Detail from the cover to Batman & Robin Annual #1. Art by Andy Kubert.
The monthly Batman & Robin title is currently part of the overarching “Death of the Family” crossover. With that storyline dominating the Batbooks for the past four months, it was a refreshing change to see that the first B&R annual was not a tie-in. Instead, Peter Tomasi and Adrian Syaf treat the reader to a story that is just plain fun.
It’s easy to forget sometimes that Damian Wayne is only ten years old, but Tomasi makes that fact readily apparent in this issue. After ‘tricking’ Bruce and Alfred into leaving Gotham on a global scavenger hunt, Damian has the run of the city. What he chooses to do with that freedom is to don his own Batman costume, a miniature version of the one he’ll eventually wear in Grant Morrison’s Batman #666, and patrol Gotham his own way. The results are classic. In an attempt to disguise his age, Damian changes his voice, and it’s easy to imagine the result sounding not unlike Christian Bale’s Batman growl. He swipes evidence from the police and specifically terrorizes one of Gordon’s officers. When Gordon begins to suspect that Batman is really Robin during a rooftop meeting, Damian takes off, cruising around town in the Batmobile. A lot of the time Damian is portrayed as painfully serious, so it was nice to see more of a ‘laughing boy daredevil’ side to him in this issue.
There’s also a sentimental piece of Damian that we’ve not seen before. For his part, Bruce plays along with Damian’s scavenger hunt. He and Alfred visit London, Barcelona, and other exotic locales that have a special significance to the Wayne family. The things Bruce finds during the hunt are certainly things he could have dug up on his own had he taken the time. That Damian took the time and the care to find them for him displays that, despite the ulterior motive of wanting Bruce gone for a few days, he does truly care for his father.
Boys will be boys. Art by Adrian Syaf.
Former Batgirl artist Adrian Syaf returns to Gotham for this annual, and his art wonderfully captures the energy and personality of Damian Wayne. Damian strides around confidently and flies through the air gracefully. All the while, Damian wears the look of the kid who thinks he knows everything, even if the reader knows he doesn’t. There are also a few visual gags in the issue that work remarkably well thanks to the strength of Syaf’s work.
While a lot of annuals turn out to be forgettable, unsubstantial stories, Batman & Robin Annual #1 is anything but. In a sea of bleak, dark comics, this annual is a fun, character-driven story with a lot of heart.
