Batman and Robin #30 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Fico Ossio, Artist; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s the end of Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run on the Bat-titles – and the end of this title as well, as he sends Bruce and Damian into a new era. The last arc has been an interesting way of focusing on the two of them by contrasting them with the Quiet Man, a new adversary weaving a trail of blood through…the Gotham crime scene. A former low-level criminal, his son was shot to death in a heist gone wrong, and as soon as he got out of prison, he started killing everyone who he held responsible. That started with targeting the infrastructure of characters like Penguin, but his main target was Ventriloquist, who was seemingly cured and living peacefully with his therapist – or so it seemed. This was actually all a feint for Scarface to come back to the fore, and now the dangerous if pint-sized criminal mastermind is getting ready to take advantage of the chaos and crown himself king of the underworld.
This final issue is fast-paced and bloody, with Scarface’s attacks and the Quiet Man’s assaults both causing serious damage. While the Quiet Man starts out as a threat, he quickly becomes a victim, and it’s great to see Damian’s compassion and medical training come into play here. This series has done a lot of good for the character, showing a side of him that indicates that while his personality as Robin might fall on the more violent side, Damian Wayne is almost the complete opposite. The plot device of the hospital owned by Bruce, and the fallen Dr. Bashar, have really helped the character come into his own in a way we haven’t seen in a long time. The ending ties things up very nicely with the Quiet Man, providing a little hope for the character, and the last few pages send Bruce and Damian off into their next adventure. This arc has been a great, character-driven coda after the extended thriller of the Memento arc.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
