DC Comics packaged the last nine issues of their pre-New 52 “Batman and Robin” monthly into a graphic novel collection and released it for fans looking for closure to that chapter of the new Dynamic Duo’s adventures. It’s titled “Batman & Robin: Dark Knight VS. White Knight” and brings together issues #17 through #25 of the critically acclaimed series. There are no disappointments to be found in this volume.
The book puts together the last three story arcs of this run of stories featuring Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin the Boy Wonder. “The Sum of Her Parts” has our superheroes going up against a jealous former love of Bruce Wayne named Absence. “Tree of Blood” puts the Dark Knight Detective and his sidekick up against a villain calling himself White Knight. He’s bent on eliminating any future threat to Gotham City by killing off the relatives of all the inmates of Arkham Asylum.
“The Streets Run Red” brings Jason Todd back to town. After he cleans up a prison from the inside, he becomes the Red Hood again when he escapes while being transferred back to Arkham. Batman and Robin must track the crimson-masked vigilante down and recapture him before it’s too late.
“Batman & Robin: Dark Knight VS. White Knight” was penned by several topnotch writers. They include Paul Cornell, Peter J. Tomasi, and Judd Wynick. There’s not a weak story in the three arcs presented. Each one is packed full of great action and suspense that kept me turning pages. I really miss Dick Grayson as Batman in hindsight. Damian and he had a fiery chemistry that was both humorous and nerve-wracking at the same time.
The collection has several different artists contributing their styles. Scott McDaniel, Christopher Jones, Patrick Gleason, Guillem March, Andrei Bressan, Greg Tocchini, and Andy Smith all brought their different takes on the world of Gotham to these final three story arcs. All the styles are pretty consistent until you get to Greg Tocchini’s work, which is vastly different from the rest of the art. It’s not bad but I did find it distracting. However, it wasn’t necessarily in a negative way.
Fans of the Batman family will definitely want to pick up this final volume of the pre-New 52 “Batman and Robin” monthly. There are some great stories in here that will have you glued to your seat. I’ll miss the team up of Grayson/Batman and Damian/Robin as the dysfunctional Dynamic Duo.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
‘Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 1: Golden Dawn: Deluxe Edition’ Review
‘Batman: Through the Looking Glass’ Review
‘Batman: The Black Mirror’ Finishes Dick Grayson’s Run as the Dark Knight
Eric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.