Batman and Robin: Year One #2 – Mark Waid, Writer; Chris Samnee, Artist; Giovanna Niro, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Having recently adopted Dick Grayson and trained him as Robin, Batman is about to face his biggest challenge yet – a visit from Gotham Child Protective Services. This is one of those realistic touches that very rarely makes its way into the comics, as a well-meaning but determined agent is on site to investigate if Gotham’s most notorious playboy is actually capable of providing a fitting home for a recently orphaned child. Of course, Bruce isn’t what he appears to be – but neither is Dick, which provides some very fun moments as Dick’s daredevil instincts nearly give Bruce a heart attack and endanger the adoption despite Bruce’s best efforts to provide a normal home during the daytime. This shows some of the more human sides of Bruce and Alfred – and you can tell Bruce is very happy when he and Dick can suit up and get back to what they’re most comfortable with.
The Gotham of this story, as realized by Chris Samnee, is gritty in an old-school way that works very well. The new villains of the tale, the Grimaldi clan out of Miami, are a suitable replacement for the Falcones, and there’s some sinister stuff going on behind the scenes involving the patriarch. But these new guys have some balls of steel, as is indicated when one faces off against Two-Face without a hint of intimidation. When this building gang war spills out into a massive inferno in Gotham, we get to see Batman and Robin in a much more intense situation than any so far, with a great example of how Dick’s natural instincts can make him invaluable when someone’s life is in danger – but can also make him put himself in serious danger. Waid and Samnee are building a fantastic dynamic for these two here, and the comic as a whole is turning into something really special.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
