Robin: Son of Batman #1
DC Comics
Story & Art by: Patrick Gleason
Since being introduced to the DC universe in Grant Morrison’s now famous “Batman and Son” story line, DC readers have had a love hate relationship with Damian Wayne. Loving Damian’s cunning skill and bad-assery, and despising his narcissistic whining! Ultimately it was the Damian haters who got their wish when Morrison decided to kill off his controversial creation, but as always in comics no one stays dead forever. Thus readers like me who loved Damian Wayne, were granted their wish, when the character returned in last year’s “Robin Rises” story arc. Finally the character that so many claimed belonged to the DC reader’s, as much as it did Morrison made his triumphant return. So naturally as Patrick Gleason and Peter Tomsai’s run on “Batman and Robin” wound down near the end of the New 52, it was the perfect time for Damian’s Robin to headline another book as part of the DC You publishing initiative, however this time Damian would be given his own book in “Robin:Son of Batman”.
Damian’s first solo book would best be described as Batman meets Indiana Jones, making for the perfect blend of adventure meets redemption. All the cunning and skill that we have come accustomed to with Damian’s version of Robin, are on full display as the character goes on a globe trotting adventure with the help of his pet Man-Bat: Goliath. Yes, that’s right Damian now has a gigantic pet Man-Bat that would be best described as a dragon like creature he utilizes for global escapades.
This makes for an excellent #1 issue thanks to Patrick Gleason’s incredible ability of world building for a character
we already know, while at the same time respecting the character’s previous history. While there are certain points that make the reader reference knowledge from previous Damian stories, the organic flashbacks in this issue circumnavigate that challenge quite well. After reading this issue, I feel that we could be enjoying the adventures of Damian, Goliath, and his odd but interesting assistant Ravi that originate out a brand new coastal base for many years to come, with no real need for Batman to show up and progress the story along. This phenomenal world building of course would not be possible without Patrick Gleason’s eye popping art to compliment it, as we feel at points that Goliath and Robin might fly right off the page.
“Robin: Son of Batman #1” should delight previous fans of Damian Wayne, and even open the eyes of the character’s critics. As both the story and art of Patrick Gleason set the character on a trajectory of Redemption that I believe will cement him as one of the best Robin’s in the Batman mythos, and perhaps elevate the character to a point of successful self reliance.
If you picked up this comic we would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!