COMIC: Top of the Stack - Bruce Wayne - The Road Home: Batman and Robin #1 (Review)

Written by Fabian Nicieza
Pencils by Cliff Richards
Cover by Shane Davis & Barbara Ciado

Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99

Five weeks ago, when Batman #703 made it to the top of the stack, I thought it was an excellent start to the "Bruce Wayne - The Road Home" Batman event and now that the first set of books involved with the event came out this week it quickly became clear that the quality of the event would overcome the slowness of the yet to end The Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series and in particular, this issue which happens to have the same creative team that I liked so much from Batman #703. Fabian Nicieza handles the writing duties of Red Robin but again shows that he can write Dick Grayson as Batman very well.

The background story for the event can only be partially filled by reading the issues. With The Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series having yet to end, readers are still clueless to the circumstances around Bruce's reintroduction to the DC Universe and Gotham but clearly not everyone knows he is back and this event is about him investigating first hand how those around him got on without him around and whether there was still a place for him among them and if he was needed.

What made this issue stick out to me from the other Road Home event books that were also spectacular with Stephanie standing up to Bruce in the Batgirl issue and the synchronicity of Tim and Bruce fighting crime despite all that time apart was the observation that Dick and Damian as Batman and Robin exceeded Bruce's expectations of him and the continued pushing of Vicki Vale as a thorn in the side of the Bat Family, determined to uncover the truth. I am hoping that this is DC's way of bringing back Vicki Vale to a prominent role in the Bat Universe to a comparable level of Lois in the Superman Universe.

Shane Davis drew the cover and the interiors were handled by Cliff Richards. Both have styles that are not usually typical for Batman books that tend to be dark and grim but they brought an energy that I think represents the direction DC should head toward a brighter, more adventurous universe.

So far the Road Home event is 4 for 4 with the issues I've read, but with the next few issues dealing with more supporting than main Bats like Commissioner Gordon and Catwoman and the end of the Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series still yet to arrive there are still more questions than answers in the city of Gotham.

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