I hated this issue. The cover teases a Batman & Robin appearance, which it has, but not how you expect. Because the Robin on the cover, and inside, is wearing Jason Todd’s costume. But it’s Dick Grayson in the outfit. I absolutely HATE it when DC Comics ignores it’s history, in this case having Dick wear the wrong costume. Sure, the bare legs and pixie boots look silly, but that’s what he WORE!

The story is told in two parts, with Nightwing paying a visit to an old friend, in which they promptly reminisce about the time Batman & Robin came to Bludhaven to investigate some mysterious murders. Supposedly it was in the early days of Robin’s career – all the more reason for his original costume – and he was eager to prove himself.

Instead, they are joined by Baby Ruthless, a bat-wielding woman is a baseball uniform (sort of), and a bustier. Suddenly, the pixie boots don’t sound too silly, do they? The three of them manage to crash an illegal toxic waste dumping, which the Judge had hoped would end Bludhaven’s romantic fling with gambling and casinos. The fray that follows turns into Robin’s first major mistake, and he just knows Batman will bounce him off the team.

Following the flashback, Nightwing hopes for some help from Baby Ruthless (now retired) in taking down the Judge once and for all. Whether Baby Ruthless comes out of retirement to assist Nightwing remains to be seen. If so, let’s hope she has a new costume.

The flashback sequence was drawn by Klaus Janson, whose work we seldom see these days. It’s great to see old-fashioned, hand-drawn comic books by a master of the craft. The moment I saw it, I’d hoped for it to be a long-forgotten story by Jim Aparo or Eduardo Baretto. But Janson is good enough. However, seeing his work side-by-side with the digitally polished work of Jamal Campbell only widens the gap between the qualities of the two artists.

Rating: 5/10 (mediocrity is its own punishment)