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BATMAN AND ROBIN #9

Part 3 of “Blackest Knight” guest-starring Batwoman, Knight and Squire! Only months into his new role as Batman, Dick Grayson faces perhaps the biggest threat of his life. In hopes of attaining his heart’s desire, has Dick instead unleashed a terror the likes of which the world has never seen?

Meanwhile, back in Gotham City, Alfred and a recuperating Robin are at the mercy of someone both fearsome and familiar…

Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Variant covers by Cameron Stewart
Covers by Frank Quitely

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 1.7%

Reviews

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muddi90002/27/10YesRead Review
robbydzwonar02/26/10YesRead Review
GLNancy02/25/10NoRead Review
TheNextChampion02/24/10NoRead Review
akamuu02/23/10NoRead Review
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Avg Rating: 3.9
 
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Comments

  1. Avatar photo PraxJarvin says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:01 pm

    THIS! IS! GOTHAMMMMMM! I’m interested to see where this goes. Didn’t realize we’d be getting double issues this month.

  2. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    @Prax

    Yeah, I think I heard they made Cameron Stewart’s arc bi-weekly to catch up after having no issue in December.

  3. Avatar photo SamMorgan says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    Does anyone know if the Quitely is returning to this book or not?

  4. Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    @SamMorgan: He’s drawing the final arc.

  5. Avatar photo thescimitar says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    I’m pumped for this book.  Can’t wait to see if what happens to batwoman?

  6. Avatar photo vadamowens says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:30 pm

    @conor I figured this was on-going.  What issue are they planning on calling it quits?

  7. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    The book has been extended to a second "season" after this one wraps up. At least another year’s worth of stories.

  8. Avatar photo WinTheWonderboy says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    This makes me very happy!

  9. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    This season wraps up at issue #13

  10. Avatar photo miyamotofreak says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    I thought #15 was the finale? 

    Anyway, the last issue was the first in a while that I really enjoyed and I’m really looking forward to this one. 

  11. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    Bah, damn typo. 16 issues then it wraps up.

  12. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    February 22, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    I’m very interested in seeing what will happen with cloned Batman once the initial Lazarus Pit induced craziness wears off.  He might have something interesting to say.

  13. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    February 22, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    @ stuclach

    Oh, he’ll have something interesting to say. I’m damn sure a letter box will get misplaced again. 3 for 3? 😉

  14. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    February 22, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    @RolandofGilead – Good one.

  15. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    February 22, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    So excited! Stewart is gonna deliver more of the goods this week!

    I’m curious what the ‘next season’ of Batman and Robin will be, considering if and when Bruce comes back fully as Batman. Does it still revolve around Dick and Damien or will it go back to being a Bruce?

  16. edward says:
    February 22, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    man, you can’t complain about the release speed. I’m really enjoying this.

  17. Avatar photo RoiVampire says:
    February 22, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    @TNC  hey now, we don’t know if bruce will be batman when he comes back. all we know is that bruce will be back

  18. flapjaxx says:
    February 22, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    So pumped for this. And then we only have one week off next week, then issue #10 comes out on March 10.

    But, yeah, one thing I’m not sure about is whether Quitely is drawing the final ARC of "season one" or just the final ISSUE. Theoretically, the fourth three-issue arc of B&R should be issues 13-15, which would leave #16 as a stand-alone finale issue for Quitely (hopefully it’s triple-sized, if that’s the case!!!). Here’s what Morrison told IGN a few weeks ago:

    IGN Comics: One last question that I know is on fans’ minds: are there still plans for Frank Quitely to return to interiors?

    Morrison: Definitely. I think I’ve mentioned this in interviews before, but he’s had serious back trouble for the last six months and hasn’t been doing anything other than covers. We speak regularly and he assures me he’s definitely coming back soon, hopefully in time for Batman and Robin #16.

