Batman and Robin #17 preview

[DrSimonHurt]

This was a send off issue for Damian...

Yeah, Damian's last appearance before Batman Inc #8. His appearance in #18 will be a retrospective.

[Seattle Freeze]

I was sooo disappointed in this issue. Had I known what it was ahead of time, I wouldn't have wasted $3 on a series of dream sequences.

[sea.dilemma]

If it was a send-off for Damian, I would have preferred a one-shot, like the B & R Annual, or even something like Dustin Nguyen has been doing in the digital series "L'il Gotham." The Halloween issue was an adorable, Damian-centric piece. This was a disappointing end to Damian's run, if it is that.

[TorontoFan1973]

I liked this a lot -- of course I've enjoyed pretty much the whole run, so maybe I'm just easygoing. I love the art; Gleason manages to make Damian look like a real kid instead of the odd hobbit-creature he often looks like in Inc. The kid has really grown on me; when "Batman & Son" launched I thought it was the dumbest idea ever to give Bruce a kid, but they've managed to make it work.

[Seattle Freeze]

^ I agree that Damian looks WAAAAAY better in B&R than Inc. His body and head proportions are way off in Inc and he still has baby fat so he looks like he is younger than 5.

[DrSimonHurt]

I was sooo disappointed in this issue. Had I known what it was ahead of time, I wouldn't have wasted $3 on a series of dream sequences.

This issue was better than the entire Snyder Batman run.

It was a dream sequence because it came out the same day as Batman #17. They aren't ready to progress the story, so they just showed us some nightmares that the family experienced after dealing with the Joker and everything else recently.

[Seattle Freeze]

Better than the Snyder run is a matter of opinion.

I think dream sequences are lame. They don't give you any type of grounded story, barely develop characters, and as we know from our own dreams may not even give you much insight into a person. If they wanted a non-action, non-progressive story, how about spending more time in the Batmobile, cave, and mansion with actual dialog and thoughts from Bruce, Damian, and Alfred? Just because B&R needs to kill time, doesn't mean they can't do that in a more meaningful way that gives better character development.

[JasonTodd428]

Once again Tomasi wows me with his stellar work....Not. Dream sequences as a plot device can be used to great effect but I didn't see that here and an entire issue made up of them is just lame filler meant to kill time until the next story arc starts. Dropped and dropped again.

[darkseidpwns]

Once again Tomasi wows me with his stellar work....Not. Dream sequences as a plot device can be used to great effect but I didn't see that here and an entire issue made up of them is just lame filler meant to kill time until the next story arc starts. Dropped and dropped again.

How many times are you gonna drop this?

[darkseidpwns]

Great issue,goes to show how even filler can be excellent if done well as opposed to the other so called earth shattering Joker storyline where nothing happened.

[sea.dilemma]

I liked this a lot -- of course I've enjoyed pretty much the whole run, so maybe I'm just easygoing. I love the art; Gleason manages to make Damian look like a real kid instead of the odd hobbit-creature he often looks like in Inc. The kid has really grown on me; when "Batman & Son" launched I thought it was the dumbest idea ever to give Bruce a kid, but they've managed to make it work.

I have enjoyed all the B & R up until this one, and I concur that the art is superior to Inc. Damian in this series looks like a kid, and a cute kid at that. In Inc, he looks like a Caucasian Oompa-Loompa. If Damian dies, it will change the entire feel of all of the Bat series, and it will really be like the death of the family. It will be something difficult to overcome for these characters...perhaps not because of how they feel about Damian, but because of how it will affect Bruce.

[MrRoussis]

Is it confirmed that he will die? If that's true, then that is major balls....

[Volkditty]

Came here to show my love for Alfred's smile, glad to see it's been covered.

[JasonTodd428]

How many times are you gonna drop this?

I keep coming back on occasion because I keep hoping something will have changed. If it bothers you that much I'll just keep my big ole mouth shut then. Seems like no one can post there danged opinion on something they've read anymore. Carry on.

[Conway]

This issue was better than the entire Snyder Batman run.

This is the third issue in a row that Tomasi has written better horror than Snyder "the horror guy". I'm not buying novels I'm buying comic books. This is a good comic book. It is contained in one issue. It references things that happened before without needing editor notes. It has subtle references to classics like Poe's "Raven" and "The Telltale Heart" and Melville's "Moby Dick" (without ever shouting "Once and Future King!!"). Small jokes like Alfred's smile. And most importantly it has a dog stealing cookies. This is one of the best issues of anything in the entire New 52.

Again I stand by my stance that DC isn't going to kill off a character that is in two of their top ten sellers.