Batman & Robin #15 Peter J. Tomasi: writer
Patrick Gleason: penciller
Mick Gray: inker
Solicitation and Preview
Review
I like how other books, such as Detective, will let you know when you need to read another book before reading the issue that you currently have in case you missed some plot points. This book is missing the "Please read Batman #15 before reading this issue" on the first page. With that and some other confusing moments happening throughout the Bat-books right now, a definitive timeline for the books needs to be done.
Small rant aside, please don't read this book until after you have read Batman #15 and have a strong stomach. This was one of the first Death of the Family books that I've read where my stomach was not feeling too good afterwards.
Most of the books have been displaying the mask as some what rigid and attached to Joker's face rather tightly. Outside of one other book, the mask doesn't really seem to move around a lot.
Well, it does a lot in this book. In almost a way that makes it seem like the mask as its own personality, which is kinda a creepy way of looking at it.
This book is pretty much the Damian vs. Joker book where they discuss the philosophical reasoning for the Batman and Robin relationship with Joker thinking it needs to go and Robin obviously wanting to just kick Joker's ass. You get the general feeling and vibe that both characters are more than willing to kill each other, with Robin taking the direct approach and Joker wanting to put on a show.
The end leaves a cliffhanger that I'm not fully buying. It either is a spoiler for what happens in next month's Batman comic, or it is a sick joke played by the Joker as he just dresses someone up in a Batman costume to get at Robin.
The art by Gleason is awesome to look at. I couldn't help but notice that I was confused almost throughout the issue in terms of the space the characters occupied and the general sense of the room they were in. I couldn't tell if characters were upside down or standing up, and it seemed like they were always falling or going into another trap. Knowing that Gleason can be rather good at these details, I am more in the thought that this confusion was deliberate to throw off the balance of the story with the appearance of Joker. It was a job well done.
Grades
Words: 8/10
Pictures: 8/10
Buy Next Issue: I'm sold. How else will I find out what that cliffhanger ending was about? And I'm seriously wondering which character will succeed in killing the other.
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