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| All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, Vol. 1 | 
 enlarge | Author: Frank Miller
Creator: Jim Lee
Publisher: DC Comics
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $13.37
You Save: $11.62 (46%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 10908
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.5 x 6.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 1401216811
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781401216818
ASIN: 1401216811
Publication Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Book Description
The talents responsible for some of Batman's greatest tales, Frank Miller (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, Sin City) and Jim Lee (BATMAN: HUSH) team up for the first time to bring you Batman and Robin like you've never seen them before in this reinvention of these classic characters. All hell breaks loose at the circus as Bruce Wayne and gal pal Vicki Vale witness a young boy's life shattered before their eyes. Orphaned, Dick Grayson has nowhere to go and no one to turn to -- no one but Bruce Wayne! Expect action, adventure, guest-stars and the unexpected as Miller and Lee deliver the ultimate tales of the Dynamic Duo!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Supremely disappointing July 11, 2008
21 out of 29 found this review helpful
The much delayed All-Star Batman & Robin seemed to have a can't miss formula. Frank Miller, the man behind the greatest Batman story to ever see the light of day with The Dark Knight Returns, as well as Sin City, 300, and Ronin, gets the scripting duties, with another industry legend in Jim Lee providing the pencil work. A recipe for success right? Sadly no. All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder is instead a supremely disappointing new take on the Batman mythos (hence the term "All-Star", which is basically DC's answer to Marvel's "Ultimate" universe) that draws all it's problems from Miller's script. First off, the dialogue is nothing short of atrocious (the much maligned line, "I'm the g*******d Batman!" will either make you laugh hysterically or cringe), and the story as a whole just plods along with no real direction. Perhaps Miller is gleefully throwing caution to the wind and satirizing himself with his methods? Perhaps he's just phoning it in? Who knows for sure, but either way, there just isn't anything enjoyable here other than Jim Lee's work. His pencils are spectacular as always, made even better with the inks of his longtime collaborator Scott Williams. Once you lay your eyes on their rendition of Vicky Vale, you'll be absolutely salivating. Other than the artwork though, there's nothing here worthy of your attention, which is an absolute crying shame. You may like it however if you approach it with a different perspective, but as a whole, All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder is a supreme disappointment in nearly every sense of the term.
 A Compelling and Highly Misunderstood Exploration July 24, 2008
21 out of 31 found this review helpful
All-Star Batman & Robin begins with young Dick Grayson, happily flying through the air, bathed in rich, nourishing golds and pure, untainted whites. It is contrasted, on the next page, with a tramped up Vicky Vale, adorned in nothing but her undergarments, lit with subtle carnal reds, bathed in cool, almost depressing blues. The narrative box at the top of the page announces "Gotham City." Throughout the rest of this issue, we'll come to know Gotham as an infectious disease of the soul, constantly bathing its inhabitants in depressing blues and lustful/violent reds. It is a place where there is no innocence and little room for morality. Your only choices are to become a jaded victim, a remorseless monster who preys upon jaded victims or (in the case of The Batman) a jaded monster who preys upon remorseless monsters who prey upon jaded victims. With only a short stay in this virus of a city, Dick's world of love and purity becomes quickly tainted. He is forced to witness the death of his parents (caused by Gotham criminals), at which point those brilliant golds and pure whites seem to leave him forever.
I first became aware of the growing rumbles of dissatisfaction with this title when the fourth installment came out. Everyone was livid that Dick still hadn't become Robin yet. They saw everything leading up to that moment as drawn out and unnecessary, expecting to quickly arrive at the formation of The Batman & Robin team. Of course, anyone could have (and has) written that story. Instead, Frank Miller endeavors to do something far bolder, here. He's less concerned with how Bruce and Dick became Batman and Robin, and far more concerned with how Batman and Robin work through their history of violence and victimhood in order to become heroes.
