A review by rhganci
Requiem For Damian. by Patrick Gleason, Marlo Alquiza, Mick Gray, Peter J. Tomasi, Mark Irwin, Cliff Richards, John Kalisz
5.0
The death of Damian Wayne was one of the worst-kept secrets of the New 52, as not only was it publicized aggressively as a sort of spoiler-non-spoiler, but also in that volume 4 of Batman & Robin was actually titled Requiem for Damian long before Batman, Incorporated, Vol. 2: Gotham's Most Wanted even became available in trade paperback. That made this part of the current Bat-plots kind of uncompelling, especially through the end of Death of the Family. There, the writers really hit a strong stride in the development of Damian and Bruce's relationship. Knowing that death would undercut any sort of satisfying takeaway from any story involving Bruce and Damian made me likewise skeptical about this volume, but I was happily wrong about that: in this collection, Tomasi and Gleason bring the book to its highest height, and from the "silent issue" to the last exchange between Batman and Alfred, they lend the gravity to this storyline that DC's publishing habits tried to mitigate.
What I loved most about this volume was the overall structure. The fact that DC's editorial staff greenlit six issues to explore the depths of Batman's grief shows more great decision-making with the character. Better still is that we get an entire issue to just process the immediate aftermath of Damian's death, and the raw emotions that govern the mourning father's existence. I can't say enough about the striking nature of the "silent issue"--another poorly-kept secret--or the fact that each of the other issues focuses, in order, on the Five Stages of Grief, from the standalone plot of the issue to the titles, each of which alter the title of the book slightly: Batman & Robin becomes Batman & Red Robin, Batman & Batgirl, or Batman & Catwoman; each presents a self-contained story in which Batman, with the help of a member of the Bat-family, works through the five stages of grief. It's a sophisticated, brainy approach to story structure, one that might alienate some readers if the stories themselves weren't so good--they tell of the mourning father, and his efforts to process the most grievous loss since the one that molded his persona. It's a powerful use of the comic medium, and with a few backup teases as to what is coming next, the book gives us exactly what we would expect from the character we all know so well.
Gleason and Gray complement the story flawlessly. Since they have the first and last word in the "silent issue," their artistic storytelling prowess makes this not only the most memorable moment of Batman & Robin, but perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire New 52. They follow this up with their familiar dark pencils, inks, and colors, with shadowy eyes and the strong presence of red throughout each issue. It's powerful storytelling anyway the reader approaches it, and at least equal to the achievement in terms of visual creation that counterpart Greg Capullo achieved in Batman, Vol. 1: Court of Owls. The number of Bat-books is one thing, but the work of the creative teams is another--and in this collection, Tomasi and Gleason show us they aren't the B-team in terms of bringing top-quality storytelling to the Bat-family. Batman & Red Robin, Vol. 4: Requiem for Damian stands at the top of what DC has accomplished with the character since September of 2011.
What I loved most about this volume was the overall structure. The fact that DC's editorial staff greenlit six issues to explore the depths of Batman's grief shows more great decision-making with the character. Better still is that we get an entire issue to just process the immediate aftermath of Damian's death, and the raw emotions that govern the mourning father's existence. I can't say enough about the striking nature of the "silent issue"--another poorly-kept secret--or the fact that each of the other issues focuses, in order, on the Five Stages of Grief, from the standalone plot of the issue to the titles, each of which alter the title of the book slightly: Batman & Robin becomes Batman & Red Robin, Batman & Batgirl, or Batman & Catwoman; each presents a self-contained story in which Batman, with the help of a member of the Bat-family, works through the five stages of grief. It's a sophisticated, brainy approach to story structure, one that might alienate some readers if the stories themselves weren't so good--they tell of the mourning father, and his efforts to process the most grievous loss since the one that molded his persona. It's a powerful use of the comic medium, and with a few backup teases as to what is coming next, the book gives us exactly what we would expect from the character we all know so well.
Gleason and Gray complement the story flawlessly. Since they have the first and last word in the "silent issue," their artistic storytelling prowess makes this not only the most memorable moment of Batman & Robin, but perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire New 52. They follow this up with their familiar dark pencils, inks, and colors, with shadowy eyes and the strong presence of red throughout each issue. It's powerful storytelling anyway the reader approaches it, and at least equal to the achievement in terms of visual creation that counterpart Greg Capullo achieved in Batman, Vol. 1: Court of Owls. The number of Bat-books is one thing, but the work of the creative teams is another--and in this collection, Tomasi and Gleason show us they aren't the B-team in terms of bringing top-quality storytelling to the Bat-family. Batman & Red Robin, Vol. 4: Requiem for Damian stands at the top of what DC has accomplished with the character since September of 2011.