Batman and Robin #21

This is easily one of the darkest Bat-books right now, with a truly deranged villain and some deep psychological underpinnings in the story. Batman might eventually save the day, but the damage he's done to his relationship with Robin can't be punched away and that might be the hardest fight he's had in a long time. Read Full Review

Batman and Robin #21 is a great read that sets up the next issue like a powder keg! Don't miss out on this title Bat-Fans! Read Full Review

Issue #21 of Batman and Robin is one of the better issues in Johnson's run. The plot seems to have moved forward substantially, even though I feel like it should have happened sooner. Hopefully the pacing will continue this momentum. By the end of the issue, I was intrigued and I'm interested in what happens next. 'Til next time! Read Full Review

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

mego-joe

May 14, 2025

The stories that Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been telling in this series have been great and this issue is no exception. It goes deeper into Bruce’s mind and explores his actions. The mystery gets a little clearer in this issue and it’s a surprising development. I wouldn’t bet against this series. I can’t recommend this enough. The relationship between Bruce and Damian is excellent and is well balanced, like all good comics, with action to move the plot forward. It’s a truly engaging experience and complemented by some great art as well. I’ve said it before, but this is the Bat-book you SHOULD be reading.

daspidaboy

May 14, 2025

Another solid Batman book. I like Philip Kennedy Johnson's voice on a detective yet surreal Batman story. I also like how Batman struggles with being a good father, even though it's been done multiple times already.

fzanca

May 24, 2025

I continue to like this story, but Johnson is dragging it out so badly that it's getting incredible obvious. If this doesn't wrap up in the next couple of issues, I may drop it and come back when there's a new story. I really hate when writers write for the OMinbus. What could have been a good story becomes a languishing heap of crap. That's how I'm starting to feel here. Let's hope he has the wisdom to read the room. Everyone is saying the same thing. Plus, after all of this time, we still know nothing about the villain. Robin is captured. Let's see what happens. My Comic Review Channel - https://youtu.be/m33OnxvNQyA

George

May 17, 2025

As an issue I like this and I really like the art, but feel like by part 8 of a storyline there should be more forward progression.

myconius

May 14, 2025

I definitely enjoyed this issue a lot more than the previous. I don’t think I’m really enjoying this direction as much as the series debut. This Memento arc really is beginning to wear out its welcome. I just really dislike how many times we’ve seen Bruce and Damian‘s relationship continually strained. It feels like we’ve taken a massive back pedal even from where we were with Joshua Williamson, the previous writer who just concluded his run at issue 13. Here we are just a few issues later and it feels like Bruce and Damien‘s relationship is even worse off than it was with Williamson. DC editorial is asleep at the wheel. Maybe this arc will end on a really high note and I’ll be proven wrong? But right now I feel like if this series doesn’t pick up I might just drop the title. more

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George - May 16, 2025

I don’t really mind the back pedaling of the relationship, because it’s comics and I feel like that happens all the time. But I do mind that this arc is heavily padded and just way too long.

myconius - May 16, 2025

I honestly didn’t mind it at the very beginning of the series. After all, we were restarting with a new issue number one. But doing it again so soon within the same run is pushing it. Especially since it makes for a jarring read going from where we left off at in issue number 13 then regressing characters suddenly in issue 14.

George - May 16, 2025

I’m not a Williamson guy so didn’t read his work on this title. But sounds like I wouldn’t like that.

myconius - May 16, 2025

I do have to be honest. Until this series I wasn’t really thrilled with much of Williamson’s writing. Especially not the short arc that he did on Batman with The Club of Heroes. I was 50/50 with the first issue he’d written of Robin (The Lazarus Tournament). But when I took a chance on the first TPB of this Batman & Robin series I quickly became enamored with it. While it was not the same level of Peter Tomasi’s run, it felt like Williamson was doing his best to try to create that similar vibe.

myconius - May 16, 2025

I do have to say that I am really enjoying much of what Phillip Kennedy Johnson is doing. It’s just that the strikingly different characterization of Bruce and Damian’s relationship, I think I’d have liked it much more had it been in a different series. Like if it’d been DC BLACK LABEL or something? All that being said, I really love the flashbacks PKJ has been giving us of Bruce Wayne in his younger years. Seeing Bruce apprentice for one of his many mentors.