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All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, Vol. 1
written by Frank Miller
Studio : DC Comics
by DC Comics
Release Date : 2008-07-08
Publisher : DC Comics
Released : 2008-07-08
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781401216818
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 31 reviews)
List Price : $24.99
Our Price : $13.24
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Book Description |
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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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The most BadA$$ BAtman ever!!!!! |
If you're a whiny punk, don't pick up this book. Period.
Now that we have that out of the way let me tell you that like Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, All Star Batman is one of the best Batman books you will ever read. Yes, Batman is very different from everything you've seen so far from any other writer, but you have to expect that in a Frank Miller book.
Anyone would go mad in a stinking cesspool like Gotham City and Batman is just one man. Only a psychopath would keep fighting when all he has to do is hang up his gloves and enjoy his billions. That is exactly the Batman that Miller has portrayed: A frakkin' madman, a bat out of hell, an (almost) evil genius.
And then there's the art! 2 words: Jim Lee. This is some of his best work that I have ever seen and bear in mind, Jim Lee is already miles ahead of almost every artist in the business. Each page is so beautiful you have to hold your breath. Simply amazing! I had to read this twice in a row just to appreciate the art, the first time and the story, the second time (I've read it twice again since then and I got the book just a week ago).
The book is brutal and no-holds-barred. I really didn't like the Batman too much, but thats not the point. You're not supposed to like him. You're supposed be terrified and in awe of him.
If you have an unhealthy fixation for a macho guy in tights that you need to love, don't pick up this book.
If you want to see how a normal human being must behave to truly be feared by the underworld and eventually become a legend then this book is definitely for you. Absolutely Bad A$$!
Note: I only saw one glaring mistake in the book: Going from part 1 where Batman is clean shaven (because he makes an appearance as Bruce Wayne), he suddenly has a 5'o'clock shadow in part 2. I never thought Jim Lee would overlook such an obvious mistake but I think he went with it because the facial hair makes Batman look even more crazy and dangerous! |
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Brave New DC Universe |
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After reading all the negative reviews on this series, I was surprised at how much I loved it. I'm referring to the hardbound graphic novel which contains the first 9 (?) issues. Granted the language in it was over the top - how many times can you take the Lord's name in vain in one paragraph? - but the sheer energy and passion of all these angry, excitable DC icons freaking out on each other was unexpected and fascinating, and all of Batman's thoughts and comments on his superhero peers were hilarious! That's just the writing part - Jim Lee's artwork is jaw-dropping! I mean, a 6 - page foldout of the Batcave!!!! If you haven't seen this yet, and you don't mind seeing some of your favorite DC characters go freakin' PSYCHO, you are in for a major treat! I can't wait for the next issues!!!! |
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Excellent Insight into the Mind of Batman...Should Have Parental Advisory |
Frank Miller proves onces again that he is excellent at telling the darker side, and in my opinion, more realistic take of Batman. It is great seeing the formation of Robin along with the similarities and differences between what drove Dick Grayson to become Robin versus what drove Bruce Wayne to become Batman.
I do have a couple of complaints:
There is use of a phrase repeated various times that is normally censored on television. My complaint is not the use of the phrase, as much as how it seemed to be almost used gratuitously, too often, and by too many different people. Even Robin blurts it out at one point. For me, and this is just my opinion, it makes the story a little less realistic as I would not think so many various people would use the same curse phrase, and I felt at times as if I were hearing Frank Miller speaking instead of the actual characters.
This leads me to my second complaint which is simply that the graphic novel should have had a parental advisory on it. There is nothing that indicates that this is for teens and above, and it really should say so.
Regardless, if you are a Batman fan, Frank Miller fan, and a teen or older you will truly enjoy this retelling of the beginning of the Boy Wonder. |
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A Character, Plot, Pacing, Writing Mess |
I can't believe the five star reviews some people are giving. If this was written by anyone other than Miller, there's no way it would get five star reviews. I can understand giving Miller the benefit of the doubt because of the great work he's done in the past, but there's no way I can see that benefit translating into five stars.
