When Grant Morrison killed off Bruce Wayne back in 2009, something unexpected happened. Batman comics got really, really good. While this may seem like blasphemy, one cannot deny the popularity generated by the explosion of new series, such as Batman & Robin, capturing the fast-paced, colourful Batman of old, without undermining itself with "ironic" humour. This trade sees the final issues from the old DC Universe collected, with a trio of tales from various creators. Can they live up to Morrison's success?

First up is "The Sum of Her Parts" by Paul Cornell and Scott McDaniel. I was never the biggest fan of McDaniel's work. His art style seems a bit crooked and rough to me, with crude facial expressions. There is, however, a passionate sense of motion and evocative character posing that matches Cornell's action-packed story.

A woman with past connections to Bruce Wayne, and a rather large hole in the middle of her forehead (similar to Phineas Gage, from real life), shows up and plans to use Batman and Robin to get revenge on the billionaire; since Bruce publicly announced his connection to the Dark Knight at the conclusion of the last volume.

Maybe it's something in British water, but Cornell writes the best Dick-Damian dynamic outside of Morrison, making him a welcome takeover. He gives Damian just the right combination of aristocratic sneer and juvenile arrogance without making him unbearable, and just has Dick sigh and laugh it off to wind the kid up. The plot also moves at an admirable pace, balancing exposition and development neatly, and even has a rather clever twist to this unique villain's story too.

Next is the rather chilling "Tree of Blood" from Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, the team that previously worked on Green Lantern Corps together. In this tale, a glowing, enigmatic figure, calling himself the White Knight, begins sadistically killing off innocent family members of several noted Gotham supervillains. Just like on GLC, Tomasi and Gleason work perfectly together, with Gleason visually fleshing out Tomasi's dark imagination.

A heartwarming opening scene does show that he's not all cruel mental torture though, and he does have an excellent, sharp-witted handle on these characters. Apart from making Damian slightly too much of a moody pre-teen. Still though, considering Tomasi is the one taking the reigns of this series in the New 52, I'd say it's in safe hands.

Finally, there's "The Streets Run Red" from Judd Winick, Guillem March, Andrei Bressan and Greg Tocchini. Jason Todd, the second Robin and black sheep of the Bat family, gets busted out of prison by a mercenary gang and it's up to Batman and Robin to save both Jason and his former "sidekick" Scarlet.

This story feels like a fitting dénouement, with both a sense of finality and a sense of "to be continued" on the same page. Winick has almost made the character of Jason his own, having written his return in Under the Hood and the mini-series Red Hood: The Lost Days. Beyond a single story by Morrison early in the series' run, there hasn't been much made of Jason, nor his status as Dick's jealous little brother. That gets explored expertly here, including a scene where Jason winds up Dick and Damian with "are we there yet?" type banter in the Batmobile. His inner monologue also reveals greater insight into his relationship with his extended family. A few plot holes aside, this is a rather good character piece.

Fill-in issues these may be, but each of them has its strengths and features some top-level creative talent on board too. This is a worthy collection of stories, very much in keeping with Batman & Robin's spirit.

Rating: 4/5

Writers: Paul Cornell, Peter J. Tomasi, Judd Winick
Artists: Scott McDaniel, Patrick Gleason, Guillem March, et al
Publisher: DC Comics
Collects: Batman & Robin #17-25 (2010-2011)