REVIEW: ‘Robin’, Issue #10

Robin #10 finds Damian Wayne far away from Lazarus Island and locked in battle with his evil great-grandmother. Joshua Williamson writes this issue with Roger Cruz jumping in for pencils. Norm Rapmund provides inks, Luis Guerrero the colors, and Troy Peteri handles letters for the DC Comics title. Last issue, Robin led a successful revolt against Mother Soul, rallied the fighters to his cause, killed a demon…and then took a powder.

To be more precise, he ended up in the sands of the past, meeting a younger version of his infamous grandfather, Ra’s al-Ghul, and his nefarious mother. Bereft of the fighters for backup, Damian finds himself trying to blend in until he can figure out what’s going on. Things end up being more twisted than just a sudden time travel jaunt. What does get revealed along the way is a history lesson in the Demon and in the divergent views of Ra’s and his then elderly mother. DC has dozens of books to fill in every facet of Batman’s past, so it’s fitting that here we get more knowledge on the family tree from Robin’s maternal side. And this is set up for what’s to come since way back we saw Ra’s appears to be a changed man.

Robin #10 serves as a backstory for the rise and fall of the al-Ghul dynasty. Williamson manages to enhance details and paint Ra’s like some form of anti-hero, at least initially. Mother Soul has a long history of evil, and it appears she isn’t ready by far to give up. Not sure how I feel about Ra’s being reformed, but we’ll see what happens. Either way, Damian has quite a dark background, and Williamson does a skillful job at showing how this young man walks the tightrope navigating how this demonic heritage may affect him.

Cruz picks up where Corona left off, and the effect is almost unnoticeable. He lays down pencils with the same dynamic verve, with lots of flourish in the moves. Guerrero makes a sharp contrast in a shadowed, uncolored Damian and in the brilliance of the demon statue. Rapmund lets the inks regress a few pages in to let the colors and art do the heavy lifting, which shows off a lot of the action. Peteri manages the balloons well and inserts lots of subtle and loud SFX to make the issue lively.

With the fighters left somewhat helpless, Damian is on his own, but matters on Lazarus Island are not yet resolved. It would appear there will need to be more fighting…and more dying before the fighters and the Boy Wonder can be free from this hell.

This was a great look into the al-Ghul clan. My one minor quip being the end of the battle in issue #9, left us in this backstory. I love it but found it to be a minor distraction, as it exists to keep the fighters around longer. I’m into seeing if they end up staying with Robin. But we’ll need to get through this particular storm first. That’s fine. I liked the backstory, and I want to see what role Ra’s will play. But more so, I want to see Damian lead this group, as he is well beyond being a sidekick. Ra’s fans will enjoy this one for sure.

Robin #10 is available now wherever comic books are sold.