Batman and Robin #20 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Hugo Petrus, Miguel Mendonca, Juni Ba, Artists; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The Memento mystery has been building since the first issue of PKJ’s run, and we’re now at a critical point. The benevolent Dr. Bashar, seen as a possible suspect for the mad killer, has been murdered. Damian Wayne has been kidnapped – right after Bruce made a critical mistake with his son that might be impossible to repair. And now, Batman – infected with the hallucinogenic Gravedigger’s Poppy – is stumbling through a stupor searching desperately for his son. As Oracle tries to bring him back to reality, he hallucinates some of the most gruesome and brutal moments in Gotham history – as well as the people who came in and out of his life. This issue does something really unique that makes it the best of the run so far – it’s split between three artists, with Miguel Mendonca doing the present-day segments. But it’s the other two that are really fascinating.
Hugo Petrus illustrates some pages from Thomas Wayne’s journal, depicting a time when Thomas was so preoccupied with his work that he let Bruce down. Seeing his son becoming withdrawn, he seeks advice from Alfred – once again illustrating how the man was the glue that held the Waynes together. But the best segment of the issue by a mile is Damian’s journal, illustrated by fast-rising cartoonist Juni Ba, who did some of the best work with Damian in The Boy Wonder. This story, essentially done in cartoony manga style, retells the events of the entire run so far from Damian’s perspective, giving us critical insight into exactly what went on in his head and his suspicions about various players. I’m pretty sure I know who Memento is now, but we’ll see. What I am positive about is that while it started slowly, this is doing some excellent work fleshing out the complex relationship between Batman and Robin.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
