All*Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder
by Frank Miller and Jim Lee

This book takes a lot of criticism for making Batman a lot more violent than his true nature as a hero is. And it’s by no means one of the better Batman stories told by Frank Miller. That aside, though, I really enjoyed reading it and seeing a different side to the Dark Knight.

It’s a retelling of the origin of Batman’s sidekick, Dick Grayson aka Robin. Bruce Wayne goes to the circus with is hot date, and witnesses Dick’s parents get murdered right in front of him. Dick is placed in taking in by some corrupt cops and Batman saves him from them. He takes him in but news hits that Batman kidnapped an orphaned 12 year old boy. He mentally tortures the boy by leaving him in his dark cave with only rodents to eat as a food source. He tries his best to scare the kid, because he believes it would leave him to time to grieve for his parents.

“I’m TORTURING this boy. TORTURING him. Just LOOK at him. He’s a BABY. And I’m TORTURING him. It’s a TERRIBLE thing to do. But it’s the only WAY. It’s the only WAY. If I don’t keep the PRESSURE up, he’ll find time to GRIEVE. I can’t let him GRIEVE. GRIEF is the ENEMY. There’s no TIME for GRIEF. There’s no ROOM for GRIEF. GRIEF turns into ACCEPTANCE. FORGIVENESS. GRIEF forgives what can NEVER be forgiven. NEVER.” – Batman

This eventually backfires on Batman later on in the book with a little altercation between Robin and Green Lantern.

Upon hearing the news of the boy’s kidnap, Superman gets pissed off at Batman and fears that his actions will taint the reputation of the JLA. He calls a meeting with Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and some shape shifting dude that I don’t know. Wonder Woman thinks they should kill Batman to set an example but Superman believes in justice and thinks they should turn him in.

“I told you Diana, I told you all. From the first moment I heard of that maniac, I knew his methods would make us all look like monsters. We’d all be soiled by him in the public eye.” -Superman

In the end, this whole conflict with Superman went nowhere. I was hoping to see a battle or at least some dialogue between the two but it didn’t come to fruition.

Much of the criticism of the book comes from the depiction of Batman. In this story he’s violent and sadistic. He loves bringing fear to his victims and he loves to mentally and physically beat the scum of Gotham City. I like how they often referred to Batman as “the goddam Batman” because in this story he truly is.

There many brief cameos; Black Cannery gets an entire issue (#3) and appears briefly in others. Joker and Catwoman appear for half an issue (#8). Batgirl very briefly appears in an issue (#6), even though she’s on the cover. Superman and Wonder Woman appear in half an issue (#5). It just all left me wanting more. This series had a lot of potential but it couldn’t deliver.

It’s currently in hiatus, which is a fancy way of saying it’s production got cancelled. There are currently 10 issues available but the HC edition only collects the first 9 issues, as a Volume 1.

The best thing about the book is the art by Jim Lee, and I’d recommend it as a purchase even if just for that. You can pick up All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, Vol. 1 over at Amazon or visit your local comic shop.