Batman and Robin 10

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing Batman and Robin 10, originally released June 13th 2012.

Drew: What defines us? Is it our best qualities, our successes and moments of pride; or is it our worst qualities, our failures and our weaknesses? It’s a question that plagues all of us at one time or another, and one that is front and center in Peter Tomasi’s run on Batman and Robin. Damian is a character who seems to have nearly infinite capacity for both good and evil, but how exactly he’ll chose to use that capacity remains in question. What defines Damian has been a driving question of this title, and in this issue, Damian reflects the question outward, delivering what promises to be an affecting character study on all of the former Robins (sorry Stephanie Brown fans — it seems her stint as Robin has been written out of the canon for sure). Continue reading

Batman and Robin 9


Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing Batman and Robin 9 originally released May 9th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Batman and Robin? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Patrick: I’m spending this weekend with my family in Fort Benning, Georgia. My older sister and her family live on post here, and my folks flew in for my little sister’s graduation from the Army’s officer training program. The ceremony is about what you’d expect: a lot of pomp and circumstance, Army pageantry and pride. The rest of the weekend has been spent playing with my niece and nephew. This month’s Batman and Robin is focused so tightly on both children and the military that I feel extra fortunate to have experienced it here, far from my Hollywood world.  Continue reading

Cram Session: Batman and Robin 1-8

It can be hard to keep up with all the comics you love. But it’s damn near impossible to keep up with all the comics you’re interested in.

Retcon Punch got you covered.

The story of Batman and Robin coming to terms with Damian’s darkness is more heartbreaking than any title featuring Robin has any right to be. This one is one of the good Batman titles, but if you missed out on it, dig our video recap.

Batman and Robin 8

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Batman and Robin 8, originally released April 11th 2012.

Peter: I recently went back and re-read the first sixteen issues of Grant Morrison’s run of Batman and Robin. This picks up right after the conclusion of Battle for the Cowl, with Dick taking over as Batman and Damian first appearance as Robin. Go read it right now, because it contributed to personal re-revaluation of Damian’s character. Combined with what we have seen so far in Tomasi’s run with Batman and Robin, Damian is proving to be an incredibly compelling and dynamic character. Baseline verdict: confused 10 year old ninja.

Continue reading

Batman and Robin 7

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing Batman and Robin 7, originally released March 14th 2012.

Peter: This is it. I have been waiting several months for this story to come to fruition, and it is finally upon us. Batman vs. Nobody. Bruce Wayne vs. Morgan Ducard. This is a Bruce unlike any we have EVER seen before; not once in his entire history has Bruce been faced with losing is own flesh and blood. Sure Dick, Jason, Tim and Cassandra are his children; he adopted them, but never before has he had a biological son to lose. Based on the cover alone, I can guess that this is going to be a wild ride. I mean, when was the last time you saw and image of Batman that was so menacing, or so scary? I mean he is about to rip into Morgan with not one, but 14 knives sticking out of his back. Is this Batman going bat-shit crazy? Continue reading

Batman and Robin 4-6

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing Batman and Robin 4-6, originally released December 14th, 2011,  January 11th, and February 8th, 2012.

Peter: Prior to the reboot, for me, Batman was in a little bit of a limbo. I enjoyed post-Final Crisis arcs enough, but I wasn’t completely drawn in by them. They just did not feel exciting to me. The Return of Bruce Wayne felt forced. I actually dropped all Batman books from my personal pull except for Batman, Inc. when it was released. With the advent of the New 52, Batman and Robin has quickly risen to become one of my favorite books.  Peter Tomasi’s writing, and Patrick Gleason’s art, have revitalized these characters, and most importantly, the ever evolving relationship between them. Continue reading

Batman and Robin 1-3

Originally Published December 2, 2011

DC Comics recently relaunched their entire series, giving curious but uninitiated nerds a convenient entry point.  Fellow blogger Drew Baumgartner and I are two such nerds, and we’ve decided to jump in with a handful of monthly titles.  We really wanted to pull out all the nerd stops, so we’re also going to be writing about them here and on Drew’s blog (which you should all be reading anyway) every Friday.  This week, I’m hosting the discussion of Batman and Robin while Drew is hosting the discussion of Aquaman.

Patrick: We’re reading eight titles for this series.  Three are written by Geoff Johns and two are written by Peter Tomasi.  I think I would be able to pick out Johns’ writing without seeing his name on the cover – there’s a certain amount of aggressive cleverness in the dialogue and also a lot of posturing and inflated egos from his heroes.  But while I think we both agreed that Green Lantern Corps (Tomasi’s other book) is a little overstuffed with meaningless characters and incidents, Batman and Robin feels much more streamlined and deliberate.  As such, I think this is a really successful series and a lot of fun to boot. Continue reading