Holy cow…
All Star Batman & Robin makes for an interesting read, but be prepared for a different kind of Batman; one that you might not like.
Written by Frank Miller, and with art by Jim Lee, All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder (Volume 1) is an out of continuity re-imaging of The Dark Knight’s early career and first encounter with The Boy Wonder. Collecting issues 1-9 of the never finished series, Volume 1 was released in 2008, to mixed reviews. Despite some awful lines, All Star Batman & Robin makes for an interesting read, but be prepared for a different kind of Batman; one that you might not like.
All Star Batman & Robin Vol. 1 examines Batman’s early career and quickly introduces a young, bereaved Dick Grayson.
All Star Batman & Robin Vol. 1 examines Batman’s early career and quickly introduces a young, bereaved Dick Grayson. After being seemingly kidnapped by Batman, Dick Grayson begins to learn about the Batman’s secrets, his war on crime, and how The Dark Knight plans to recruit him into this war. The story continues to follow Batman as he wages his war on Gotham’s criminals trying to discover who murdered Dick’s parents, whilst Dick is left in the cave to fend for himself and invent a costumed persona.
The story continues to follow Batman as he wages his war on Gotham’s criminals, whilst Dick is left in the cave to fend for himself and invent a costumed persona.
As the book progresses we see the introduction of Black Canary, learn that it was the Joker who was behind the murder of Dick’s parents, discover that a teenage Barbara Gordon spends her evenings as Batgirl, and find out that the Justice League feels the need to rally against Batman as they believe that he has finally taken things too far by kidnapping a young boy. This culminates in a fight between Batman and Green Lantern, where Robin nearly kills Hal, leading to a realisation for both Batman and Robin that there must be time to grieve in the war on crime.
The Justice League feels the need to rally against Batman as they believe that he has finally taken things too far by kidnapping a young boy.
Whilst the premise of the story is pretty good, it’s the actual writing and characterisation that will put a lot of people off. The Batman created by Miller here is one who is violent, psychotic, and enjoys what he does. But he enjoys it too much. The Batman portrayed here acts with a reckless abandon, and enjoys the violence with sadistic glee. He’s also incredibly tough on Dick, treating him like a soldier and forcing him through hardship immediately after the death of his parents. It’s not the usual sidekick relationship that readers are used to; not by a long way.
The Batman portrayed here acts with a reckless abandon, and enjoys the violence with sadistic glee. He’s also incredibly tough on Dick, treating him like a soldier and forcing him through hardship immediately after the death of his parents.
The Batman here is unlikeable and hard to reconcile with the Batman that we are used to reading about, or even Miller’s other incarnations of Batman in Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns. Even if you consider this as early in Batman’s career when he could afford to be more reckless and enjoy what he was doing, Miller takes Batman too far, abandoning the key morals and attributes that are the cornerstone of Batman’s character. Even when Batman is shown to be more introspective and questioning of his actions, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Miller has assassinated Batman’s character. For example, Batman shows no remorse for the fact he almost kills Alfred and Vicky Vale early in the book. Add to this some of the worst lines uttered in comic books ever, including the now infamous “What, are you dense? Are you retarded or something? Who the Hell do you think I am? I’m the Goddamn Batman” line, and it’s hard to find a whole lot to like about All Star’s Batman. Batman is no longer the Dark Knight, but instead just another psycho in a cape and cowl. This is something that many people have called Batman in various comics, but it’s never something Batman has actually been.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that Miller has assassinated Batman’s character. Add to this some of the worst lines uttered in comic books ever!
Where All Star Batman & Robin succeeds is in the characterisation of Dick Grayson. All Star’s Boy Wonder is smart, skilled, introspective and quick to question both Batman’s and his own methods and actions. Another area in which All Star Batman & Robin succeeds is in the artwork by Jim Lee. There’s not much to say other than Jim Lee nails the look of the characters Miller introduces; you might not like these characters, but you can’t argue with the artwork. Likewise the writing isn’t always bad; there’s an interesting story underneath all the bad dialogue, and the relationship introduced is intriguingly different to the normal hero/sidekick dynamic. It’s just unfortunate that the majority of the dialogue turns these good factors into farce. Dig a bit deeper, and there are hints that Batman is trying to find himself, and that he may even realise that he’s taking things too far. Unfortunately this is never explored in detail, meaning it’s impossible to see Batman as anything more than a demented psychopath. One thing I really did like, though, was Miller’s juxtaposed portrayal of Batman and the Joker. By having Batman laughing continuously as he fights Gotham’s criminals and a Joker that doesn’t laugh at all, but instead seems deadly serious, Miller creates a clever paradox with the usual portrayal of these two characters.
One thing I really did like, though, was Miller’s juxtaposed portrayal of Batman and the Joker.
In truth, I did enjoy reading All Star Batman & Robin, but not for the reasons I usually enjoy reading a comic book/graphic novel. I’m not a fan of this version of Miller’s Batman at all, and I’m surprised at the quality of writing on display in places, particularly given how good Year One and The Dark Knight Returns were. Some of the lines (such as the infamous “Goddamn Batman” sequence) have no place in any type of book/comic/graphic novel no matter what the writer is trying to achieve; in this book they lower the tone to the point of absurdity and seem only to have been included for shock value, cheapening the writing as a whole. However, there’s no denying that All Star Batman & Robin is a unique and interesting portrayal of the Batman/Robin relationship dynamic, and a completely new take on Batman’s attitude towards his war on crime. This alone makes it worth a read. Just don’t expect to like the book. Don’t expect to find the Batman you recognise here. And don’t expect many answers as All Star Batman & Robin was never finished. This means that the significance of Batgirl and Catwoman’s appearances are never expanded upon, and the Joker’s motive and endgame is never revealed. Without these points ever expanded on, it makes Miller’s writing appear lazy and lacking depth; All Star Batman & Robin might come across very differently if the story it was trying to tell was ever finished.
There’s no denying that All Star Batman & Robin is a unique and interesting portrayal of the Batman/Robin relationship dynamic, and a completely new take on Batman’s attitude towards his war on crime.
All Star Batman & Robin never lives up to Miller’s other work, in particular Year One or The Dark Knight Returns. The characters are hard to like and the writing is at times terrible and cringe-worthy. The artwork is a high-point and Miller’s treatment of Dick Grayson is much better than that of Bruce Wayne, or the other DC characters that make brief appearances throughout this volume. Nonetheless it’s one of the more interesting interpretations of Batman available, and whether you love it or hate it, it’s worth reading purely for the fact there’s never been a version of Batman quite like this before, or since.
Thanks for reading. Written by Chris Orr, an Inter-Comics contributor. You can follow me on Twitter (@Orr_Man), Tumblr (www.dresslikethehulk.tumblr.com), and check out my back-catalogue of articles at www.dresslikethehulk.com.
Posted on January 25th, 2013
Category: PROJECT COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: All Star Batman & Robin, All Star Batman and Robin Volume 1 review, Bruce Wayne, Chris Orr, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Dick Grayson, Frank Millar, Jim Lee, Joker, Justice League, Project Comics, Superman