Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

    Review by:  Lisa

Title:  Bruce Wayne:  The Road Home

Author:   Fabian Nicieza … [et al.] ; art by Cliff Richards … [et al.] ; colors by Ian Hannin … [et al.] ; letters by Dave Sharpe.

Collection:  Graphic Novels

Bruce Wayne may have been missing, but Gotham City’s criminals and crime-fighters kept the action alive in his absense! Now that he’s made a long return trip to the land of the living, Batman finally gets a chance to reunite with those characters closest to him. Featuring Batman’s greatest allies and enemies, friends, foes and loved ones, these eight interconnected tales connect Bruce Wayne’s past to Batman’s exciting future! Spotlighting Oracle, Red Robin, Catwoman, Robin, Dick Grayson, Commissioner Gordon, Ra’s al Ghul, the Outsiders, Batgirl and more!

Although some critics feel this storyline does not fit with the Grant Morrison storyline from The Return of Bruce Wayne, I felt satisfied with the Batman family storylines in The Road Home, making this was one of the more enjoyable Batman graphic novels I have read recently.  As anyone familiar with the basics of Batman knows, although Bruce Wayne has no superpowers like Superman, or magic rings like Green Lantern, his years of mental and physical training make him a force to be reckoned with in Gotham.  So, when he is gone, presumed dead, (he was really lost in time)  others do their best to fill the void he has left behind.  This graphic novel picks up with his return–sort of.  Batman is back, but he’s not letting everyone know yet, instead choosing to scout around incognito in order to see what everyone has been up to in Gotham.   Batman comics tend to be dark, which I have no problem with, but this one is a reminder that a world without a Batman would go on, but it just wouldn’t be the same.  I continue to love the new Red Robin and this one makes me a fan of the new Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, as well.