Some thoughts about Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P. #1

It's time to remember one of the most important members in the Batman family.

Bruce and his children are reunited for Alfred's funeral and this is the right moment to show what he really meant to all of them.

First of all, I still can't believe this is actually happening. I can't believe that DC Comics decided to stick to such a poor decision as killing Alfred, especially because it comes from such a poorly received run like Tom King's Batman, it wasn't well-executed at all and it was mostly done for shock value.

That being said, Peter Tomasi (and James Tynion IV I guess but I'm calling this more of a Tomasi story because it fits more with his style) is willing to take the best from a bad situation. Each one of the members of the Batfamily have something to say about the passing and they're all pretty appropriate for the most part.

Damian is the first to tell a personal story concerning Alfred and is suited around the Batman Incorporated era just when Bruce, er, "came back to life" and was just getting used to having a biological son so their relationship was tense. Chris Burham's pencils here are perfect here considering how much he contributed to such period.

Then comes Tim with a tale about how he helped Bruce during his worst times and I'm pretty sure this is where most of Tynion's contribution goes since he has always been obsessed with Tim (despite of not writing him particularly well) and it's appropriate at the very least.

Jason's segment is more interesting since he had a more unique take on Alfred because of his own condition as an outlaw and even then shows how much he appreciated him. Jason even manages to give a more useful advise than Tim.

Barbara is also present and the best part of it is when she tells how everything went to hell in Gotham because "Bruce went into a vacation to the beach" and seriously, anything that criticizes King's run is welcomed to me. There's also another segment where she explores the friendly dynamic she had with Alfred.

Finally, "Ric" Grayson receives his moment and really, I thought this would be ruined from the beginning for the fact that he's not Dick but they take the good decision to depict a scene where the actual Dick Grayson takes a part but this only demonstrates how bad of a decision was to change his personality.

Burham is accompanied by Eddy Barrows, Diogenes Neves, Marcio Takara, David LaFuente and Sumit Kumar on pencils and they all do a good job during their respective sections.

Is a decent special overall but God, I wish Alfred came back anyway.