Broken Frontier

Action takes a back seat, and we see Dick Grayson play super sleuth for the issue’s 22 pages...and it’s a nice change of pace, especially with the first 9 issues being so action-heavy. I understand this is a Batman title we’re talking about, but it was nice to see the series get back to some of the well-planted roots it started off with.

I’ve never seen Andy Clarke’s work before, and I feel as though I’ve been missing out, to tell the truth. It was his art over Morrison’s keen writing that got me (re)invested in Batman and Robin. You see, I haven’t felt this excited about the series since Quitely was handling art; and although the storylines have be equally mad, and equally hip, Clarke really brings the characters’ ethos out into the forefront with his line work.  One gets the coldness, the sense of baleful coldness, through his interpretation of Talia al Ghul with her tight lips and Sophia Loren eye makeup gone wrong; the burden, the unsure disposition of that adorable, petulant brat, Damian. It's all there. All of it. And it's all executed in a simple, effective way.

The entire mise-en-scène of this issue just feels relevant, which was somehow missing in issues four to eight. And although the previous creatives were just that, this issue happens to hit some of the key notes that weren’t being struck in the earlier runs.

Let it be said, however, that the real talent on the book is colorist Alex Sinclair, who seems to be this chameleon of the CMYK wheel—an adept who easily adapts to the penciller’s needs. He rocked with Quitely, gave that “black rain” look to Tan’s work, and splashed acid in our eyes when coloring Stewart’s characters. Apropos, he brings us back down to earth with this issue, easing us into the story with his choice of color palette. A nice fit for a more "family troubles" type of arc, I think.

I’ve stayed on this long, and I’ll no doubt be finishing this current arc. There are some sites that state this is the final Batman and Robin arc, and there are others that quote Morrison as saying there’s more to come. Either way, if the story continues its current route, I think I’m game.

Oh, and I beleive I know who Oberon "The Gravedigger" Sexton is.