Batman and Robin Eternal #10

By James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Roge Antonio, Geraldo Borges, Allen Passalaqua

“These guys are too damn fast! Bio-engineering? Maybe that magic wine in the cellar?”

“Yeah, last time I checked communion didn’t turn you into the Flash.”

The banter! The humor! The most dynamic of the duos! Two of your favorite Robin’s take center stage in the latest saga involving the mysteries surrounding Mother, and they’ve brought along with them plenty of great dialogue and actions sequences!

Red Hood and Red Robin are once again fighting the evils of the island Bane calls home in Batman and Robin Eternal #10. Scripting on this issue from the story by James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder is Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and they fill this issue with some great action scenes and some of the best humor we’ve seen yet (and we’ve seen plenty so far in this series). This issue we see the two Robins even facing off against Azrael, something that leads to the repercussions causing Red Hood to pull from his comrades pocket…the shark spray! (the most useful of the Bat-supplies).

On the artwork side of this issue we’ve got Roge Antonio, and Geraldo Borges sharing the duties on the pencils and inks with Allen Passalaqua on colors. From the start we get some great action scenes involving the Robins facing off against some drones; one of these scenes showcases Red Robin running up onto a wall and leaping off to kick a droid in mid-air to explode it (which was pretty cool). Their scenes are often filled with movement and consistent action. Another scene has Red Hood run out of ammo and essentially become useless against his foes (Red Robin trusted his tech a bit more than he did Red Hood), so Red Robin left it up to Hood to hack into a computer and get them information. This is a scene that was also done well by writers Lanzing and Kelly because it created a level of suspense and urgency to go along with the artwork and the action taking place.

One of the best scenes this issue, however, comes when Azrael touches the head of Red Robin and sends his mind into a dreamlike state. We get a glimpse into what Red Robin is seeing on a full-page spread that is a solid trip that will have to staring at every little aspect of it. Robin looks up into the stars and then has a face of horror, followed by…oh my…is that really happening? Colorist Passalaqua covers the background of this page with black as Robin and the various iterations of his appearance alter from one stage to the next before going completely insane. Alongside the versions of Robin we get illuminated symbols that stand out and bring bright colors to contrast with the dark background.

This issue of Batman and Robin Eternal hits all the right notes. Lanzing and Kelly craft a script that gives us just enough insight into the Batman/Robin story happening in the past, along with a touch of the story happening with Harper and Grayson, but they keep the bulk of the issue invested in the most interesting and action oriented story currently taking place in the series…Red Robin and Red Hood! The artwork by Roge Antonio, Geraldo Borges, and Allen Passalaqua delivers some eye-popping visuals (especially in the Red Robin scene mentioned above). Pasalaqua uses colors well throughout the issue to create different vibes depending on the characters and situations – with Batman and Grayson/Robin in the past we see Batman brooding in the dark cave, and with Red Hood and Red Robin we see a lot of bright backgrounds and colors as they traverse the island and fight off their attackers. This issue delivers the laughs, the action, and the shark spray!