Cover date oct 73

Ubik

One of the ways that Chuck Dixon's writing impressed me so much is that he was able to get away with making Robin face the bigger challenge. This issue is a fine example. While Batman ends up going after a group of former KGB thugs trying to extort Wayne Enterprises, poor Robin is trapped, surrounded by fire, pursued by a one-man army carrying a miniature nuclear bomb and Bullock is badly injured. Needless to say this is quite an action-filled issue, and you can find the special edition cover or regular newsstand edition for a very decent price, and I assure you it's worth every cent. more

Wow does that art scream '90's

Crisis on Infinite Earths gave us a less-pleasant goodbye between Batman and the original Robin. This issue seemed to repair that rift that was torn with Dick's departure. He gives Bruce an overdue piece of his mind and tells him how disappointed he was not to turn to him in the first place, and instead put his trust in an unstable born and bred assassin. Bruce also gets to say what he's had so much trouble saying in all that time.
The end is amusing. Poor Robin's so worn from fighting a high flying monstrosity it takes a moment to realize Dick is even in his Nightwing costume again. more

Too early to say anything definitive. But I have worries. One of the reasons Robin was created was to give Batman someone to talk to. Now Bats has an AI holographic Alfred. That doesn’t strike me as mentally healthy, especially considering the fact that there are 174,964 Bat family members Bruce can talk with.

This better not be another arc where Bats learns the value of family. Just saying. Gordon is now a beat cop again. I don’t think you can go from commissioner to beat cop. Wouldn’t he just retire. A beat cop that’s well into his 50s is just a bridge too far for me. Your mileage may vary.

Bats spends most of his time tracking down a child-like Killer Croc, who is regressing because he’s is molting or something. It involves dinosaurs and new Batcave trophies, which always struck me as something serial killers do on Dexter.

Bat has new tech, which strikes me as Iron Man, not Batman. There is no detective work and Vandal Savage is creating a goon squad outside regular police channels. Didn’t Tynion already do that?

This seems like more of the same to me. Batman is stuck in a holding pattern, where he keeps getting redone but it keeps getting rebooted to a tired status quo that leaves out charm, fun, and originality. Don’t have high hopes.

Or I could be wrong. more