The Absence has come for Batman and Robin, and, as they hear the tale in a burning church, our heroes start to realize the scale of the horror they're protecting Bruce Wayne from. The Absence is on a mission, and it can only end in fire and destruction.
Not helping matters is Scott McDaniel's art. McDaniel's style is far too loose and scratchy for its own good. Characters are overly stylized and angular, to the point where most of the male characters and even some of the females are interchangeable in appearance. McDaniel's page structure is a bit improved from the previous issue, at least. This story arc does what it needs to as far as filling a gap in the publishing schedule. Unfortunately, I can't picture the trade appearing on my shelf alongside Cornell's other DC work. Read Full Review
There is a definite tone-shift under Cornell's watch (naturally enough) and I'm still wondering if this is a good pairing. If you're looking for very dark Gotham, I think you're going to need to read Detective Comics or Batman. For a lighter feel, something that fits the tone of Batgirl or Red Robin, this may be your book. Read Full Review
Not helping matters is Scott McDaniel's art. McDaniel's style is far too loose and scratchy for its own good. Characters are overly stylized and angular, to the point where most of the male characters and even some of the females are interchangeable in appearance. McDaniel's page structure is a bit improved from the previous issue, at least. This story arc does what it needs to as far as filling a gap in the publishing schedule. Unfortunately, I can't picture the trade appearing on my shelf alongside Cornell's other DC work. Read Full Review
Im giving Batman and Robin #18 three bullets because it is an average comic that can be enjoyed by fans of the characters or the creators; however, the days of me enjoying a story simply because Batman is in it are long past. Read Full Review
Even so, the implications this issue has for the future of Batman and Robin are fairly bleak. What was once the pride and joy of DCs line now seems to be simply a label to slap across the results of factory-produced storytelling. Read Full Review
The issue ends with Absence attacking Vicki Vale, who is, coincidentally, trying to come up with a word to use in her story. She ponders using Cyclopean--because, you know, thats a pretty common word used by journalists and has nothing to do with the fact that the giant hole in Absences head seems like a single, giant eye. Read Full Review
If you can live with the piles upon piles of ridiculous details and implausible concepts in Absence's origins, you might enjoy this issue more. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't get over all of the things that don't work about this issue, which really distracts me from the things that do. Of course, this wouldn't be so bad if Scott McDaniel and Christopher Jones gelled better or if either artist brought his Agame. The end result is a surprisingly weak issue that simply misses the mark on a number of levels. Read Full Review
© 2024
Prev
