World Famous Comics: All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, Vol. 1
All-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder, Vol. 1
By: Frank Miller Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 240 Publication Date: July 08, 2008 Release Date: July 08, 2008
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!
Oh No! 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, 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 a bit, 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 much "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).
The stake in Miller's reputation If this series is (as Frank Miller sees it) the prequel to The Dark Knight Returns concept, then The Batman quite completely an unsympathetic creature indeed. More likely, though, Miller's writing has simply taken a self-indulgent turn for the worse and The Batman is just fine. In many ways, it's as if Miller's become the misanthropic Dark Knight he's written about so much. Thing is, up until about the The Dark Knight Strikes Back, even that Batman had a heart somewhere deep down below.
And yes, kicking ASB&R at this point is kicking a giant, money-making cash-cow of a book while its down. But it bears repeating: this is a train wreck of a Batman storyline. Mind you, Jim Lee's artwork is firing on all cylinders. The downside to that is he's saddled with Miller's misogyny. While Lee's always been drawn to sexy takes on superheroines, the cheesecake factor is uncomfortably high here (see reducing Black Canary to a clone of one of Miller's Sin City vixens for the most egregious example in this volume). The characterization of all characters (particualrly the Justice League) is laughable, if not more than a little insulting to the reader's intelligence.
In short, curiousity may draw you in to this one, but don't say you weren't warned.
A good book I am about halfway through this book, i have to say that to me this book is un-Frank Miller. Sure it has all of the narrations like his other works, but the quality of writing and character dialog seem somewhat off. But i think i can understand where Frank is comming from here. It is practically Batman: Year 3 redone. Batman is still a rookie and trying to adjust to being Batman (like using a clint eastwood accent at times or trying to perfect a certain "Batman voice") and dealing with his own psychosis. I think frank does a good job at showing that Bruce/Batman is not as emotionally scarred as he will be. I'll have to read the rest, but so far i am enjoying it.
Frank Miller & Jim Lee make an honorable team Wow, what a book. Before this item was released, I had read all comics in this series, and I could not wait till DC released a graphic novel. It was worth the wait. It's a beautiful book, with some neat special features. I recommend this graphic novel to anyone who supremely enjoys Sin City. Because in a way, Miller and Lee make Basin City come to mind mind every time I read it. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do!
NOT EVEN ROB LIEFELD COULD PRODUCE SUCH HORRID WORK! Not counting Jim Lee's beautiful art, everything about this comic is just plain, downright terrible. Not only is the plot non-existent, the scripting completely misguided and appalling, the characterization on a par with the Joel Schumacher farce BATMAN & ROBIN, but to see that this is being published in a prestigious hardcover format is just about one of the worst things that DC has foisted on its readers (now I know how Alan Moore feels about them!).
When Rob Liefeld presented his HEROES REBORN version of Captain America, everyone and his dog blasted it as a waste of paper. Well, what Frank Miller is doing to Gotham City in this is about a billion times worse!
And let's not get started on the repeated delays to the scheduling/publishing of this book. It's not like it has a plot or any real sense of purpose or mystery. It's simply Frank Miller hack-writing to his bile's content. ENOUGH ALREADY! We get that you were a weedy kid who has to always resort to stealing from other's plots and yet always has to take all the credit and accolades bestowed upon you!
Man, that Wertham guy had nothing on what you are currently doing to the comic community! (At least he's no longer around!)
Any minute now and Alfred's gay lover is bound to stumble into the Batcave and catch Bruce with his pants down... (Don't say you weren't warned, readers! You know, there's a reason the rats are the first to abandon the sinking ship! I just wish Miller would learn from it....)
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