March
17 Batman Annual #25

Creators: Judd Winick, writer; Shane Davis and Mark Morales, artists
DC, 48 pages, color. $4.99
So? I have to admit that it’s fun to watch continuity make a comeback and be used in interesting ways to make these fictional universes do what they should: Tell big, exciting serialized stories. This is the first annual in quite a while from DC, and Winick answers all the questions surrounding the resurrection of Jason Todd. This is all Jason’s story, and it’s continuity heavy while proving that doesn’t necessarily have to be clunky, convoluted and dull. For those who missed it, Jason Todd replaced Dick Grayson as Robin back in the early 1980s, when Grayson adopted the Nightwing identity as leader of the New Teen Titans. Jason was less than popular and in 1988 DC experimented with interactivity by publishing a story in Batman #427 in which Jason could live or die and letting readers call 800 numbers to vote on the story’s outcome. Jason was voted down and eventually replaced by the more palatable Tim Drake as Batman’s sidekick. But a couple years ago, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee made us all think Jason was back in their blockbuster “Hush,” and Jason was indeed back later in tales written by Winick in Batman. Finally, this issue tells the tale of how Jason survived and features the unexpected delight of seeing the alternate page Jim Aparo drew for Batman #428 -- in which Jason lived -- appear for real in a DC book. Again, these days DC is doing everything right when it comes to creating a universe with continuity and fun tales based on it that pay off for the fans. That’s what this is, and it works. Grade: B