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FROM THE DC VAULT: DEATH IN THE FAMILY: ROBIN LIVES! No. 1, September 2024 |
Furthermore, apart from a brief fracas between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime during the twenty-two page periodical’s beginning, and an all-too short tussle concerning Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego and the Scarecrow at its very end, the vast majority of this publication focuses upon Jason Todd’s disagreeable behaviour to all those who dearly love him. Admittedly, any bibliophile familiar with writer Jim Starlin transforming the sidekick into an “increasingly aggressive and reckless” crime-fighter during his stint on the title back in the Eighties, won’t be surprised by such unlikeable behaviour. But such is the boy’s ingratitude towards the likes of Alfred Pennyworth, that his repeated petulance soon becomes tedious and off-putting.
What does appear to work well though, is just how disconcerting the Caped Crusader is penned within this tome. Bob Kane’s co-creation has potentially always walked a somewhat fine line between justified violence and taking a physical beating a bit too far. Yet in this particular comic, the cowled vigilante appears extremely close to losing control, especially when he seems to be willing to risk the Joker drowning in Gotham Harbour, or has to be brought to his senses by a Police Officer whilst mercilessly pummelling Jonathan Crane.
Easily this book’s biggest disappointment however, has got to be the ‘overworked’ line art of Rick Leonardi, which sadly makes a fair few panels, most notably those featuring Batman’s arch-nemesis, rather messy. This style proves particularly confusing during a sequence where the Joker suddenly blasts to safety using some covert jump-jets attached to his waist, and a rather clunky-looking scene set inside Arkham Asylum; “Then I’d suggest, Doctor Stoner, that you’re more delusional than your patients.”
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The regular cover art of "FROM THE DC VAULT: DEATH IN THE FAMILY: ROBIN LIVES" #1 by Rick Leonardi & Dave Stewart |
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