It's unfortunate that this volume only contains the first half of this story, as much of this growth and realization first begins in the ninth installment (where those whites and golds curiously surface again). But still, bathed in the all prevailing blues and reds of the red light district that is Miller's Gotham City, we can begin to understand the basic idea. It seems to me that Miller began by asking himself "What kind of a city creates a man driven and passionate enough to become Batman?" and then answers with another question: "What kind of a Batman would that city force him to become?" Both of those questions are eloquently answered in these early issues. In a sense, Gotham is the strongest, most fleshed out character in this volume, with Batman only serving as its pawn, and Robin in turn serving as Batman's pawn. The true wonder of the next volume will be watching these characters step back from their anger and violence, re-examine their purpose, and return as heroes. For me, that makes this the most honest and compelling portrait of Batman's early years. A man driven enough by crime and violence to take it into his own hands doesn't craft a clear cut superhero morality over-night. First, he must burn off some of the adrenaline and hatred that drove him to action in the first place.
This is a highly misunderstood volume, praised for Jim Lee's art (some of his finest yet) but, at best, playfully mocked for Miller's over the top depiction of "The Goddamn Batman". I would implore all readers of this volume to look beyond the obvious. Watch the art, listen to what Miller is trying to tell you about Gotham and the effect it has on people. Allow yourself to move beyond the shock that this is not the Batman you know. He will get there.
 Extremely disappointing! July 18, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book single-handedly ended my comic book collecting days. Growing up, I was a huge fan of Jim Lee, McFarlane, Quesada, (I'll still buy anything Mark Shultz does :) etc. Jim Lee's Hush series is still, in my book, one of the greatest chapters of Batman ever produced. And then Frank Miller... Remember the "Dark Knight"... when you first held it in your hands? You opened it up and were thrust into this pulse pounding, heart wrenching story of light and dark, good and evil. Well... that was my experience anyway, so there was no doubt that two of Batman's best creator's would come up with something great. Wrong.
Into the 3rd issue of this series, I was still thinking that this was all some joke...that suddenly both creators would come out and say, "Just kidding, now it's time to really write and draw 'Batman." But it wasn't a joke. They were serious with this trash. And that's exactly what it is. Jim Lee of course, draws beautifully as always but a nice paint job on a tombstone doesn't change its substance. I've heard some reviewers say that you might enjoy this if you're open minded. Wrong. This story from any and every direction still stinks. If you want to really read some good Batman, pick up Tim Sale's stuff or Hush, but please leave this on the shelf. Years ago, a story like this would have threatened to end the careers of its talents. Just shows you how far we've come. One other warning... is the profanity is at an all time high, so you definitely don't want to buy this one for the kids.
Oh No! July 24, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
What starts out as an intriguing concept to retell Batman as more on the "edge" and who sees his fight against villainy as a war, where people for lack of a better word, are drafted (Robin) - ends up being a story, as many reviewers have noted, where it seems Miller is trying to push the limits.
While some of the aspects are in some way, part of the Batman myth (after all, it is a war of sorts), others are such a drastic retelling that Batman is more "crazed" than heroic, and Robin does not lighten things up, but one does feel sorry for him.
I wanted to love this comic. After all, Frank Miller has written - I assert - the best comic works ever in "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Born Again" (not to mention "Year One", "Love and War", "Sin City", and "Ronin"). This book has the art of a modern graphic novel or comic book, but the tone of a "Sin City" - except, Batman is, and never translates well into a "Sin City" genre. Miller's second writing disaster (The Dark Knight Strikes Again being the other).
Almost Terrible July 11, 2008
7 out of 16 found this review helpful
What a disappointment. I waited a couple years for this? The characters and story is just awful and makes me rethink my love for Frank Miller. It's awful. It's all stuff we've seen before but with a super-corny make over. I can't believe I wasted three hours reading this yesterday. It's terrible. The art and colors are great but they don't make the story any better. Yes, the stories in these comics are that terrible. Yuck. I'm selling my copy right away.
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