Earlier last week in Batman Inc. #8 Grant Morrison decided to end the life of Damian Wayne aka Robin in a heroic and violent fashion. Ive seen a lot of reviews stating that Damian going out like this makes sense and is the only way that Damian’s story could end. Aside from Morrison having an established pattern of killing characters he himself creates it just left me feeling sad. I thought maybe it was just the brutal way Damian was murdered in the issue, or like all comics when a character dies its suppose to have meaning and in this way yes Morrison succeeds. However I finally realized its Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s run on Batman and Robin that is responsible for the sadness.
- Since the new 52 relaunched I have been extremely impressed with the amount of depth Peter Tomasi has given Damian. Starting off with Damian taking another life and crossing that line because he wanted to protect his father was a nice beginning. Tomasi has continued from there on showing just why Damian was such a special member of the Bat Family. in later issues PEter Tomasi has Damian disobey his father to jump into an angry and crazed mob. As the reader you think oh Damian is just being rebellious but at the end of the issue you see that Damian put himself in danger to bring back Bruce’s mothers Pearl Necklace. I’ve wrote before that Tomasi is able to show the Father and Son relationship in his book so well that you believe in the progression of their story and the acceptance and love they have for one another.
- Gleason’s art has been just as important to this series. Every facial expression every interaction displayed in perfect detail. Gleason’s pencils have just continued to get stronger and stronger with each issue. When this series ends I have to put it up there with one of the best written and drawn series Ive ever written. From creating new villains each issue to doing an amazing job at making me absolutely terrified with his take on the newly redesigned Joker Gleason’s amazes me with his art each issue. I look forward to picking up whatever project he starts next.
- Which brings me back to the last issue they just released with Batman and Robin #18. Which I believe is the best comic I’ve read this year. There is no dialogue , only Tomasi scripting a heart breaking story of Bruce and Alfred coping with the loss of Damian. Gleason’s art again pairing perfectly in each panel as Batman tries to get his mind off of the loss of Damian only to have his memory remind him of his son every step of the way. Which finally ends with a heart-felt letter Damian leaves for his father explaining why he disobeyed his orders in the first place and tried to save him which leads to his death. It’s a perfectly scripted moment showing how much Damian is in fact like his father. Which brings me back to the fact that yes Damian was Grant Morrison’s creation but in my opinion he felt more like Tomasi’s character in the end. I think the saddest thing about Damian’s death is that Tomasi and Gleason aren’t able to continue creating stories that involve Damian anymore. The first image of Damian I showed was not the way I want to remember the character, thanks to Tomasi and Gleason this is the way Ill always remember Damian Wayne.
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Like Father like Son R.I.P Damian Wayne Looking forward to seeing where the Bat Family goes from here..
Mike DeVivo
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