  19. flapjaxx says:
    February 22, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    *Oops, I meant issues #13-#15 would be the FIFTH 3-issue arc of the series, not the fourth arc. And that’s just an educated guess on my part that the series is going to maintain 3-issue arcs past issue 12. Andy Clarke is doing the fourth arc (#10-#12), but I don’t think we’ve heard who’s going to be the artist after him and before Quitely, if Quitely does indeed come back for #16.

  20. Avatar photo glunders says:
    February 22, 2010 at 7:24 pm

    @RoiVampire – Indeed, I think there’s something to the idea that DC is calling the event "Return of Bruce Wayne" rather than "Return of the Batman" as was originally rumored. Plus, in a recent Newsarama Q&A (think it was Newsarama, anyway), DiDio implied that Dick might stay on as Batman after Bruce comes back… Wish I could dig that link up now.

  21. Avatar photo NathanNicdao says:
    February 22, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    Why does this come out so often?

  22. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    February 22, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    @NathanNicdao

    See my comment at the top 

  23. Avatar photo Reform says:
    February 22, 2010 at 10:29 pm

    @NathanNicdao: you could not of said that in Dec.

  24. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    February 22, 2010 at 10:39 pm

    I heard #15 will be the final installment of the first season, so maybe they plan on having Quitely kick off the second season the same way he did with the first one!  I hope the second season is just as long or longer!

    Who should they have as the main Bat-writer when Morrison moves on?  I sure hope it’s not Brubaker!!  His Batman run was BARF

  25. Avatar photo SunnyvaleTrash says:
    February 23, 2010 at 12:07 am

    Let’s see what kind of madness Morrison has cooked up for this issue!  I will miss Cameron Stewart.  Who is the next artist up?

  26. Avatar photo glunders says:
    February 23, 2010 at 12:55 am

    The guy from R.E.B.E.L.S.

     

    And… I doubt Brubaker will be jumping on as the next writer, robbydzwonar. Because of the whole Marvel exclusivity thing and such. 

  27. Avatar photo NathanNicdao says:
    February 23, 2010 at 2:34 am

    @Reform : well, yeah. But I needed a break from the book anyway after the bad taste that is Philip Tan.

    @Slockhart: ok. Until when will this be bi-monthly?

  28. Avatar photo Ruo21 says:
    February 23, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    I really like Stewart and I really like Morrison, wtf happend with this arc?

    @Stulach- If the Lazarus Pit effects wear off he will still be crazy, this is one of Darkseid’s clones and not Batman’s actual body. He will be Eeeevvvel.

  29. flapjaxx says:
    February 23, 2010 at 3:22 pm

    @Robby: Yeah, I was thinking that it would make more sense for Quitely to come back for the first full arc of "season two", but in that IGN interview Morrison seems to indicate that issue 16 will be the end of "season one", not the start of the "season two". Maybe Quitely will do the end of "season one" AND the first arc on "season two"? I don’t know what to think, but we should know more about what the plan is within a month, by the time issue #13 is solicited.

  30. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    February 23, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    @NathanNicdao

    There’s another in two weeks, which is the start of Andy Clarke’s run, then it’s monthly again. 

  31. Avatar photo ScorpionMasada says:
    February 23, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    I like Quitely’s art and all, but when you look at it do you really think there is a justifible reason in relation to linework for why he could not put out a monthly book?

    I don’t have a copy of any of his interiors near me, but from what I can recall he skimps on backgrounds quite a bit.

    Aren’t his panels kind of stark?

  32. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    February 23, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    @Ruo21 – The fact that he is a clone is the reason I think he might have something very interesting to say.  How interesting would it be if he wasn’t evil?

  33. Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
    February 23, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    @ScorpionMasada: It’s true, his art is on the sparse side (in a good way) but if the man is a perfectionist, as many artists are, it won’t matter how few lines are on his page.

  34. Avatar photo robbydzwonar says:
    February 23, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    Did anybody notice that there was an error in the first issue of Batman & Robin on the second to last page?  One of the dollotrons shirt sleeves is the wrong color.  I don’t think that is Quitely’s fault unless he does his own coloring too.

    And sorry, I don’t keep up with exclusivity deals.  I just read comics when I can afford to.  Does anybody have any better theories on who would take over as writer after Morrison is done, or will this book just be canceled?

  35. flapjaxx says:
    February 23, 2010 at 9:02 pm

    @Scorpion: Yeah, I feel the same way about a lot of artists. I don’t know why they can’t produce more issues a year than they do. I’ve listened to a few interviews with Quitely, though, and the guy is a real hardcore perfectionist, even to his own detriment, as he admits. I remember an interview from a while ago, when the U.S. Dollar exchange rate was even worse than it is now (he gets paid in dollars even though he’s in Scottland), and he was talking about how he wished he could do more than a few issues a year, because his page-rate wasn’t as valuable as it was when he signed the contract or whatever. But then he went on to talk about how he has huge mental blocks when he’s laying out a page, and he can never just leave well enough alone. He’ll plan, draw and redraw a page many times until he’s exactly perfect to him. Like, even if something is 95% what he wants, he can’t move on, and will spend hours and hours redrawing the same page.

    But, I mean, what would you rather have: three Quitely comics a year that meet his own idiosyncratic standards, or TWELVE comics from him that are 95% as good? I’d go for the twelve, easily.

    @Robby: No idea who’ll be after Morrison. He’s still got a "second season" of B&R to write, so I don’t think a successor for him is even in the early planning stages yet.

  36. Avatar photo cutty says:
    February 23, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    I don’t think this book exists post-Morrison, especially with Bruce back.

  37. Avatar photo ScorpionMasada says:
    February 23, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Thanks for the info. I didn’t know that stuff about Quitely.

    I waited every two months (maybe a bit more) for the All-Star Superman comic.

    I like a consistent creative team on comics more than I like books that come out on time.

    But I know not hitting the monthly deadline hurts issue sales . . . 

  38. Avatar photo AmirCat says:
    February 23, 2010 at 10:26 pm

    @flapjaxx & ScorpianMasada – I believe Frank Quietly wouldn’t be as amazing as he is if he half-assed or 95 percent-assed his work. So I don’t mind him only doing 3-6 issues per year. Of course if he is able to, I would love 12 per year; but not if he is unhappy with his work.

  39. Avatar photo Arrrggghhh (@Arrrggghhh) says:
    February 24, 2010 at 1:44 am

    Quitely’s style may be sparse with background – but the man is simply amazing with composition, action dynamics and theatric story flow.

    I admire those who draw insanely detailed landscapes, cityscapes and fully realistic backgrounds . . . but unless it is way over the top artwork – I don’t think the typical reader even notices the work and time involved.

    I don’t think heavily detailed backgrounds are as important as the writing, coloring and composition.  A great detailed background might enhance the reading . . . but it’s only real purpose is to establish a setting or emphasize a major event — say like a Shield heli-carrier crashing into Manhattan.
    (Yes, I know Shield no longer exists . . . ) 

    A more limited background forces the eye to focus on what’s most important to the story — and Quitely does a hella good job of doing just that.

    [Sidenote: On the other hand – too much lack of background work can ruin a book too . . .
    Jae Lee comes to mind for me. I like his artwork – but his empty backgrounds and use of too much black usually takes me out of a story.]

  40. Avatar photo tschafer says:
    February 24, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    Quitely has "BACK PROBLEMS"!!!!!!!! 

    WTF!!! 

    Get back to drawn Frank!

    Christ, Bruce Lee BROKE his back and was able to write a friggen’ book!!

    I am do dissappointed the way this book’s art has been.

    I wanted this to be BnR to be Batman’s "All Star Superman"  Morrison and Quitely….no one else!

  41. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    February 24, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    Great issue, Morrison finally is showing his big plan for this series. Or at least for the whole Bat-line. Suddenly it looks like Red Robin IS and important series.

    I wish Cameron Stewart could stay on this series forever. He is the perfect artist to replace Quitely fully. To be fair Tan was really good (to me), and Clarke/Irving haven’t started yet….But if there is one artist I want to see do a Bat-book, it’s Stewart.

    Would it be crazy to ask him to do the Batwoman book with Rucka? I know J.H. Williams III is knocking it out of the park. But Stewart’s take on Batwoman is dead on what I wanna see.

  42. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    February 24, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    Like TNC, I’m glad to see that this will tie into Tim’s work in Red Robin.  I like the search for Bruce idea and expect it to be rather exciting with Dick, Tim, and Damien verbally jousting their way through the hunt.

    I’m still not crazy about the whole Lazarus pit idea, but it certainly provides a way to confirm that the corpse wasn’t Bruce’s. 

  43. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    February 24, 2010 at 7:37 pm

    I really wanted to give this issue a 5, but there were a few clunky moments here and there that kept it at 4.  Really good issue, and a great ending to a mediocre arc. Finally a book with Batwoman where she doesn’t get on my nerves.

  44. Avatar photo captbastrd says:
    February 24, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    In stark contrast with the previous arc, this one has been great art and just plain bad story with fairly annoying dialogue.

  45. Avatar photo vinh says:
    February 24, 2010 at 10:15 pm

    Spoiler alert for those who haven’t read this issue yet…

    Can someone explain why Batwoman didn’t experience any side effects (other than memory loss) from the Lazarus Pit? 

  46. Avatar photo JaqueNargg says:
    February 24, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    This wasn’t very good. Art was fine, but I just couldn’t stomach the batman clone in any way in this issue. I was really hoping that a new artist could bring this book back to how good it was in issues 1-3, but this arc was fairly disappointing. That said…I still gave these issues 4, 4, and 3 stars respectively. Maybe I need to reread it.

  47. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    February 24, 2010 at 10:39 pm

    Also, who else was thinking We3 every time EvilBats spoke?

  48. Avatar photo drakedangerz says:
    February 25, 2010 at 1:48 am

    @vinh-the crazies is a possible side effect of the Lazarus Pit, it doesn’t happen to everyone. Bat-fake came out like that cuz he was already bat shit (pun intended) crazy.

    Great issue. Close call between this and Scalped for POTW. As of right now, it’s this title. But that might change after I have time to think about it. 

  49. Avatar photo magnum240 says:
    February 25, 2010 at 8:41 am

    I liked this whole arc.  I thought the story was good, and the art was great.  I’ll be curious to see how Clarke does.  I like his art, but I found his action to be a bit stiff in R.E.B.E.L.S.

  50. Avatar photo vadamowens says:
    February 25, 2010 at 11:31 am

    After this issue, I’m kind of glad this is soon coming to an end.  I really haven’t enjoyed this arc at all.  That’s really a heartbreaking thing for me to say:(

  51. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    February 25, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    If I was a woman in the DC Universe, I’d SO be a lesbian.

  52. Avatar photo RolandofGilead says:
    February 25, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    @vinh

    I may be off, but I think Death and the Madiens had an explaination for the possible side effects of using a Pit. I seem to recall Ra’s (Rucka) stating that the risks become higher each time one uses a Pit. That said, I also think that Batwoman has the serious mental training (read Go from ‘Tec) to pull this off as well as she did.

  53. Avatar photo LastDays says:
    February 25, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    I really dig Grayson Batman..In the same way I want Bucky-Cap around, I want this iteration of Batman and Robin to stay. But hey, its called the Return of Bruce Wayne, not the return of Batman. Hopefully we get more of this team.

  54. Avatar photo lantern4life says:
    February 25, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Only thing good about this was the flirtation near the end between Batwoman & Dick.

  55. Avatar photo comicBOOKchris says:
    February 25, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    The evil undead Bat-clone really made this issue. Every scene he was in was tense and fun to read, and plus his character and the entire story really made sense. This arc was really strong.

  56. Avatar photo skeets says:
    February 25, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    WOW this was great! I love me a dense comic. I love reading a comic for a while expecting it to wrap up soon then turning the page to find the staples realizing I’m only halfway through it. Art was amazing but what do  you wexpect from Stewart? Totally reinvigorated my interest and excitement for this book.

