Comic Review: All-Star Batman and Robin #1

Today marked the return of Frank Miller in the world of Batman comic books. Writer of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One (basically regarded as the best Batman stories ever), Miller has the ability to send fanboys rushing to comic stores by the millions whenever his name is attached to anything remotely Bat-related. Also able to generate such a sales frenzy (even when paired with horrible writing) is artist Jim Lee, who joins Miller on DC Comics' biggest summer release, All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder.

The comic marks the launch of DC's "All Star" line of books, in which top talent will be matched with marquee characters like Batman and Superman. The philosophy behind the All Star brand is that each series will feature the "iconic" versions of the characters, unlinked to any specific continuity or reliance on character history. In other words, to understand All Star Batman, you don't need to know the ins and outs of his every adventure from the past 10 years, you just need to have heard of the character at some point in your life.

With stand-alone storylines being the advertised nature of All Star, it seems peculiar that Miller would spend his first issue retelling the story of how Dick Grayson became Robin. In comics, the revision of origin stories is commonplace, but their purpose is almost exclusively limited to serving as a starting point for a new status quo or emphasis for the chosen character. Since the All Star titles are supposed to exist separate from the specificities of any one writer's version of the heroes, why dedicate an entire All Star storyline to the details of a main character's origin? Secondly, the origin of Robin is probably the third most commonly told story in the history of comics, behind only the origins of Batman and Superman. In my life, I've read at least six other elaborate and independent takes on this story, not to mention seen a movie and a TV episode about the same topic. Even the casual Batman fan has had plenty of opportunities to see these events unfold before picking up All Star Batman and Robin #1.

That said, it is not as if Frank Miller does an unsatisfactory job in telling his version of the murder of Dick Grayson's parents. He does a decent job in the limited space he has here in making their deaths feel tragic, and he adds a potentially interesting new plotline for the future by suggesting that corrupt Gotham cops were involved. As expected, Miller manages to throw his fair share of grim and gritty heroism into the story. The best part of the comic is Batman's internal monologue about the snake venom-laced Batarang he uses on the Graysons' killer. Still, the 18th version of the same story in the past 50 years can only be so interesting, and it's doubtful that any longtime Batman fans will be truly captivated by this first issue.

One really can't describe All Star Batman and Robin's first chapter as fantastic, though the larger story it begins may very well turn out to be. If that happens, my labeling of this current issue as mediocre will be quickly revoked. However, for that to be the case, Miller must eventually come to present us with something new.

Kize grade: C+