After the Terminus arc wrapped in ‘Batman and Robin’ #12 and we got a glimpse at Damien’s origins in ‘Batman and Robin’ #0, we move into a new two issue arc here that goes into some of the more supernatural corners of Gotham.

The story opens on a sleeping Damien who is having nightmares about the Joker. He’s been researching the clown since word arrived that he was back in Gotham. But before the Joker’s madness descends, the Dynamic Duo has one more daytime mission to complete. Batman reveals to Damien that he has a satellite in orbit that helps him to monitor things in Gotham (and possibly the world with hints of Brother Eye). There’s a solar eclipse today and something in the magnetic changes caused by the eclipse could potentially cause the satellite to go off course. It’s up to Batman and Robin to make sure that doesn’t happen so that Batman is at the top of his game with the Joker on his way.

What the caped crusader and his son don’t know is that, a cult in Gotham has taken advantage of the eclipse to cast a curse on the city, causing the dead to rise from their graves and feast on the living. So, with only hours to go until the Joker’s predicted attacks, the heroes find themselves covered (literally) in flesh-eating monstrosities.

Writers have to play it properly when the Batman universe slides too far into supernatural territory lest the real-world detective vibe be lost. Peter Tomasi rides that line with this issue quite well. There are even slight hints that the “zombies” aren’t what they seem. The end result is a very solid and fun romp.

Still, what I find amusing is that an all-out zombie outbreak still just seems like the calm before the storm. Readers all know that after the zombies are inevitably defeated, this title (like every other bat-title) will be plunged into the “Death of the Family” arc with the return of the Joker that began in last week’s ‘Batman’ #13. But, until it does, join me back here next month for a review of the second half of Gotham’s zombie outbreak.

Final Score:

 

BATMAN AND ROBIN #13
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art and Cover by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray