Batman and Robin Year One: Dynamic Duos #1 – Mark Waid, Writer; Chris Samnee, Artist; Matheus Lopes, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: It’s been a while since the first volume of this excellent flashback series wrapped up, with Waid and Samnee telling a year of stories about the growing pains of Bruce Wayne becoming a father and Batman getting a partner. Now, for the second year of stories, the two have settled into a routine. At the outset of the issue, they take on a cult in a chilling segment that shows that as fun as this comic is, Waid and Samnee are also an incredible horror team. It was a fun surprise that the cult worships Barbatos, the mysterious overarching big bad of the Batman mythos that both Morrison and Snyder have worked with. Back at home, it’s clear that Bruce and Dick are more comfortable around each other, having an easy banter where they trust each other more. But there’s one mission Dick isn’t going to join Bruce on. Because tonight…the dark knight detective has a date.
It’s always fun to see Bruce out of his element, and he taps into his “playboy Bruce Wayne” persona a bit for a date with a woman named Janet. They seem to be having a good time – until they’re robbed as they turn down an alley. This obviously triggers some very deep-seated trauma for Bruce, making the mask slip in a way that shows a rare lack of caution for a man who always keeps his two sides separate. But that’s not the most disturbing part of the robbery – the culprits are children, seemingly hardened enough to take on a pair of adults and quickly resort to violence. This spree of crime is disturbing enough to Bruce that he agrees to a very dangerous mission – for Dick. Robin will be going undercover, becoming one of the street kids who targets people in Gotham. And the addition to the cast on the last page pulls the larger scope of this story into focus in a dramatic way.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
