Batman and Robin #24 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Miguel Mendonca, Juni Ba, Artists; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The Memento plotline has taken up the entirety of Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run, always a risky gambit – but he’s known for long-form stories, and he’s also managed to work in a lot of really interesting personal content for both Bruce and Damian as Bruce’s lack of trust managed to unravel their relationship. But along with Detective Lautrec, his fellow student under the late Professor Atticus Blye, Batman has been obsessed with the case of Memento – a killer who shouldn’t be alive, as the man revealed to be under the mask had died in prison. But Memento, now explicitly powered by the supernatural, had returned – and Batman had sacrificed himself to let Damian get away, leaving him trapped with a wounded Lautrec in the sewers under Gotham. And as Memento’s mad plan to sacrifice them is revealed, so is his identity – and it’s not who anyone was expecting from the last few issues.
Johnson has been seeding hints about this character since the start of his run, and I think it’s a very clever reveal, although I can see some people not being fond of it because of how infrequently the character appeared before. But it leads to a tense final showdown as Memento’s full power is revealed, and an unexpected figure returns to strike one final blow against the demon. A new arc begins next issue, and there’s a lot of mileage to cover, although I’ll miss Lautrec as she seems to head back on her own path after she and “Jack” make peace and pay tribute to their mentor. I have to say, though, the highlight of this issue is definitely the epilogue, as Juni Ba returns to illustrate Damian’s sketchbook as the young Robin makes his peace with being the son of two worlds and finds his direction going forward. No surprise this was excellent – check out Ba’s Black Label Robin series if you haven’t.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
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