Purchase Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn

If you didn't like Batman RIP or Final Crisis because you thought they were all over the place and confusing, don't worry, this is much more straightforward and fun.

You can tell right away from the first few pages of Batman and Reborn two things. Firstly, it's evident what a master Frank Quitely is at what he does. I loved the upbeat style, he used the onomatopoeia made infamous from the 1960s Batman TV show but did it in a way where it blended in with the art and didn't look silly. On top of that, his art flows seamlessly, that chase sequence in the first scene was done beautifully, as was the fight at Gotham City HQ. It's rare you see this from artists on a superhero book. On top of that, he's so dynamic. The art alone would have justified the purchase...

Secondly, it's clear the first few pages the fun and whacky tone Morrison is taking with Batman and Robin. In the first scene, there's circus freaks including a Mr. Toad who have just committed a drug deal and are getting chased by Batman and Robin (who are now Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne) in a new Batmobile that flies and hovers. It brought me back to early in his Batman run with the crazy showdown with the Joker who was kidnapping schoolchildren on a rooftop only to be shot by a imposter Batman.

There's funny exchanges between Dick and Damian, and Damian's finally starting to grow on me. He's arrogant and even demands for the duo to be called Robin and Batman, but when you realize he's ten years old and just how talented how he is, his arrogance is justified. By the time he gets a pounding later on in the book, you actually feel sorry for the little bugger. The new dynamic feels fresh and they've even moved their HQ from the Batcave in Wayne Manor to the basement in Wayne Tower.

The main villain in the first story is Professor Pyg and he's demented. (Interesting to note that he actually appeared in Morrison's future story in Batman #666, along with many other villains in this arc). He turns everybody into "Dollotrons", turning them into his slaves and making them all look like Raggedy Ann. He reminds me a little of Jigsaw from the Saw movies, except he's also into art and music. He's a strange welcome addition to the rogue's gallery. The confrontation with him is at an amusement park, and there's even a Killing Joke reference made by Gordon.

I thought the second story would go down in quality due to the art shifting over to Philip Tan but I was wrong. Philip Tan draws a good Gotham City and his Batman's better than Quitely's. His dark and street level art was a nice contrast to Quitely bright and superhero-y art in the first arc.

The story in the second arc is the Red Hood (Jason Todd) is back. He used to be the second Robin but was killed by the Joker, only to be brought back, have a mad-on for Bruce not getting revenge for him and then DC stumbled with his character in the horror that was known as Countdown. Morrison makes him interesting again and gives him a redesign that gives a nod to the original Red Hood. He's now decided he is going to go back to being a murdering vigilante who will try to make Batman obsolete. He takes his own sidekick in Scarlet, a girl who was horrifically scarred in the last arc by Professor Pyg.

There's a neat meta nod to Jason Todd's death at the hands of a telephone vote when he captures Batman and Robin. The Red Hood's vigilantism eventually reaches to far and he kills too many Gotham City crime figures, so a character named the Flamingo is sent after him. The Flamingo is pretty much a remorseless and unstoppable assassin who was brain damaged into doing nothing but kill, yet he still wears a pink stylish costume. There's a confrontation between all three parties in the end.

I loved this, it was beautifully drawn and written. I highly recommend it, I think it washes away the stench that was Batman RIP.Get more detail about Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn.