Listen up, DC: get me a new artist, and then let David Hine go crazy in this new corner of the Batverse he's carved out. I don't care if you put it in an ongoing, a miniseries, a graphic novel, it doesn't matter. Just, whatever this was? I want more. As fast as Hine can write it. Read Full Review

Greg Tocchini's fluid, soft artwork works well with the surreal notions that serve as the story's greatest strengths. Andrei Bressan's line art represents a more conventional approach to super-hero comic art, but the disparate styles of the two artists didn't seem to interfere with the story. It's probably a testament to how engrossing Hine's story really is. Overall, I'm struck by the fact that the best Batman stories in recent years have been those that featured new villains. Given recent promotional material released by DC for its fall New 52 line, it seems there's a plan to introduce a number of new villains, including some in the Batman family of titles. So maybe the trend will continue. Read Full Review

This issue is a worthy end to a fantastic series, even it is isnt quite the end everyone deserved. It will be interesting to see what Peter J. Tomasi does with this title in the re-launch (as he was supposed to be taking over full time when Morrison departed) but I cant see it having the same energy when it becomes an all Wayne affair in September. Read Full Review

It works as a story, and the main villain is particularly weird, but I can't really give the book full marks. Much of the strangeness seems like it's there purely for the sake of being weird, and not necessarily for any story purpose. That makes it a little harder to recommend, and even though it does lead to a particularly memorable finale, it still has the mark of a fill-in issue, one last 20 pager turned out to fill in a publishing slot before things start all over again next month. It's not a bad book, but it's not one that people will keep talking about. Read Full Review

There are some very cool elements here. Nightrunner is someone I want to see more of. We can only hope that he will have a bigger role or more appearances when Batman, Inc is relaunched next year. If nothing else, the mention of the French equivalent of Arkham Asylum could open the doors to even more new villains and stories in the future. Unfortunately the issue felt more like a fill in issue. Despite the cool designs of the new villains, the art fell a little flat at times. I would have hoped for more in the final issue of this series. Nice set up for possible future stories. Let's hope we see more of Nighrunner and the Paris Arkham Asylum. Read Full Review

It's truly a shame that the art of Batman and Robin #26 isn't up to snuff because David Hine's story is pretty damn entertaining for a standalone tale. At first glance, it might come off as a standard Batman-systematically-taking-down-a-few-new-villains type of story, but there's more to mine under the surface if you choose to do so. Read Full Review

Batman and Robin #26 Review August 11, 2011 DC Comics Reviews 1 comment Tweet In the final issue of Batman and Robin before the title is renumbered Dick and Damian share their last adventure as the dynamic duo.Batman and Robin #26Dick, Damian, and Nightrunner " the Batman of France, ala Batman Incorporated " join forces to take down a group of new villains who have set free the inmates ofLe Jardin Noir (the Black Garden, essentially France's version of Arkham Asylum). The villains have a unique set of abilities, making their capture anything but an easy task. Fortunately Batman packed his riot foam and everything work out.Although technically this title isn't going anywhere as it's a part of the new 52 this is the final issue of it's current run in what is soon to be the "old" DC Universe, and for a title that paved the way for so much earlier in it's numbering I expected something much different. Certainly not what is e Read Full Review

I did enjoy the art, which I didn’t expect. Usually the fine art of side of comics doesn’t do much for me, but here it works. Greg Tocchini who brings a soft hand to the art handles the first fourteen pages. There are no hard lines, no rough edges that give definition, everything is subtle and easy. While I know this isn’t the medium Tocchini probably works in, the art in Batman & Robin #26 comes off like it was handled with magic markers. The final five pages are the work of Andrei Bressen, who combines a more typical comic book style with a flair for the dramatic. Visually this issue is a real joy, it’s very pretty and fun to look at. If the story had been up to par with the art, this final adventure of Dick & Damien could have been something that rose above the banality of the series itself. Read Full Review

After I read a comic book, if I'm not near my laptop, I'll usually jot down the title of the comic, the score, and a few words about the comic for when I do the review. For this comic, I put down the title, the score, and one word, "Rubbish"... That, in a nutshell, was exactly what this comic was. Garbage. Seriously, it was one of the worst one-and-done stories I've read in quite some time. The worst thing was the fact that I was kind of looking forward to this issue because I saw that David Hine was writing it. I'm not even going to bother wasting any more time on this comic. If you enjoyed this issue, kudos. Me? I absolutely hated it. Read Full Review