, a former agent of S.H.A.D.E., and Ra’s al Ghul discuss the plot points makes the issue feel natural, as it is both within their characters to know these things and to express their knowledge about it.
I found that the dialogue between Ra’s and Batman was really insightful to them as people; Batman unprepared to risk his son’s soul, whereas Ra’s is happy to risk anything in order to preserve his family and his legacy. Both strike me as things a father would do, and having been on a Game of Thrones TV series binge Ra’s stance reminds me a lot of Tywin Lannister.
Its seems as if the Game of Thrones comparisons don’t stop there; as I mentioned earlier about the fist fight in the snow feeling real I couldn’t help but compare it to the fight between Brienne and The Hound in the recent series finale. I also found that when Batman begins pressing his thumbs into Ra’s’ eyes I thought of the fight between The Mountain and Prince Oberyn and I genuinely believed that Batman was going to break his rule and end Ra’s – which I would have found extremely fitting, appropriate and powerful.
That will have to be an Elseworlds though, as now we’re up against the forces of Apokolips. I personally love the Fourth World and embrace any story line that deals with the New Gods and Darkseid. Tomasi hasn’t let me down yet, and I will follow him to Apokolips and back!
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on June 20th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman And Robin, Batman and Robin #32 Review, Damian Wayne, DC Comics, Frankenstein, John Kalisz, Patrick Gleason, Peter J Tomasi, Ras Al Ghul