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TO QUOTE Suzy Kassem: “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”
THE REVIEW:
Gotham City is at the edge of total
anarchy, with a bunch of kids naming themselves “Robin” going into the streets
to combat crime, eager to make a difference. Problem is, they don’t have either
the experience or the training needed to pull that off, forcing the GCPD to
enact the “Robin Laws” to try and contain the collateral damage.
Now it's in this time of crisis that Jason
reunites with his feathered-foster-brothers to deal with the fallout of the
wannabe Robins’ actions. However, since he can’t be completely sure of the Jokers
Daughters allegiance, he chooses to make her and Roy stay behind. Obviously Roy
isn’t very happy with being JD’s babysitter, yet he completely understands
Jason’s reasons to go alone. So without something else to do, Roy and JD decide
to pick a quick job to keep them entertained until Jason’s return.
The issue then devotes all of its focus on
Roy and JD, whom were hired by a circus owner to stop a gang of C-list
villains from kidnapping any orphaned teenager in the premises. Roy takes care of them with ease but gets cocky and the tables are quickly turned on him,
prompting JD to save the day. However, the way in which she accomplishes this task puts into question her efforts of becoming a better person. Will JD be able to
overcome her psychosis and reform, or will she have to be put down by the boys?
Overall this issue is an odd beast. Despite
being billed as a tie-in for the Robin War event, it has little to do with it,
and in fact, works better as an advertisement for the series. All
the signature elements are there: powerful character moments, dynamic and
explosive art, a self-contained story that is the stepping stone of a larger
plot, plus plenty of humor.
For those of us that have followed this
series from its inception this is a treat since it doesn’t change a lot of its
format to fit into the crossover. But on the other hand, it could be a serious
turn off for those collectors that only picked up this issue based on the
crossover banner.
Having said this, the few pages Lobdell
devotes to the crossover are one of the best to come out of what -- in my
opinion -- has been a pretty mediocre and disappointing event. Unlike the main
series, Lobdell skillfully manages to avoid taking sides in the conflict by having
Jason and Tim simply stating the facts and allowing the reader to reach their
own conclusion. Free from the obligatory reference, Lobdell then delivers one
of the best moments between Jason and Tim in recent memory: the boys talking
openly and honestly about what it meant for them being Robin.
What is particularly notorious is that for
the first time Jason talks with someone else about his confidence issues (“I
was never going to be Dick”) without trying to cover them up with snide remarks
and how much it hurt him to be replaced by Tim. This moment of weakness on
Jason’s behalf not only shows how much he has grown as a character under Lobdell’s
pen, but also, it shows how much he trusts Tim. Tim reciprocates Jason’s trust
by also admitting how intimidated he was by Jason’s own feats during his time
as Robin, and how it molded him into the vigilante he is today.
To be honest, this kind of fraternal
moment between the 'Sons of Batman' was what I was hoping from the event, and is a
damn shame that in the other books these moments are used to prop one (Dick) or
more characters (the We Are Robin cast) instead of giving the former Robin's a
time of reflection and camaraderie that they’ve been sorely lacking on the N52.
JD’s character is surprisingly
multidimensional: not only are some of her jokes actually funny (no doubt a
combined effort between Lobdell’s script and Fernandez’ expressive art), but you
can truly buy her as a confused and lost teenage girl looking for a purpose. It's
still early to say if she deserves to be redeemed, but it can’t be denied that
she adds a very interesting dynamic to the book and opens the door to many
potential plot lines and chances of character development for the boys (and she
can even get her own development at the same time!). Good work Mr. Lobdell,
good work.
As of this issue Javier Fernandez takes over as the series’
artist, and his art proves to be a great fit for Lobdell, with
breathtaking backgrounds, dynamic poses, and very expressive characters. As a
whole, I couldn’t help but think of the manga aesthetic while looking at his
work on this issue. I’ll certainly miss Medri’s beautiful work but Fernandez
has proved himself to be a worthy successor. Though I have to admit; I’d liked
to see Fernandez take on Medri’s redesigns for the boys.
Blond keeps handling coloring duties so
there’s still warranty of quality on that regard. He needs to adapt to
Fernandez’ style though, as there were some moments where the coloring seemed a
little flat.
THE MUSIC:
JD's whole reason to face her inner demons
and try to become someone better is because Jason trusts her, something that no-one
had done for her before. So I picked my favorite song about trusting someone: 'Stand
by Me' by Ben E. King
Pretty obvious and somewhat of a cliché,
but JD's tearful confession to Roy was the spitting image of a Sad Clown. And
hey, who am I to argue with the classics?
THE CONCLUSION:
For fans of the series this issue is
another hit by its creative team. However, if you are looking into the issue
for its connection to the Robin War crossover and you have little to no
interest on Jason, Roy and JD; then you’ll be better off looking elsewhere.
*** This review was brought to you by Adan, Comic Lad Extraordinaire.
RED HOOD / ARSENAL #7
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
January 11, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
January 11, 2016
Rating:
