REVIEW: Batman and Robin, Volume Two: Pearl

PLOT: Damian Wayne, a.k.a. Robin, must prove to Batman, as well as the previous Boy Wonders that he's every bit the hero that his father is in the wake of the cataclysmic events of the best-selling BATMAN & ROBIN VOLUME 1: BORN TO KILL.

REVIEW: These New 52 comics are something else let me tell you, but any of the Batman series are just off the charts awesome. Batman & Robin is by far one of the better of the group, probably right behind the actual Batman comic itself in quality. Batman & Robin is so good though because it runs off of Grant Morrison's storyline of Robin being Damian Wayne, who is Batman and Talia Al Ghul's son. This volume focuses particularly on Damian and his status as Robin, and though there's not a huge villain present throughout it's a very great collection. If there was a villain it would be the thing named Terminus, that at times is severely dark and creepy. In one of the last few issues though he turns Gotham into a crazy land where Batman is feared on an entirely different level than the man in the cowl ever intended. Though the actual battle itself is short, the concept of the villain trying to ruin Batman by not attacking the Bat himself, but attacking the city he has sworn to defend, in the name of Batman. It's all really haunting, and all the while we have the story with Damian swirling in the background. Perhaps, leading to the next volume which I believe the Death in the Family storyline is going to be redone which I'm super excited for. I don't want to go too much else into this, but it's a great volume of Batman comic and I highly recommend you read this New 52 series if you haven't started already. Batman & Robin is extremely dark, thought-provoking, and takes our heroes to ends they've never seen. This is a definite pickup as well if you're a fan of Robin too, and it really takes a good look at the current character and analyzes him in his surroundings with all of the previous Robins and his father Bruce Wayne, Batman. This book features some seriously grim covers too, but beautiful all the same.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 10 / 10 )

REVIEW: Batman Incorporated, Volume One: Demon Star

PLOT: Eisner Award-winning fan-favorite writer Grant Morrison concludes the Batman epic he began nearly a decade ago in BATMAN & SON, pitting the entirity of Batman Incorporated against the Leviathan organization headed by the Dark Knight's former romantic interest Talia al Ghul. As Leviathan enacts a plan that threatens the world, Batman and his allies must fight against the rising storm--but not everyone will make it out of the encounter alive.

REVIEW: It was only two weeks ago when I reviewed Joe the Barbarian by Grant Morrison and really loved it. I remember saying how I had a love/hate relationship with the author because his work in comics is typically outstanding, however there are some characters he just doesn't get as good of a grip on. Batman is not one of those characters, as Morrison was seemingly meant to write Batman stories for DC. Though the writing at times is a bit confusing, and the story can lose you (especially in some of the other Batman arcs) there's just something so special about his way with the Bat. Some of his Batman arcs have been among the most liked by the fans, and I often see his name in my list of Top 10 Batman graphic novels. He has an outstanding vision for the character, and brings a darker edge to the comic than has ever been previously explored except by a Frank Miller, whom I have the same relationship with.

This is technically the second volume of Batman Incorporated, as the first volume came out pre-New 52 but it definitely leads into this story. Another outstanding entry into Morrison's Bat-folio, and it's amazing that his story is continuing to unfold across several Gotham titles including this one. The end of Demon Star is most definitely a cliffhanger if I've ever read one, and now I absolutely cannot wait for the second New 52 volume of Batman Incorporated! Also, Chris Burnham deserves a round of applause for the outstanding art in this book. It has several looks throughout, but he does a great job at bringing Morrison's vision to life much like the artists before him have been capable. It's almost as if Grant brings the best work out of people in his books, and maybe they in turn do the same for him. All I know is that this should have been called Demon Stars, because it's worth way more than just one. Yeah, I'm clever so what.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 ) 

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )