I do love a good Batman story. One of my favorite things about DC’s New 52 relaunch is that it brings Bruce Wayne back to Gotham City. I love Dick Grayson. But Bruce has always been my Batman and always will be. “Batman and Robin” #1 pretty much follows the same blueprint of it’s earliest issues. We get Bruce and Damian and the whole uncomfortable father and bitter, irreverent son dynamic that is fueled by some really sharp dialogue. Peter Tomasi puts together a strong issue centered around an irradiated fuel heist at Gotham University but bookended by a seperate and much bigger threat that’s sure to be explained more in the next issue. This book has a crisp, solid pacing to it with just the right amount of Batman-styled action. But it’s the character moments that really grabbed me and it just shows Tomasi has a great feel for these characters.

Patrick Gleason once again shows why he and Tomasi are such a good team. His art in this issue is a fantastic mix of vivid action shots, well placed splash pages, and moody shadow-filled panels. I loved the cinematic angles and framing in so many of the panels and the simple but strategic page layouts work really well. Gleason knows how to handle a Batman book and his style gives the issue the exact look and tone it needs. There were a couple of panels early in the issue where both Bruce and Damian looked a little off but other than that everything really clicks.

I had found myself wandering from the “Batman and Robin” series before DC’s big relaunch. This issue has got me genuinely excited about the title again. The creative team of Tomasi and Gleason are hard to beat and they clearly have some interesting twists in store for these characters. There’s so much to like about this first issue and I hope it carries over into many, many more.