Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn

Following Bruce Wayne's reported demise, this Grand Guignol miniseries shows the competition to fill his role. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, has established a separate crime-fighting identity as Nightwing, but now has donned the iconic cape and mask of Batman. Partnered with bratty, impatient 10-year-old Damian (son of the original Wayne), he wants to modernize Batman's equipment but maintain his high principles. Dick's successor as Robin, Jason Todd, now calls himself the Red Hood and believes that the way to reduce crime is to kill criminals as dramatically as possible. Unfortunately, the Red Hood's violent tactics bring reprisals in the form of the Flamingo, an incredibly vicious South American assassin who enjoys skinning and eating the faces of beautiful young women. Morrison's scripts use this dark material effectively, and the art—first by Quitely, then by a team of three—is dazzling. In this largely self-contained episode, Morrison expertly retools DC's old superhero machinery. When combined with Quitely, it nearly reaches the heights of the duo's previous All-Star Superman . (Apr.)