Comic Books

BATMAN AND ROBIN #7

Knight, Squire and DETECTIVE COMICS’ Batwoman guest-star alongside The Dynamic Duo in “Blackest Knight,” a 3-part story illustrated by Cameron Stewart (SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICT0RY: MANHATTAN GUARDIAN). Readers who enjoyed BATMAN R.I.P. and FINAL CRISIS won’t want to miss this captivating new storyline packed with additional clues on the Domino Killer and the details surrounding the “death” of Bruce Wayne!

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Cameron Stewart
Cover by Frank Quitely
Variant cover by Cameron Stewart

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 6.5%

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Avg Rating: 3.7
 
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Comments

  1. yay i really missied this in its month off

  2. Can i have this now?!? I REALLY don’t want to have to wait until wednesday 🙁

  3. They said that this had to skip December because of December’s Blackest Night… the only thing I can think of in that issue that had anything to do with Batman was Yellow Lantern Scarecrow, which seems like that would put this on the Blackest Night checklist.  Also seems unlikely since they just used Scarecrow in the Batbooks a couple of months ago.

    So I’m very interested in seeing what the real reason for this skipping December was…

    Not to mention, WHOO! New artist!

  4. can’t wait to see how well Stewart art works with Morrison’s script…..Lord i miss Quitely.

  5. Also, that’s the variant cover.  Here’s the normal cover.

    http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/01/bnr07_cvr.jpg 

  6. @tschafer-If their Seaguy series are any indication, they will mesh very well together.

    Great cover. Hope this arc is more satisfying then the last one.

  7. Only buying this cause I’m a Cameron Stewart groupie. Fuck DC!

  8. I want that Cam Stewart Variant.

  9. @Slockhart – Nice, really like that one.

  10. It feels like I haven’t read a true B&R issue in a very long time.

  11. Man still no Quitely?  Batman fans got hosed!

    Ultimate Spider-Man anyone?  It’s the Batman & Robin book that’s on issue #150.

    I’ll buy this in paperback.

  12. Now that is a seriously creepy Quitely cover.

  13. I like Knight and Squire so even more reason to get excited for this book.

    Cameron Stewart will save this book from the less than good art it has had, thank GOD for that.

  14. @rockingeek If if weren’t for DC, you wouldn’t have your precious Vertigo titles.  Please keep that in mind at all times;)

  15. @RolandofGilead-It’s actually a Cameron Stewart cover.

  16. @drakedangerz: The Quitely cover is linked in the comments.

  17. i just read the first six issues in a bout of insomina last night.   tan really, really, really hurt the quality of the book but i think stwart has the chops to bring it back to a high level of quality

    @KickAss: no offence but how is frank Quitely compairable to mark bagley? you talking rubbish

  18. @vadamowens- In my dreams Karen own and run vertigo, so please don’t don’t destroy my dreams.

  19. @Conor-Ah, I now see it.

  20. *Praying for Quietly to return this summer*

  21. @rockingeek 🙂

    Also, we know for a fact that Quitely won’t be returning to B&R for at least the next year right?  If so, then why are we still talking about this?

  22. Yay!!!!!!!!

  23. I love Cameron Stewart. I love Grant Morrison. I love them together on things. I hope there’s a Seaguy cameo. 😉 Awesomeness expected.

  24. forgot about this book. tan’s art pretty much killed the last 3(?) issues for me. hope this ish’ makes me care again.

  25. According to dccomics.com, it seems that we’ll be getting Batman & Robin issues BI-WEEKLY until issue 10, so they can catch up and get the book back on schedule.

    The regular (Quitely) cover to this got me so stoked for this issue that I don’t mind using the word "stoked". I’m fucking STOKED. I can see why they held that cover back until last week.

    The month off due to Blackest Night is a bit puzzling. All I can figure is that in this issue Dick is going to make some offhand comment about Nekron having (seemingly) brought Bruce back to life for a second or whatever. I’m going to guess that this arc is set after the end of Blackest Night.

    @KickAss: HA! I can’t think of two current superhero comics that are more polar OPPOSITES than Bendis’s Ultimate Spidey and Morrison’s Batman stuff. The only slight similarity is that Ultimate Spidey has always been "FUN", and the first arc of B&R was light and "fun". But there’s so much more going on beneath the surface. If B&R turned into Ultimate Spidey I’d probably quit reading comics. Ultimate Spider-Man has been pretty damn great for what it is, but I prefer comics with David Lynch moods, with mind-control trigger-phrases, with imps who tell you that imagination IS the fifth dimension, with retconned Doctor characters who are possibly the Devil in disguise. And with British girls in domino masks.

