Batman and Robin #1

This was a very pleasant surprise. Count me in as a skeptic about whether this would work or not. I thought the chemistry between Bruce and Damian wouldn't mesh well. And it doesn't, but in a way that totally works for this comic.

Batman and Robin when it set out was based on the chemistry that Damian respected Dick, honored that he would choose Damian to be his partner over Tim, and eager to prove that he belonged as part of the Wayne legacy. He respected Dick partially out of respect to his father and because Dick didn't treat Damian like a child, so Damian didn't act like one in return.

But now that big, bad Bruce (hooray for alliteration) is in charge, he's not only playing partner, he's playing father at the same time, treating Damian like his son, a child. And predictably, Damian starts acting the part again, of course leading to the traditional parent-child argument of "I'm grown up, I'm [insert random teenage year in here]" "No you're not, you're my child and you will act as such!"

Two things have stuck out to me so far: one, how cold-hearted Damian is towards Bruce's reverence for his parents, and two, how much Damian takes to the air to fight à la Dick. One would think for how much Damian respects and admires Bruce that he would extend that to his parents, but as Damian puts it "you were easier to look up to when you weren't around."

This comic is just very well written, so kudos to Peter J. Tomasi, and it's drawn beautifully, kudos to Patrick Gleason. But what bothers me about Gleason's work is when he gets far away. On close-ups, it's gorgeous, but the farther a character gets, the lazier the pencils start to look. (See pictures for details)

<====Good

Really???======>

What I enjoyed: this issue made it clear that this comic isn't about Batman and Robin, it's about Bruce and Damian. Which is much, much better than having them go into the field and quipping at each other. We get to see Bruce struggle as a biological father, and Damian struggling to find his role. I never really got into the subplot about the Moscow-Batman and this new villain "Nobody" but that's super-cool as well. 

What I didn't: Again, sometimes Gleason gets lazy here or there with his pencils. That and they broke up Dick and Damian. For shame.

Conclusion: This is the best comic I've read so far in the new 52, though it's not perfect. It gets a 90/100(A-).