As some other reviewers have said, this is Batman as a character from Sin City. Hugely over the top. But there are two problems -- one, Batman doesn't fit as a character from Sin City, and two, this doesn't contain any of the strong writing Miller has displayed in Sin City. While Sin City is over the top, it still has had quite a bit of evocative, beautiful, intelligent writing -- this book has panel after panel, page after page repetition of lame, juvenile exlamations instead. Pages of people saying "love chunks," or "brutal, brutally brutal, so brutal," or various other almost nonsensical descriptions that are just repeated over and over.
On top of the bad dialogue, terrible exposition, and horrible characterizations, this book also has an almost non-existant overiding plot combined with major illogical plot gafs. Again, if this were anyone other than Miller, people wouldn't be saying "well he's trying to evoke this or trying to evoke that," they'd be saying this guy is either a hack, or he just doesn't care and only wants to get paid.
I personally love Ronin, the Dark Knigh Returns, Batman Year One, Daredevil Reborn, the first couple Marha Washington series, Elektra Assassin, and Elektra Lives Again. But this is not the Miller who wrote those works. This is a man who appears to have no passion left for superheroes or mainstream comics. A man who in fact seems to actively hate superheroes. A man who (based on the evidence) couldn't get at all excited about writing this book, but at the same time couldn't bring himself to turn down the money he was being offered to do it. There's no indication that Miller put any effort into this book at all until maybe issue eight or nine (when maybe he got tired off all the bad reviews,) and even those issues are not that good.
There's nothing redeeming about this book. Jim Lee does a great job with the art, but the art is in service to a terrible, juvenile, repetive, badly paced, horrendously plotted, badly written mess -- a mess made all the more depressing because we know what Miller has been capable of in the past. Still, the art is the only reason this books gets two stars from me as opposed to one.
As for all the people talking about what Miller intended or was trying to say -- it's all been said before and it's all been said much better and far less ambiguously. Miller could have said it much better himelf if he'd tried, but he didn't seem to try.
As for giving Miller the benefit of the doubt -- my ability to do so has slipped greatly over the last few years. As someone who couldn't get enough of his work in the eighties, who still ranks him alongside Alan Moore as one of the two greatest comic writers of the 80's and one of the greatest comic writers of all time, I can't remember the last work he's released that didn't feel rushed, didn't feel half hearted, didn't feel like a paycheck more than a passion, and that didn't dissapoint.
Miller has put out some of the greatest works in comics, but not for many, many years now. Maybe (if he cares bout his legacy) it's time he decide if comics are something he really wants to do any longer. |
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Love It or Hate It, But Don't Ignore It |
When I first started reading this comic back in its monthly run in 2005, I dropped it after two issues. Batman referred to himself the "g**damned" Batman. He smacked a 12-year old Robin around. He took delight in fighting cops. It was too surreal to be the Batman that I knew and loved. Plus, the pace was too slow for a comic that experienced delays of six months or more between issues.
But now, a couple of years and two Nolan Batman films later, I picked up Miller and Lee's "All-Star Batman" and read it for what it is: A comic book about a guy that dresses up like a bat and hangs out with a 12-year old boy. At its heart, its both a love letter and a satire. Batman is a weird guy, and nobody knows that better than Frank Miller.
Miller lets readers know that he's in the joke. After being derided in the press for the "g**damned Batman" line, he used it in every subsequent issue. He could have toned the dialogue down, but chose instead to use it as a rallying cry for the series. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Christian Bale uttered the line in the next Batman film.
Robin has always been a hokey character. Christopher Nolan has stated that the Boy Wonder won't be appearing in his series of Batman films. After reading Miller's take, however, I would urge him to reconsider. This is one Robin tale worth telling on the big screen. Miller writes a believable story about a single man who adopts a boy, exposing the situation for what it really is: A kidnapping. Robin humanizes the Caped Crusader, bringing a much-needed levity to Batman's universe with lines such as, "Why is he talking like Clint Eastwood? That's not his real voice!"
When Miller and Lee get around to finishing the series, it could go down as a classic that fits between Miller's "Batman: Year One" and "The Dark Knight Returns." (I can't believe I just wrote that, but g**damn it could be true.) That is, IF they finish the series... |
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