Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Nikola Cizmesija
Colorist: Rex Lokus
Cover Artist: Simone Di Meo
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
The dynamic duo haven’t made too much progress, but they have a lead. A boy named Zach from the soccer team, who also thinks he’s the son of dangerous serial killer, Victor Zsasz. With this news, the heroes find themselves having stop not one but two villains from causing havoc in Gotham. Read Batman and Robin #6 to see how the heroes stop two villains to find another.
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Review:
Okay, so the last issue introduced to the heroes and readers Zach, a young boy, who by all accounts seems like a good student. He’s top of his class, star soccer player, beloved by his teachers, and he seems to get along with everyone, except Damian. Oh, and he thinks Victor Zsasz is his father. Yeah, at first I was like, “NO! No!” because unfortunately, comic writers at the big two tend to do this every other year, where they give a villain a kid, despite all evidence showing they wouldn’t even want to have kids. At all. But I’m glad to say, there’s more to it than that.
The comic starts out with Batman and Robin essentially going over what they know about Zach, believing he’s a lead to exposing Shush’s secret identity. We get an intro of their recap leading directly to a dangerous setup where Zsasz is being transported by GCPD for a court hearing. Don’t ask me, I’m not an expert on the law and how this all actually works. Anyway, it’s not long before trouble starts as Zach, in disguise, shows up to free his “father” from imprisonment during the transfer.
Now, let’s start with the good then go into the bad. First, Joshua Williamson continues his development of the dynamic father and son duo. Throughout the comic, he gives multiple opportunities for them to bounce off each other, Damian wanting to just kill Zsasz while Batman keeps from him doing it. And even into personal stuff that gets a little emotional, if not heartwarming and wholesome. The comic certainly has a good blend of action, drama, and genuine emotional development between Bruce and Damian, further cementing why they’re a solid superhero pair.
Now, the bad. Alright, the artist they chose for this issue is a step down, I’m not gonna lie. Nothing against Nikola Cizmesija’s art, but it’s not of equal quality to Simone Di Meo’s art, which was a huge draw for this series. And it seems that we’re back to the company unceremoniously switching out the main artists of comic titles. Granted, Nikola’s art isn’t terrible, especially with the action and designs. The real problem is the eyes, especially when Damian’s in his Robin costume and he’s drawn at some points with his pupils shown as tiny black dots. It’s a little creepy.
Then there’s the whole thing with Zsasz and Zach. It’s not as bad as we all thought, they’re not father and son, thank goodness. However, by the end the comic doesn’t make me feel like this scenario needed to happen, and Zach couldn’t have just been a thief stealing something or trying to kill someone, perhaps even try to kill Zsasz. Especially when the real gain from this encounter was Batman and Robin discovering that Zach had training on par with Damian. Meaning that his former trainer is definitely at the school, but they still don’t have direct evidence of who it could be.
Final Thoughts:
Batman and Robin #6 has the dynamic duo follow Zach straight to Victor Zsasz to stop one problem and get closer to the truth. Thankfully, the whole Zach is Zsasz’s son thing isn’t legit, and the whole thing is just one way for the heroes to confirm something in their case. That said, the whole gimmick wasn’t that appealing even when the truth is revealed, it felt like something simpler could’ve been done. However, there is a reveal of a fan-favorite character related to Damian who shows up, so hopefully they’re here to actually advance the story.