Book Review: Batman and Robin vol 4

Book: Batman and Robin vol 4: Dark Knight vs White Knight by various writers and artists

Rating: 4 stars

My Review:

I didn't read the trade book I read the individual issues (including the last issue #26 which I'm not sure is included with the trade).

These were the last issues of Batman (Dick Grayson) & Robin (Damian Wayne) before the re-boot of the series. There were three sets of stories with three chapters each: the first story "The Sum of Her Parts" was about a former girlfriend of Bruce Wayne's who was murdered but for some reason in Gotham that doesn't always mean death. She masterminds a vendetta against Bruce Wayne that has Batman and Robin trying to stop it. I like that this story was fast paced as well as quite humorous.

The second story "Tree of Blood" is about the White Knight, a villain who somehow can get to the family of high profile criminals and cause them to attempt suicide. This story was very dark and intriguing and had Batman and Robin not only trying to stop the White Knight but also trying to get to his victims before it was too late.

The last story "The Streets Run Red" is about crazy Jason Todd (the second robin and now the Red Hood) which even has a small cameo of Bruce as Batman visiting Jason at Arkham. Tired of sitting in Arkham Asylum, Jason put in a request to be sent to prison. Once he gets there, he's in his element of taking down criminals. I always forget that Jason is a red head and in prison his hair is back to it's natural color which I thought was great little detail that the creative team included.

The final issue #26 (which I don't believe is in the trade) "Earthly Delights Scenes from a Work in Progress" has Batman and Robin in Paris dealing with escaped psychopaths each with unique abilities who were released by crazy mad man. Batman and Robin were also assisted by Batman Inc. member Nightrunner. Despite not being set in Gotham, this story had all the Gotham craziness.

I have to say that I really liked this last run in the series because not only was it filled with action it also had a lot of weird and crazy moments but also it showed how great Dick was as Batman. He wasn't just trying to pretend to be Batman he had created his own version of The Dark Knight. I also loved Damian's snarky sarcastic personality. This Batman and Robin were a great team.