Batman And Robin Annual #1

I had some time to kill at the Cape Cod Mall this afternoon, so I picked this up at Newbury Comics. I wanted something that would be a self-contained story.

Title: Batman And Robin Annual
Issue: 1
Date: March, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Rickey Purdin, Rachel Gluckstern
Cover: Andy Kubert, Brad Anderson

Here's something surprising: A Damian Wayne story that I actually liked.

Damian has set up a scavenger hunt for the Batman, his way of saying thanks for Bruce Wayne's efforts to care for him and mentor him. Damian has discovered a series of moments from the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne during their time in Europe, and he is traveling through Europe, leaving a trail of clues for the Batman to follow.

Except that he's not.

Damian's plan has more than one layer, and while Bruce is off on the vacation that Damian has devised, Damian is having his own kind of vacation.

This had a surprisingly Silver Age feel to it, especially considering that it centered on Damian, who is usually used in darker fare. It was nice to see Damian having fun, Bruce having fun, and a plot that wasn't overloaded with blood and gore on a massive scale. You can't do stories like this all the time (well, in the Silver Age, actually, you kinda could), but it was a really nice breath of fresh air for the annual.

The insights into the lives of Bruce Wayne's parents were great. Not continuity-shattering. Just nice little insights and vivid details.

Not everything here worked. The villain in the Gotham-based subplot felt thrown-together. And some attempted comedy in the ending sequence fell a bit flat.

But overall, this was a good story about the growth of trust between Damian and Bruce in a situation that was not life-or-death.

Rating: 7.5/10