Comic Books

BATMAN AND BATGIRL #21
What deal would you make to bring someone back from the dead? And in this issue, it’s Batman vs. Batgirl!
Story by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Cliff Richards, Mark Irwin, & Marlo Alquiza
Colors by John Kalisz
Letters by Carlos M. Mangual
Cover by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, & John Kalisz

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 0.1%

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kennyg06/24/13YesRead Review
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Avg Rating: 3.1
 
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  1. I wonder what they will do with this book once Bruce’s 5 stages of Grief are done with?

  2. Unfortunately Gleason is not doing this issue. Cliff Richards is coming in to do the entire thing, unlike last month where both worked together for the Red Hood issue. That’s a shame….But Richards is a good artist in his own right so it’s not that big of a downer.

  3. I was raving about both of Tomasi’s books like a year ago, but they both seem to be headed into the average area…

  4. I wasn’t feeling this issue but it righted itself somewhat towards the end. Really missed Gleason on the art. Looking forward to Catwoman next month.

  5. Definitely the weakest of this arc. Nothing about this jumped out at me and it was really boring. There was nothing shocking about this issue when it came to interacting with Barbara. Tim had to deal with Frankenstein and Red Hood had to relive his death….But Barbara? Nothing. That and Richards art was pretty mediocre and was the textbook definition of ‘fill in’.

    2/5

  6. I wasn’t a huge fan of the art in this issue. One thing I thought was strange was that Barbara smashes the case holding Jason’s old Robin suit but the dialogue in that scene made me think it should have been Damian’s.

  7. The issue I’m most looking forward to? Nightwing.

  8. Batman and Robin was so good when it was Bruce developing his relationship with his son. That is now gone. They better figure out where they are going with this title soon cause I am betting a lot of people are on the fence with it.

    • Not to entirely disagree (because I do know what you mean) but this book has actually been very good for the past few months. In fact, this is the book that has dealt with Damian’s death in the most mature and satisfying way.

      Tomasi taking Bats through the stages of grief -as personified by the different members of the Bat-Family (Red Robin as denial, Red Hood as rage etc)- has been emotionally resonant and actually very well done.

      The ‘dream’ issue, which crowned off ‘Death of the Family’ in a really nice way, was excellent.

      The silent issue (which implied that the loss of a child is simply beyond words) was one of the best single issue stories, of any book, that I’ve read for years.

      Then we started on this run, first we got to meet an in-canon Carrie Kelly, then Bats kidnapped Frankenstein and took him apart, only to be stopped by Tim. Next, Bats dragged Jason out to Ethiopia and got the tar beaten out of him (deservedly so IMHO), now Babs is trying to reach him and bring him back to sanity. Each issue has been stirring and deep, a nice exploration of Batman’s allies. I think an issue with Jim Gordon would be good as well.

      Batman teaming up with changing partners is actually a tried and tested formula, books like ‘The Brave and the Bold’ for example, ran for years and ran entirely on the premise of teaming random characters together. ‘Batman & The Outsiders’ was another very successful series.

      In the old days, there were loads of ‘superhero team up’ books, Batman would go out alongside Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow and others. Of course, they weren’t all Batman-centric books, but I think you see the point I’m trying to make.

      The standard of art and writing in this book has been great and I am absolutely sure that Tomasi knows exactly where he’s going with this story. I’d humbly suggest sticking with it for a few months, because I get the feeling that the payoff is going to be worth it. Peace.

  9. I liked this issue a lot. Bruce is really going through the stages of grief in a big way. Which makes sense, especially for his Son. Can’t wait to see Catwoman and Nightwing coming up.

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