Review: ROBIN RISES: OMEGA #1

robin-rises-omega-1

ROBIN RISES: OMEGA #1
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Andy Kubert, Jonathan Glapion
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: July 16, 2014

Batman And Robin has been building to this comic for over a year, and fans of that title will be right at home with this strong kickoff to the Robin Rises mini-event at DC.

Looking back at the events since the death of Damian Wayne it is quite apparent that Peter J. Tomasi has been building toward this storyline for a long time. His work on Batman and Robin has been masterful, building the relationship between Damian and the Bat-family to heartbreaking levels, considering what has happened. For readers that have lapsed from Batman And Robin, DC provides a nice seven page rundown of the high points you need to get to the first page of action, which will be appreciated by many considering the years of continuity that have lead to this point. These warm-up pages start off the issue well, slowly building the pace before launching readers directly into the action, which never ceases from that point onward.

Tomasi tells a lot of story through chaos in this issue, and he does that damn well. The somewhat random appearance of Darkseid’s forces in the pages of Batman and Robin is explained well, and the ferocity with which Batman (and Ra’s al Ghul) fight to protect the bodies of their loved ones is highlighted very well in the dialogue. You can hear the strain in their voices as they attempt to hold off the forces of Apokolips, and while the script does not take an exceptional amount of shocking twists and turns, it drives forward at a rapid pace, hammering home the intensity of the situation. This is as high stakes as it gets for Batman, and the culmination of a year’s worth of grief leads to some very powerful moments toward the end of this issue. Tomasi’s Batman is one of the most entertaining characters in comics, and Tomasi continues to do the Dark Knight great justice with this oversized issue. The raw emotions can be felt in every panel, and, by the time you get to the final page you can’t help but demand the next issue as soon as you can get your hands on it.

Andy Kubert handles the artwork in this issue and his work ranges from solid to phenomenal throughout the story. Kubert uses a style similar to his work on Marvel 1602 in the opening recap pages which differentiates the past from the present very well, but also keeps the issue visually cohesive. There are a couple points where characters aren’t penciled in the sharpest fashion, but Kubert makes up for that with some exceptionally detailed shots, particularly of Batman, that are jaw-dropping. He nails the most important page that counts, the one that caps off this issue, and really gets the emotional tone of what is happening in this story. His style is close enough to Patrick Gleason’s that the issue does feel like a continuation of the Batman and Robin storyline, without feeling like Kubert is attempting to copy Gleason. A shout-out has to be made for Kubert’s work on the cover of this issue, as well, as it encompasses everything this comic is in a singular image: not something we see often in comics these days.

Pete Tomasi and Andy Kubert kick off this event in style with Robin Rises: Omega #1. This issue is solid from start to finish and provides a great foundation for this story to build upon. Tomasi continues the story he has been masterfully weaving for over a year and Andy Kubert compliments his script well, delivering some great splash pages and capturing the intensity of the action with his solid artwork. While Tomasi and Gleason may be a bit more in sync, this is a creative battery that delivers the goods in this issue, and anyone who is invested in Damian Wayne (or just likes a good story) can’t go wrong picking this one up.

The Verdict: 8.5/10

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