Batman and Robin: Year One #7 – Mark Waid, Writer; Chris Samnee, Artist; Matheus Lopes, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Waid and Samnee continue to take us into a chapter of Gotham we really haven’t seen before. While the core of this series is based around the new partnership between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in the field, it’s as much about the way the villain ecosystem has changed. Batman has a partner now, and it’s getting harder and harder for the villains to pull off their scheme. Into this dynamic straight from Miami comes the Grimaldi clan, a more ruthless crime family that has wasted no time putting most of the city’s other families under their thumb. While the mob dominates this story, several other supervillains come in and out – including Two-Face, and the first Clayface, Matt Hagan. More a cunning master of disguise than Basil Karlo, he’s been assassinating prominent citizens around Gotham and replacing them to embezzle their holdings – as happened to an old friend of Bruce Wayne’s last month.
This cloak-and-dagger storytelling is nicely contrasted with the ongoing story of how Bruce and Dick continue to grow as partners, and as father and son. They’re syncing up better in the field, and Bruce is learning to trust Dick more each issue. In the everyday world is a different story. Dick’s activities as Robin are raising some red flags when he shows up to school with injuries, and his circus background makes him a target for a middle-school bully. Those two subplots come together in hilarious fashion when we see just how far Dick will go to protect his secret identity. This issue feels more like a breather story between the bigger-scale stories going on, like last issue’s murder and the coming gang war, but between Samnee’s excellent art and the great character work, it’s a fantastic read. Between this and Lemire/Nguyen’s upcoming Jason Todd story, Batman’s early days are getting some great coverage.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Fonte: GeekDad - Leia mais