  26. Hooray! My 2nd favorite DC title is back! (Brave and the Bold has quickly surpassed it thanks to the hiatus)

    Sure this isn’t Quitely, but Stewart is a damn great artist in his own right. I imagine this is going to be a great looking book. At least we shouldn’t hear the ‘Philip Tan’ like ranting from before.

  27. Man, I’m looking forward to Cameron Stewarts art, I loved his art so much on Catwoman that I even bought original pages(which I’ve never done before or since). If it were up to me, I would keep Cameron Stewart on this book until Quitely returns, and he can take all the time he needs.

  28. Honestly Cameron Stewart’s style is IMO the perfect fir for this title. I would be happier to see him for the duration than the revolving door approach.

    I frankly could not care less if Quitely ever does another title. Artists like him just nullify the flow and kill enthusiasm.

  29. Aw…No Philip Tan! He was amazing!

  30. Can’t wait to see some Cameron Stewart art in this book!  He did a killer Constantine sketch for me at FanExpo ’08 here in Toronto.

  31. @CaptainSweatpants-How does he nullify the flow? His issues shipped on time.

  32. @drake-He is probably referring to when Quitely is the primary artist, and not just part of a rotation.  More overall body of work, as opposed to this singular comic.

    But in referrence to just B&R, one cannot complain about his timeliness.

  33. @drake

    Actually his third issue didn’t. 

  34. Yes, thank you for pointing that out.

  35. Ah there is the infamous frame (that Tan drew first, not Quitely) that me and @drakedangerz got into a tussel about.

    My bad mate, you were right.

  36. I’m clicking "pull" on this so I remember to read it, but I probably won’t buy it.

     

  37. I still wanna know why Dick has Bruce’s body in the batcave. Cause why put all the trouble of digging a grave and then just decide to put him somewhere else anyways?

    If this takes place after Blackest Night then it makes more sense.

  38. because it’s serves the story, tnc, it’s a comic

  39. The grave is for show

  40. Shame for not one, but two printing errors in this! How could the letterer, and more so the editors, not catch those mistakes? Especially with the hiatus it had to have.

    Getting that out of the way, I think Morrison definitely brings it with this issue. He’s making Grayson do something hugely insane and I wanna know where he’s gonna take this. How far is he willing to bring Bruce back? Oh and the scene in the prision where the warden is discussing their super villain problem was funny.

    Cameron Stewart is a kick ass artist as well. Love his work.

  41. Man that error threw me for a second there.

  42. SPOILERS

    The dialog switch between Batman and Batwoman really killed the vibe for me.

    I am not fond of where Mr. Morrison is taking Dick.  I like his role as mentor and his transition into Bruce’s shoes.  The attempt to resurrect Bruce feels VERY counter to his character (or at least my understanding of it).

    The art was considerably better in this issue, but this is probably my least favorite issue, so far. 

  43. 5 stars for the art and a big 0 for the story. I just don’t care.

  44. Excellent artwork, but I was lost. This took me about 40 minutes to read just trying to make sense of the plot and that printing error. Still though, I’m intruigued. 4 stars.

  45. @stuclach: Grayson is just trying to bring back, basically his father figure. He says it in the issue that he promised to help Bruce if anything ever happened. So it’s desperate, but to him it’s the only way to bring him back.

  46. im new to comics and the word bubble mishap totally confused the hell out of me. honestly, they cant proof read it one last time before sending it to the printers? I’d gladly do it for free.

  47. A decent issue. Cameron’s art was great. The James Bond-esque opening sequence was great. But my entire enjoyment of the issue was derailed by that glaring printing error. 4/5

    @TNC It’s fairly obvious from what Batwoman says that this story is post Blackest Night. And it wold make total sense that after Bruce’s body was defiled buried in an UNMARKED GRAVE, Dick would take it and bury it in a bunker. As well, Dick’s motivation for resurrecting Bruce may be borne out of what we’re all expecting to be the ultimate conclusion of Blackest Night and the foundation for Brightest Day. (Let’s not spoiler it here.)

  48. @Prax: I definitely got that from after reading the first couple of pages. It also helps that this arc is called ‘Blackest Knight’. 🙂

    I have a very good feeling most, if not all, of the Bat family is going to be pissed after Blackest Night.

  49. I didn’t plan to pick this up again, because I haven’t liked it at all recently. But I got it on a whim, and. . . yuck. I agree with Stuchlach- based on what we’ve seen of Dick since this all went down, this seems very out of place. Maybe I am in the minority on this one, but compared to the last Streets of Gotham, which I think was excellent, this just wasn’t so good.

  50. I sincerely hope the end of Blackest Night provides some motivation for Dick’s behavior.  Otherwise, Dick’s characterization here contradicts everything I think I know about the character.  He seems like a man absolutely overflowing with willpower, so giving in to his desire to resurrect his "father" to such an extent (willing to use a Lazarus Pit) just feels wrong.

  51. I sincerely hope the end of Blackest Night provides some motivation for Dick’s behavior.  Otherwise, Dick’s characterization here contradicts everything I think I know about the character.  He seems like a man absolutely overflowing with willpower, so giving in to his desire to resurrect his "father" to such an extent (willing to use a Lazarus Pit) just feels wrong.

  52. @stuclach I think it really all depends on how Blackest Night ends. Morrison did a great job not spoiling anything, but I have a good feeling that Dick was thinking "if all of this is happening, why isn’t Bruce back yet?" Which probably leads into this particular issue.

  53. @TNC 

    I believe you are right. And I also believe DC should send out another printing of this to replace the typos. How did they get through? 

  54. @miya: They had how many months to see that typo as well. So the editors definitely weren’t paying attention all that well.

  55. I’m scratching my head at the idea that Dick wouldn’t try anything to bring Bruce back. Of course he would.

  56. I’m hoping there’s a sound reason why Dick suddenly feels Batman can be resurrected — otherwise, it would mean he never cared or tried to resurrect all the other lost friends/allies that have died in the past.

    I was hoping that this series would finally give Dick Grayson a final, true persona — because his character has changed from one title to the next for decades. Is he the whimsical sidekick, the dead serious Titans’ leader, the carefree swinging playboy or the angst filled replacement to Batman?

  57. RE: The balloon swap error!
    Morrison is hard enough to read without such errors.
    Note to letterer: Batwoman is the one with long, red hair.

  58. @conor – Even using a Lazarus Pit???  This just seems insane to me.  

  59. I’m confused by all the confusion, I think this makes complete sense.  As far as the printing error, I think the fact that one of the balloons actually contains the words ‘I’m the new Batman’ make it even more ridiculous.

  60. Cameron Stewart’s stuff looked great.

    I will forgive the confusion caused by the printing errors, but the disconnect between the first page (Dick carrying the body) and the rest of the book (the scene changed to England without any transition) really threw me off.  I am not a huge DC fan, so I have no idea who Squire and Knight are, so I kinda just assumed Morrison was being weird and I was seeing some sort of alternate-universe B&R.

  61. It seems natural to me that Dick would try the Lazarus Pit, especially after the stuff that Jason Todd screamed at him at the end of that dreadful issue #6. 

  62. Wow, I’m so confused, does this take place after Blackest Night? Did they somehow recover Bruce’s body and find the skull Black Hand was using. I thought you needed every part of the body for a pit to work….Thanks everybody. If this has been addressed up top i’m sorry, i just skimmed the comments. 

  63. Yup. Batwoman eludes to the fact that this happens after Blackest Night.

  64. @sunnyvale Knight & Squire are essentially just the Batman and Robin of England. They were introduced way back in the 50s or 60s in a League of Batmen stories that showed an international team of Batman-themed heroes coming together (That story based heavily off the Jack Kirby "Green Arrows of the World" story from the 50s). About two or three years ago, Morrison wrote a story bringing them back. So, you really aren’t missing much about them other than that they exist.

  65. So, does this mean that the skull that the Black Hand had/has is of a different "Bruce Wayne"/of a different Earth? (Blackest Night) Or, does this mean that the body in the Pit is not thee "Bruce Wayne?" Hmmm, my head hurts. Remember, a body raised from the Pit cannot be reanimated without the complete bones of a person.

    I think Dick has the real Bruce Wayne. Obviously, this won’t play out well next issue.

  66. Well, at least the first half of the book was good… Pat Brosseau (letterer) needs to be fired though.  Not only was there the balloon swap, but at one point, the tip on the word balloon was going over Batwoman’s head when she was talking, and Batman was apparently talking out of the back of his head.

    I still have no idea why they said this was delayed because it had to come out after Blackest Night 6… 

  67. stuclach: Yep. There is a long history of people getting dumped into a Lazarus Pit as a last ditch attempt to save them.

  68. @RolandofGilead-As my previous post stated, this takes place after Blackest Night.

  69. Oh, thanks for that. I just finished reading the ign interview. Cool.

  70. To be fair to Brosseau, lettering that panel would’ve been a pain if he tried to make it work. (This is PraxJarvin’s idea fully btw) If the panel was flipped, Batwoman on the left and Grayson on the right, then it would’ve been fine. But the way it was, the word balloons would’ve been ridiculous to read and take up way too much space. Again it’s a pain that no one bothered to see this and fix it; but if Stewart could only flip that particular image, it would’ve been fine.

