Bruce Wayne is presumed dead and there’s a new police-sanctioned mecha-Batman in Gotham City, leaving Damian Wayne as a sidekick without a hero. It’s the perfect time for Damian to break out and show what he can do as a leading man (leading boy, technically), and that’s exactly what he’s doing in his new ongoing series Robin: Son Of Batman. Written and drawn by Patrick Gleason, who has been illustrating most of Damian’s adventures for the past three years, this new series gives Damian the chance to shine by taking him out of his father’s sandbox and teaming him with a giant Man-Bat for action-packed journeys to exotic locales.
Robin: Son Of Batman is Gleason’s first major project as a writer, and he’s clearly having a lot of fun with the new responsibility. He’s given Damian a new direction that embraces superhero fantasy, and moving away from Gotham City allows Gleason the opportunity to bring more variety to his intricately detailed environment and character designs. Gleason’s Batman And Robin collaborators, inker Mick Gray and colorist John Kalisz, join him on this new title, and they bring immense texture and atmosphere to the linework. That artistic excellence is spotlighted in this preview of Robin: Son Of Batman #1, which finds Damian kicking ass in the Middle East to save his monstrous friend, and if the entire series is able to maintain that energy, Damian should have no problem stepping out of his father’s shadow.