Two things stood out to me in the first issue of Grant Morrison's new comic, Batman and Robin (with Frank Quitely along for the first issue, on the art), one fairly standard the other a bit odder.

The first is the spooky new villain, Pyg. Pyg's introduction was eerie and effective as all get out. The second is the amount of exposition Morrison put into this comic. It was not inappropriate, as this WAS a number one issue, but it still struck me by just how accommodating he was to the ephemeral "picking this comic up for the first time" reader.

Those were the two things that jumped out to me (having a good villain was the standard thing, by the way), but the issue as a whole worked extremely well for an introduction to the new Dynamic Duo.

Quitely's art was amazing, as usual, especially his brilliant layouts and page designs. Morrison filled the issue with plenty of action, but managed to highlight a number of little character bits (one of my favorites was the way he made a point of showing that Dick loves to eat, as opposed to Morrison's Bruce, who never seemed to eat). Damian was his usual pain-in-the-ass self, but Morrison also made sure to show exactly how effective he is, as well.

The Circus of Strange were interesting, particularly how Quitely drew them.

I loved the sort of "there is still hope!" moment with Gordon and the GCPD and the Bat-signal, which leads to one of the coolest pages from the comic....

"Paracapes" falling through the Bat-Signal? You rule, Quitely!!!!

Also, the little teaser at the end was a kick...

I presume that's Jason as the Red Hood, right? So he has a "Robin," too? Very cool. Great to see Dr. Hurt return. After the Circus of Crime, it'll be nice seeing an "older" villain come back. I also love how Batman #666 now becomes this almost blueprint to the series, with all the characters in this issue who first appeared there.

Definitely Recommended.