BATMAN AND ROBIN #17

I'm tiered and I want to go to sleep. In fact I'm so tiered I can't be bothered to count sheep! Batman's gone to bed. Robin's stuck in the shed. Plus the rest of the cast don't even make a peep. Yeah! Very much like the double-act known as Writer: Peter J. Tomasi; Artist: Patrick Gleason; and Publisher: DC Comics in March 2013. Zzzzzzzz!

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'Life is But a Dream'.

WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: After their recent hair-raising encounter with the Joker, each member of the Wayne household has a nightmare whilst they are asleep. Damien about his birthright. Alfred about Mister J. And Bruce about his future and his past.
ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: What objectives? They sleep. They yelp. They bark. And only Damien is none the wise.
ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: Zzzzzzzzzzz. Snort-Snort. Zzzzzzzzz.
HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With a new day dawning inside the mind of a renegade youth.

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Why-Oh-why-Oh-why do I find sound-effect's so amusing? Especially when I'm reading them within my own head!

Picture the scene. The Wayne family all call it a nigh, and one by one they sign off accordingly. Damien goes 'Night'. Alfred goes 'Good Night'. And Bruce goes 'Hnn'.

Now why does the word 'Hnn' sound like one of the most zaniest things I've ever heard all of a sudden? If you know, spam me, OK? I've got no idea.

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

Just like a monkey pissing out of a tree and into a fire way-way below him, this story's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. On the one hand it manages to convey a very homely and warm 'day in the life' type narrative, directly bestowing it with a very comfortable and personable sheen. Yet, whilst saying that...

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

... there was absolutely no scope to this tale whatsoever, and the originality about it was nigh on non-existent.

Now please don't get me wrong, dear reader. Overall I do feel that us 'Batman fans' need a bit of a break after the 'Death of The Family' story-line. However, a comfortable read such as this one, does make us yearn for something more... errr... how can I put it? Dynamic.

What was the most INNOVATIVE thing about this issue?

I kid you not; this comic book was such a relaxing read that it almost put me to sleep.

Yeah. I'm not messing about, folks. Plus I'm not trying to imply that it was boring either. Because it wasn't. Rather, the dulcet and meandering style of this story was so-so apparent, half way through it my eyes begun to shut all by themselves.

Hmm? Maybe DC will start producing over the counter 'sleeping comics' now? Huh? It must be worth a punt? Ha!

Pick TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and compare them individually to a HONG KONG ACTION STAR.

LAM CHING-YING AS ALFRED PENNYWORTH: Now Lam has been one of the main stalwarts of Hong Kong Cinema since back in the day. He's worked with Bruce Lee. He's worked with Jackie Chan. So I can't see why he shouldn't support Mister Wayne as well.

ROY CHIAO AS THOMAS WAYNE: If you've taken any notice of what I've already said about Lam, replace 'Lam' with 'Roy', and 'support' with 'advise', and you can safely say the same thing about Mister Chiao also.

What WORD or PHRASE could you use to sum-up this story?

'Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare' -- Alfred Hitchcock

What SONG, THEME-TUNE, or MELODY, would complement this tale, as well as add and extra dimension to it by default?

'I CAN'T GET NO SLEEP' BY FAITHLESS: Simply put, both this story and this song share a relentless tone that is one-half enjoyable and one-half perpetual. Click on the video clip to see what I mean...

See?

ANYTHING Else?

When I was a kid I had a cat called 'Lucky'. Now I'm not too sure why we gave him that specific name at first; because his mother pushed him away when he was still a babe in arms! Nonetheless, Lucky was very lucky. He slept all day. He was great at catching mice. He shagged whatever pussy came his way. And generally speaking, he was a cat unlike other normal cats. He was in a class of his own.

However, as time past, Lucky and our family started to part ways. Me and my brothers grew older as time ticked on, and our infatuation with him began to dwindle. Furthermore, Lucky got board with us too, and began spending more and more time away from home, getting up to mischief. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Lucky eventually died of jaundice due to something he contracted on one of his many sabbaticals away.

Alright, dear reader; I'm sure your wondering to yourself why I'm telling you about Lucky when I should be summing up this issue of 'Batman and Robin'. Right? Well, to put it bluntly, in my eyes this cat and this comic are one and the same thing.

I love it. It needs some time away. Or else it will die a painful death. Simple as that really. Stay tuned to what I mean by this... hehehehhe! Ta-ta Damien.

GIVE IT, IT'S DUES: In Real Terms This Comic Book Is like a Warm Blanket on a Cold Winters Night. Comfortable, And Can Put You To Sleep.