“Goddamn.”

That was the first thing out of my mouth after I finished reading Batman and Robin #8. The second thing was “fuck”, but that’s usually always the second thing out of mouth as you faithful iFanboy readers of my reviews are well aware.

But yes, holy motherfucking shit this issue was fantastic. In fact, the whole Born To Kill arc that Tomasi and Gleason have so deftly delivered to us has been some of the best comic book reading to come down the pike in a long time. Not since Snyder’s Detective run as a Batman story reached so deep into the mind of the man who wears the cowl and the relationship between fathers and their sons. The difference between the two stories is that Snyder showed us the disintegration of that relationship, Tomasi is giving us the blossoming of one.

Bruce and his son Damian don’t lead a normal life and their Father / Son bonding is spent over breaking the noses criminals. Throw in the fact that Damian’s Mother is a killer Ninja and well, yeah you can see how things could little tense around the mansion. Over the last 7 issues Batman and Robin has showcased that tense relationship in a way that Grant Morrison only hinted at in his run.

When Bruce died and Dick took over, the relationship with Damian was one of brothers – which worked wonderfully and made for some great stories and interactions with these characters. When Bruce returned things changed. There had to be a confrontation between father and son. There was a choice that had to be made – together or apart?

Issue 8 of this stellar series just answered that question…

together.