Joshua Williamson

Robin, Vol. 3: Secrets and Shadows collects Robin nos. 13-17 from the third volume of the title (following the first two, which focused on Tim Drake), written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Roger Cruz and Norm Rapmund, colors by Luis Guerrero, and letters by Troy Peteri. The story begins following the death of Ra’s al Ghul, apparently murdered by Slade Wilson. Damian Wayne and Ravager (Rose Wilson, Slade’s daughter) track down Slade and confront him, but he claims that he did not kill Ra’s. He reveals that his accomplice, Respawn, is the artificial son of Talia al Ghul and Slade, created by Ra’s without the knowledge of either and thus Damian’s half-brother. Despite this, Damian feels a familial obligation to fight Slade while Batman tries to prevent Robin from killing Wilson. Meanwhile, Batman, Robin, and Batman, Inc. are trying to reach Slade before Talia al Ghul does in order to prevent an all-out war between Slade’s forces and the League of Shadows. Unbeknownst to all, Geo-Force has been masquerading as Slade Wilson due to his desire for revenge following the League of Shadows’ attack on his nation of Markovia. Following their showdown, Damian strikes out on his own path, moving to Lazarus Island and dealing with Lord Death Man’s issues. This leads to Damian reconnecting with Flatline while figuring out what his path on the island will entail.

There is a great deal happening in this volume and the only way I have some understanding of it all is from watching Young Justice and Titans, which helped me to know more about Geo-Force and Slade Wilson’s family. I was familiar with Damian and his family dynamic, but this was a difficult volume to jump into without starting from the beginning. There are a lot of characters with whom I’m unfamiliar and a great deal of changes from the last time I regularly followed the current Batman titles. Despite that, Damian Wayne is always entertaining and Roger Cruz, Norm Rapmund, and Luis Guerrero’s art is some of the best of DC. This will entertain fans of Damian’s Robin or those who are familiar with Young Justice and Titans.… (mehr)

7 years. I've been reading this series for 7 years. Really kind of wish I would have compressed that to like a year, I probably would have enjoyed it even more. This last one I couldn't find anywhere. I think it popped up on Ebay for some huge price once or twice. Local stores didn't have it. Then I got these weird gift points from work that only worked on Amazon and there it was. Maybe it was always there (I don't normally use Amazon).

Perfect ending to a great series! This really wrapped up everything and added some extra emotion to the whole story.… (mehr)