Effing fantastic! What a fantastic start to the Batman & Robin series! 
 Typically Robin is Batman's sidekick, but this time he is Bruce's 10-year old son, Damian. Their volatile relationship is messed up to say the least. Bruce is still haunted by his parents' death and the psychological trauma from all of the villains he has faced, and Damian's heart has become twisted from being raised by his mother who turned Damian into a cold-hearted killer. 
 Bruce is trying to fix his son, and Damian fights back while struggling with his own identity. The struggle between the two is tumultuous, dealing with intense emotions and themes of Trust, Acceptance, and Fear. They each have black holes inside themselves that show on their faces and in their words. 
 The action and story feel like someone is grabbing me and throwing me into a pit of lions. Even in the first few pages I gasped and my stomach churned from the severe terror and violence. That is what is so engaging with this novel, I feel fear of what is happening to the characters and the suspense of what is to come. 
 The writers and artists have done a marvelous job because I care about the characters and their story and backstory. There are minor issues of confusion in some of the action intense panels. On more than one occassion it feels amiguous to what is actually happening, and there is a strange jump between the second and third act; however,once you fall into the story, the momentum moves forward at such a breakneck speed that it is hard to put it down. 
 If you are a Batman & Robin fan you must read this book! I'm excited to jump into the next volume, but with a start like this, it is going to be hard to maintain this level of quality.