There is an old adage in playwriting that goes something like this, “If there is a shotgun hanging over the mantle in act one, it should be used to shoot someone by act three.” Comic books, as long-form storytelling, can hang that shotgun in a tossed off comment four years earlier in another title. While Morrison’s “Blackest Knight” storyline has gotten lots of buzz for revealing the true nature of the Bat-corpse Superman finds at the end of Final Crisis, few are pointing out the Crime Bible prophecy that has been hanging over the figurative mantle since 52.
This is the divisive nature of Grant Morrison’s writing in a nutshell: do you, as a reader, have the patience to follow Morrison across multiple titles to get the payoff to an idea that was seemingly tossed off years earlier? If the answer is no, you probably haven’t been reading Batman and Robin. But if you have been here for the long haul, this issue pays off in a variety of entertaining ways. The centerpiece is the insane Batman (whose dialogue is written in We3 style) and his quest to kill the already injured Robin. There are big action beats, character insights, guest stars (Knight, Squire, Batwoman) and plot developments galore here. As fun as it is to watch Alfred go nuts with a cricket bat or the British dynamic duo face off with King Coal, the heart of the book is still the precarious relationship between Dick Grayson and Damien. The tension between Dick’s optimism and Damien’s pragmatism gets ratcheted up even further in this issue, making the forthcoming Batman vs. Robin storyline inevitable.
Cameron Stewart does a great job here. As the most action-packed and garish storyline of the series demands, Stewart’s clean line work is able to convey movement as well as emotional heft with seeming ease. Also, the dark palette of night-time heroics, rain storms and underground lairs really serves to set off the visual pop of a character bursting into flames or the spooky glow of a Lazarus pit.
If you are a fan of Morrison or even a fan of Rucka’s Batwoman, check out the “Blackest Knight” arc and you should be fairly happy. If you have no investment in current continuity or any of Morrison’s previous work, there should still be enough excitement here to keep you entertained.
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