[New 52] Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi issue #13

I was very hesitant to stop my beautiful stride and momentum for Scott Snyder's Batman: Zero Year story arc just to get back to Tomasi's line-up, but only because I still get nightmares and nerd-rage from the last three issues I read about this one-dimensional asshole villain Terminus who tried to nuke Gotham. And yes, it was just as absurd summarizing what happened in those issues as it is when you actually read them for yourself. I was quite distraught about it too, considering how eager I was to profess my love for Tomasi after his first volume Born to Kill won me over. But I guess it doesn't mean I will stop reading B&R because I made a vow to finish reading all Batman titles for New 52 (I'll be getting into Detective Comics soon enough while reading Batman Eternal).

Another reason why I'm procrastinating reading Batman and Robin again is because of what will happen in the future, something I had to deal with during issues 18-20 of Synder's Batman last week, and something I know I'm going to have to unearth again here in Tomasi's run. But let's not talk about that because I still have at least three more issues to go before we arrive to that painful destination.

This issue is about zombies. As of now, my expectations are set low so finishing this issue did not cause me the same amount of headache and disappointment after the Terminus one. It was perfectly serviceable, I guess. Set during Snyder's Return of the Joker crossover event, this issue has Damian and Bruce on their toes, anticipating the Joker to attack at any given moment. For his part, Damian researches about the Joker quite madly, even falling asleep at night with tons of papers about him scattered all over the floor. Bruce wakes him up and takes him to the sky to witness a solar eclipse up close. It was a great father-and-son moment, honestly (and the only thing I liked and enjoy in this issue). By then you get the sense that they have finally learned to accept each other as family and partners.

And then we get this cult called the Saturn group who had done something to the dead so a horde of zombies started attacking Gotham City and Robin ends up getting smacked in the middle of an unpleasant The Walking Dead scene. Poor guy. Earlier he had to fight a monster in the sewers because of the bounty in his head. And now he struggles not to get eaten alive by zombies. He just couldn't catch a goddamn break! So that's how this issue ends--with a cliffhanger of Damian being surrounded by the undead, ready to feast on him. 

It was an okay issue. I liked the beginning with Batman and Robin watching the solar eclipse together, sharing a moment where Damian actually expresses his pain towards his mother trying to have him killed. But right now, I just don't have the same kind of hopes for Tomasi's B&R for now until he gets out of his funk and turns it around (which I know will come soon, especially with issue #18 Requiem).

NOT RECOMMENDED

* You can honestly just skip this and the conclusion on the next one. Jump ahead to #15 where the Joker finally appears