  57. grantbrydon says:
    February 25, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    I really liked this arc, probably gonna read it again to clear up a few things….having the villain "King Cole" being from my hometown (Newcastle) and speaking our regional accent made things interesting, even if Morrison didnt get the dialect quite right it was still amusing to read…i did think it was strange that he would do this in such a main stream book, as well as the reference to chavs, which i would have thought would only be understood by the British audience…

  58. Avatar photo captbastrd says:
    February 25, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    @vinh
    Because, as Dick put it, "She said she wouldn’t." Which strikes me as lazy on Morisson’s part.

  59. Avatar photo WadeWilson says:
    February 25, 2010 at 10:07 pm

    i don ged y zomby bat man speech bubbels cahnt spel. it mayk no sens

  60. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    February 25, 2010 at 11:06 pm

    @WadeWilson: His brain doesn’t function since he’s a shotty clone. So I would imagine most of his speech functions are gone.

  61. Avatar photo Urthona says:
    February 26, 2010 at 1:28 am

    I really enjoyed this arc thoroughly.  I thought I’d read more raves here than I have.  I thought the plot was really tight, characters all different and enjoyable…I mean we had Alfred, Damien, Dick, Batwoman, Squire, and Knight all with significant parts that really let their individual characters shine, while all the loose plot threads from the arc and many dating to Final Crisis tied up nicely. 

  62. Avatar photo Zeppo says:
    February 26, 2010 at 7:54 am

    I think this arc, but it’s my least favourite. While the art was great, the story wasn’t as strong as it had been. Thought Damien (Robin) was great, and Dick taking responsiblity for his mistakes was nice to see.

    Cameron Stewart needs a batwoman project, he draws a sexy Kate Kane.

  63. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    February 26, 2010 at 8:23 am

    @Zeppo – I agree.  Kate Kane has been drawn by some very skilled artists, but I like Mr. Stewart’s take the best.

  64. Avatar photo vadamowens says:
    February 26, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    @stuc I don’t know man, JH did a pretty outstanding job in Detective.

  65. Avatar photo AmirCat says:
    February 26, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    I am going to miss Cam Stewart’s art on this one. Looking forward to Clarke and Quitely. Morrison is the man!

  66. Avatar photo AmirCat says:
    February 26, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    BTW, by miss I mean it was so good I want more.

  67. Avatar photo NathanNicdao says:
    February 26, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    Andy Clarke’s Bat Con work was pretty good. Really stoked. Dick’s perfect timing made me think this was a little hokey.

  68. Avatar photo stuclach says:
    February 26, 2010 at 7:00 pm

    @vadamowens – I like Mr. Williams work, as well, but the way he drew her breasts always bothered me.  I know that’s an odd think to take issue with, but they looked a little too much like Madonna’s cones for my taste.

  69. Avatar photo vadamowens says:
    February 27, 2010 at 11:08 am

    lol. never really even noticed.  for a second, I thought you were going to complain they were too small.

  70. Avatar photo Slockhart says:
    February 27, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    @Stuchlach

    That always bothered me too.  They were always either Madonna cones or she’d have -ridiculous- T.H.O. 

  71. Avatar photo drdeeeznutz says:
    February 27, 2010 at 6:55 pm

    That was all kinds of awesome

  72. Avatar photo Hexsas says:
    February 27, 2010 at 9:01 pm

    just read 8 and 9 together, i really like how all the characters were handled and had unique, interesting personalities. art was pretty good, a bit cartoonish for how heavy Morrison can be sometimes, but very clean and polished. 

  73. Avatar photo JimBilly4 says:
    March 11, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Is there another word balloon gaff in this one? When Squire is talking about Neutrino trackers it really would make mor sense if it came from the Kate’s dad. This one is not 100% obviously wrong, but sure seems awkward at best. And somebody (letterer? editor?) decided to make the text small at the end like Squire was surprised and getting quieter (which did fit the scene), so if this was a mistake it was not carelessness but confusion. By my counting this arc was three for three with word balloon mistakes, but at least they got harder and harder to identify. 

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