  71. Funny thing NextChampion, Heidi over at the Beat http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/ has a link to a comment made by Stewart. He did flip the picture.

    “Well the annoying thing is, originally I had the panel facing the other way, but I was asked to flop it so that this precise thing would not happen. Somewhere along the way there was a mixup and it happened anyway. GRRRR”

  72. @PraxJarvin – Thanks!  I eventually figured that it wasn’t some sort of crazy dimension-hopping issue 😉  I came to assume they were just England’s bizarre equivalent to B&R.

  73. @Conor (and everyone else who has commented) – But doesn’t the Lazarus Pit have negative consequences?  I thought you came out crazy or mindless or evil.  Pet Sematary style.

  74. @stuclach: Only right away. The insanity passes after a little while.

  75. ^ This happened with Wonder Woman in Wagner’s epic Trinity.

  76. Con someone explain where batwoman came from?  There was an explosion and all of a sudden there she is.  

     Also why does Dick interrogate the Pearly guy for maze directions if Bruce is already there?  Did I miss a time jump?  Seemed like he went from the prison right to the pit. 

  77. Batwoman was inside the coffin. While outside, Batman mentions that the footprints are deep, meaning some people were carrying something heavy. Then Knight mentions that he overheard the people talking about the "twice named" which is what the Religion of Crime calls Batwoman.

    And Knight mentioned that he brought Bruce into the pit earlier, presumably while Dick was finishing interrogating the pearly man. Knight states that he knew the way around the maze because he heard people talking, the Religion of Crime guys that were carrying Batwoman in a coffin. 

  78. @drake "When there’s trouble you called DW." 😉

  79. @conor – Ahhhhh.  I thought it was a semipermanent effect. That makes it somewhat more believable. Thanks for the info.

  80. @drakedangerz  Thank you!  That makes sense.  I missed/forgot that Knight mentioned bringing Bruce.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the Religion of Crime…to the wiki!!!

  81. The Religion of Crime is the nemesis of Batwoman and The Question.  If you haven’t been reading their books since 52, you probably wouldn’t have heard of them.

  82. The lettering error did nothing to dissuade me from 5-starring the fuck out this issue! Cameron Stewart? MORE!! And the part where Dick talks about Bruce (yes, right after Kate Kane declares herself the new Batman…) was fuh. King. Excellent!

  83. I think Dick’s behaviour seems fine. He’s desperate, and will try anything, but he’s not being stupid. He’s prepared for things to go wrong, which is why he’s brought back-up.

    I was really excited to see Kate there as well, I can’t wait for her own series. She was the voice of reason trying to make Dick see sense. Their interaction was great.

    I could have done without the over the top English slang though.

  84. No one has anything to say about those kick ass mini helicopters that Batman and Squire were riding? I loved them. Added to the overall whackiness of the issue.

  85. @drakedangerz If I’m not mistaken they’ve shown up before.

  86. This was an issue where the wackiness and daring of Morrison really worked for me.  Stewart’s art was great.  Fantastic cover that was made better by the story inside.

    I’m like the only person on earth not reading Blackest Night (event fatigue), so I think the Bruce’s body/skull confusion doesn’t hit me as bad as it sounds like it must for everyone else.

  87. I was reading Squire, Cyril, the Prisoner Dude and Pennyworth with English accents.

  88. Just two weeks till the next one, this makes me very happy.

  89. @Prax-Maybe, but that doesn’t make them any less awesome.

  90. I wonder how this will affect the whole upcoming Batman travelling through time fighting pirates & dinosaurs nonsense? Two Batmen fighting each other? & a temp Batman fighting them both?

  91. @Wade-Nonsense!?!?! Have at thee!

    But yeah, G-Mo did a great interview over at IGN (plug) about this and the Return of Bruce Wayne story. Pretty interesting if you want to check it out. 

  92. I loved the art and the ending of the issue but overall I wasn’t a fan of this issue’s writing.

  93. What the hell happened to Damien? Did he get hurt last issue? And what was the point of the opening sequence other than to look cool? And have the religion of crime always used Lazarus pits? Is it just irony that they were there at the same time dick and company were trying to redirect bruce? It feels like we missed an issue here.

  94. @mikeandzod21: Damian was paralyzed by Flamingo in the last issue. The beginning, besides being ultra cool, established place and character.

  95. This was brilliant. Re: Blackest Night nonsense – I don’t read any other DCU title so it made perfect sense. Batwoman appearing from nowhere was a bit weird though.

    Fave bit was the reference to Davina McCall as slang for balls. Brilliant!

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