By Lisa Gullickson — Damian Wayne has arguably one of the most outrageously comic-book-y origins of any member of the Batfamily. By way of eugenics, he is the rightful heir of both WayneCorp and the League of Assassins. He was intended to be the host body of his Grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, but now he’s the fifth Robin and a real handful for his dad, Batman. Since the moment of his conception, Damian Wayne has been given every single advantage. Genetically, educationally, opportunistically, financially - all of the cards have been stacked in his favor. For Damian, nothing has been left to chance. He will be extraordinary. He has a superpower, and it is privilege. Damian Wayne’s unmoored sense of entitlement has left him audacious, ornery, and peerless. He, like his father, is seen as damaged goods. Because of the injustices of his past, he will always be angry and insufferable. An anti-hero in a sidekick’s tights.

So, how is Damian Wayne, a trained assassin born from hate, the center of a touching middle-grade graphic novel about fitting in at a new school? Because writer/cartoonist Jeffrey Brown also has a superpower - the ability to distill the most contrived and convoluted down to its most essential and relatable parts. What is the best part of being Damian Wayne/Robin? Being a genius with deadly martial arts skills. What’s the worst part of being Damian Wayne/Robin? Being compared to Batman all of the time.

Batman and Robin and Howard is a simple enough premise. Damian has been demonstrating some antisocial behavior on patrol with his dad and at school. Because of this, Damian ends up getting transferred from his hoity-toity private school, Gotham Prep, to a Gotham City Public School, Gotham Metro Academy. Of course, GMA has nowhere near the resources of a prep school, and at first, Damian is not impressed. However, he quickly realizes that his new classmates are so far outside the realm of privilege that they don’t recognize it when it rolls up to school in a Rolls Royce. With his talents, Damian can easily be the smartest and most athletic of his peers, and they’ll love him for it. All he has to do is outperform the old best kid in class, Howard.

Though Howard’s DC origin story is far less harrowing than Damian’s, Howard is his perfect foil. Howard is your quintessential “good kid.” He gets the best grades in class, is the MVP of his soccer team after school, and all the kids like him because he doesn’t feel the need to gloat. He’s generous and encouraging of his peers. He goes home to his parents, who are still together and very proud of him. Then, Damian appears out of nowhere and ruins everything. Suddenly, Howard doesn’t get the best grade on the test, he doesn’t score the most goals at the game, and uncharacteristically he starts being less nice. He begins feeling insecure and irritable. He even gets called to the principal’s office. Brown’s creation of Howard, Damian’s classroom arch-nemesis, is an astounding feat of empathy. Everyone gets touchy when they are constantly comparing themselves to others. If it’s hard to be the second best in a public school classroom, imagine being second best in all of Gotham. Maybe that’s why Batman goes through so many Robins.

Jeffrey Brown’s abilities to perfectly epitomize an overwrought character into a young reader space would not be elevated to superhuman if he did not make it look effortless. With several Star Wars: Vader and Son and Jedi Academy books under his belt, he is operating at the peak of his abilities in Batman and Robin and Howard. His cartooning, like his writing, is a study in doing more with less. His panels are simple and straightforward, but they are also dynamic and emotive. In one panel, Damian is walking towards the school building, and he’s greeted with a big hug from Latasha, a girl from his class. In the next panel, we see Howard clutching his backpack, seething. The effect is visceral.

And Jeffrey Brown knows what young people want to read. They don’t want a morality tale about not measuring your worth against other people’s accomplishments. They want to laugh because Batman can’t help but make dad jokes to Commissioner Gordon and is useless without Robin. And they want to be assured that they can still make friends, even after they’ve been jerks. I don’t know if Jeffrey Brown wears a cape at his drawing table, but he should.

In Batman and Robin and Howard, Jeffrey Brown does the impossible. He cures Damian Wayne of his angst. He relieves his burden. Brown is able to see past all of the distractions of Damian Wayne’s extraordinary, unrelatable privilege so he can speak to Damian's ordinariness. Damian is just a scared kid who wants to be told that he is enough. That’s it. Through the intimate knowledge of comic book lore and profound empathy for middle-grade children, Jeffrey Brown manages to deliver the perfect message that every 10-year-old needs to hear. You don’t need to feel better than someone to be your best. There is no one competing for your right to be. If Brown can do that with a graphic novel for children, imagine what he can do within the canon. Of course, Damian would have to find a real job.

Graphic Novel Review: Batman and Robin and Howard by Jefferey Brown

Batman and Robin and Howard

Writer: Jefferey Brown
Artist: Jefferey Brown
Colors: Silvana Brys
Letters: Jefferey Brown
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $9.99
Nothing is going to keep eleven-year-old Damian Wayne, aka Robin, from protecting the streets of Gotham…well, nobody except his dad, Bruce Wayne—aka Batman. When a father-son crimefighting trip takes an unexpected turn, Bruce decides it’s time for Damian to focus less on being a hero, and more on being a normal kid. Sure that his new school has nothing to offer him, Damian is met with an unexpected rival in Howard—another sixth grader who is just as smart and athletic as Damian is, and who thinks he knows everything there is to know about Batman and Robin. But when Batman suddenly disappears, Damian will do whatever it takes to find his dad—even if it means asking for help from his greatest foe.
Publication Date: November 9, 2021
More Information: Batman and Robin and Howard

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Lisa Gullickson is one half of the couple on the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast, and, yes, the a capella version of the 90s X-men theme is all her. Her Love Language is Words of Affirmation which she accepts @sidewalksiren on twitter.