Stephanie Mounce Comic Reviews

Creating original characters allows writers to give characters depth, growth, and redemption, and I think all that was achieved here. And the Bruce /Damian bonding at the end was delightful.

I can honestly say, I will miss PKJ so much after his last issue and though I wish him the best of future endeavors, he really did make his mark on Batman & Robin with his stories.

The improved art (from last month), fun story telling, and elements of a mystery make this issue an intriguing ride, in spite of the boring antagonist.

Wonderful character growth, Bruce and Damian are able to be vulnerable with the Kents, and we see the importance of working on a relationship before it is lost. The art, however, is not for me.

I am liking the relationship and interactions between Batman and Robin much better, even if the "villain" himself isn't all that interesting.

All in all, I'd say this is an okay start, but this 2nd arc isn't gearing up to excite me as much as Williams ever did in this book, but we shall have to wait and see.

I miss Alfred so much, and I really hope they are hinting at a return.

So all things considered, for the issue itself, I have to confess I did enjoy it, and overall the story is getting better, redeeming itself slightly from the unfortunate foundation it started from.

This was a hot mess. I did my best to summarize it, but it was so hard. Sometimes I was unclear about where, when, and why anything was happening. It's also been months since the last issue, and even reading over summaries of previous issues, I couldn't remember who some of the new characters were.

There are still some things I'm not a fan of. Batman is still hesitant to believe the super natural is at play...even though Jason Blood and Etrigan are IN Gotham. I also fear Katherine's animosity towards Batman having a young sidekick, Damian's reluctance to stay Robin, and the crossed out "Robin" on the comic's cover are all concerning. But I am enjoying the story, the villain, the guest appearances, and the look of the book.

All in all, I'm sill invested in this series. I do hope Robin comes around to wanting to be Robin and a doctor.

Batman and Robin #20 is a beautiful and great look at Damian's thoughts on his position in life

I would say it doesn't hold a candle to the first run plot and story wise, but art, hero team work, and writing quality went up with Batman Santa Clause: Silent Knight Returns.

Getting better, though long-winded

Batman Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 shows potential, but its debut issue lacks the spark and fun interactions that made last year's story memorable. With four issues left, there's room for improvement, especially in exploring the relationship between Robin and Santa. Here's hoping future installments deliver more engaging character dynamics and a more compelling villain.

This one is fun because it showcases the bad side of each of the characters who might normally show more decorum. It also reveals the off-panel land a regular comic must have. The boring times. The long times traveling. But here, we see a day (or 73 days) in the life of super heroes traveling across space, and it's terrible. It's so fun seeing the human side of our favorite heroes, and the unseen dilemmas they face.

I loved this book, and though not every story was my cup of tea, I enjoyed each one, and the more I thought about it, the more things I liked about each one. The two different styles of art reflected the types of stories told. I recommend this book highly and think I may even check out the new Wonder Woman run to see if it connects to this last story at all.