Batman and Robin #5

Writer: Grant Morrison. Art: Philip Tan, Jonathan Glapion, Alex Sinclair.

Having moved from the weird to the more mainstream, Batman and Robin's decidedly dark take on the Dynamic Duo continues to excel. Batman and Robin are pitched against the the two murderous vigilantes: Red Hood, whose identity is surprisingly revealed early on, and the rather scary Scarlet; and, as the laws of comics demand, our heroes are currently losing out to the two villains who are but distorted mirror images of the new Batman and the new Robin. Mysterious Oberon Sexton also puts in another appearance, being set up as maybe an important figure to come; while yet another new villain, the blood-thirsty Flamingo, reaches Gotham.

The plotting slows down a bit in this issue, setting up the players for the next act. The art is still dark and rather outstanding. All in all a very good read.

Rating: 4 out of 5.