A Perfect Eulogy
from PureNerdNip
With the passing of Damien Wayne last week, all of the months Bat books will be stamped with the marque of 'Requiem' as each title feels the ripple of the most recent Robin's passing. In this Bat-family memorial service, Batman & Robin 18 serves as the perfect wordless eulogy. Without a single word of dialogue Tomasi crafts true honest emotion in the pages of this book while reminding us that comics are a visual medium for storytelling.
A eulogy is not a time for commentary nor proselytizing. It's not a time to discuss whether cousin Timmy feels vindicated or if uncle Grant should have even been invited. It is not the time to focus on the faults or even the triumphs of the deceased. Rather it is a way for those still living to honor and uphold their memory and use this period of mourning to bring a sense of closure.
I am admittedly not a big fan of Damien; but I have loved Batman for most of my life, and seeing Bruce's torment so evidently laid out is just heartbreaking. He is supposed to always be in control of his emotions; but such raw nerves and palpable pain definitely got to me. If a picture is worth 1000 words you might use them to draw comparisons to B&R 14 where Bruce first embraced Damien as his son, or A Death in The Family where yet another of his understudys hung lifeless in his arms.
Instead, I closed this issue with the same silence played out in the rest of this book, a tear tracing its way down my cheek, as Batman once again says goodbye.
