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This comic takes place about a year after Batman: Year One and it's mostly an origin for the
first Robin, Dick Grayson. Dick is 12 years old and he works at the circus with his parents.
One day, Bruce Wayne goes to the circus with Vicki Vale and they witness Dick's parents
getting killed. Bruce, as Batman, takes Robin to the Batcave and he leaves Vicki behind,
almost dying, because of a car accident involving Batman. The news that Batman has
kidnapped a minor reach the newspapers and the other superheroes very quickly and the
Justice League decides that it's their job to stop him. After spending some days in the
Batcave and after confronting his parents' killer, Dick becomes Robin and together with
Batman they meet with Green Lantern to discuss about the situation.
This is the most straightforward plot synopsis of this comic I can give. There are multiple
side-plots with Black Canary, Joker, Catwoman and Batgirl that really go nowhere and aren't
worth mentioning.
All-Star Batman & Robin is easily one of the most controversial comics of the last few
decades and it's considered by many as one of the worst Batman comics. I understand very well both the people who hate this comic and the ones who love it. As a huge fan of Frank Miller, although there are comics of his I hate, I still always try to find something good in each of his works and I think that there are many good elements to be found here. One of the biggest arguments against this comic is that Batman is acting like a psychopath and that's sort of true, but I think that in order to understand this comic we need to see it for what it is.
In this comic, Bruce Wayne has been Batman for not that long and he has already become a legend. This has clearly affected him a lot and it's the reason sometimes he acts in ways
people would describe as psychotic. In his mind, he's the coolest motherfucker in the world
and whenever that's questioned he feels attacked and without understanding it he gets in
defence mode. I think that's why he insults Robin every time he questions his authority and
makes fun of him. The Batman in this comic is flawed. He hasn't become yet the almost
perfect Batman he evolved to later and he's more arrogant than the Batman in Year One. His biggest flaw is that he doesn't understand yet what makes him what he is. He thinks that he became Batman become he didn't grieve for his parents' death. He thinks that pain makes him what he is and he tries to stop Dick Grayson for grieving, in order to make him more like himself. As the story continues though, he understands that dealing with his pain is what helped him become Batman and by the end he finally let's Dick grieve for his parents.
Personally I really loved this journey. This comic is certainly flawed, but Batman's characters
growth in it is great and very realistically written. Something else I really liked in the comic is
the action, which was really fun. Another thing that's interesting is the multiple different ways
that each group of people sees Batman in. He's seen as everything from a god to a
psychopath and that's very well written and it makes a lot of sense given the different ways
he affects people's lives.
Unfortunately, here end the positive aspects of this comic and start the negative. What I
hated the most in this comic are the absolutely horrible dialogues. They are just bad and
they have no redeeming qualities. The way Batman talks simply feels wrong and no one
talks realistically, but that's far from the worst. The worst is Frank Miller's repetition. Frank
always loved repeated dialogue and in most of his works I really like that and I think it has
actually affected my writing, but the repetition in this is unbearable. At some points
characters repeat things again and again and again and again and again for no good reason and it's so bad that it makes me want to rip my eyes out. Another big flaw of the comic is the sexism. In Frank Miller's defense, I really think that he tried to make this comic progressive and at some points even empowering for women, but he failed miserably. Vicki Vale, a successful reporter, sees going out with Bruce Wayne as the best thing that has ever
happened to her. Black Canary does end up beating the people who were hitting on her, but before that we suffer through word balloon, after word balloon of horrendous pick-up lines and misogynistic comments. Wonder Woman does try to be a badass, but Plastic Man's horrible sexist comments really destroy her character. Almost all women in this talk like stupid creatures that are dependent on men for any kind of happiness and it really affects the comic very badly. Another thing I didn't like in this comic is Batman and Robin's
chemistry. Exactly what I didn't like about it is its absolute absence, up until the end when it's extremely forced. Batman and Robin usually have great chemistry, but in this they kinda hate each other and then without any real explanation they care about each other. I think that Miller missed a few steps in the development of their relationship. Another big problem of this comic is the way that every superhero other than Batman is presented. I think that in the more recent years, with comics like DKIII and Superman: Year One, Frank Miller found a
way to appreciate characters like Superman and Green Lantern, but in this they are presented as complete idiots and annoying assholes and personally I don't particularly enjoy seeing them like that. I really don't understand why, but Frank Miller seems to really hate Green Lantern more than any other superhero and it's honestly frustrating to read. Yet
another flaw of the comic is the fact that almost all the characters are unlikable.
As I said earlier, I understand why Batman acts the way he does, but that doesn't mean that I like him as a character in this. He's really annoying and offensive towards people he shouldn't be. But let's say that's ok, let's say that's understandable, why is everyone else also so annoying though? Robin could very easily be a very likeable and even relatable character, but Frank writes him as an annoying little kid who doesn't appreciate almost anything. Why? Why Frank? Why did everyone had to be so unlikable? This really makes the reading experience less enjoyable. That being said, somehow, maybe thanks to its craziness, this comic manages to be a pretty fun read, so while I probably should, I don't hate it.
One of the things almost everyone agrees on is that the artwork by Jim Lee is amazing. In
my opinion that's only partially true. Batman is drawn really beautifully and so is Robin. Every action scene is awesome and epic. The cars are remarkably drawn and so are all the
surroundings. But, in my opinion, the panel layouts don't really work. Jim Lee is a great artist, but I don't know if he's an equally good storyteller. The placements of some panels feel very weird and multiple times it affects the story badly.
Something I really did like is the lettering by Jared K. Fletcher. Throughout this comic we
read narration from many different characters and every narration box has a very different
style that fits perfectly with each narrator. I especially liked Joker's narration boxes, which
capture his insanity in an amazing way, while they're still readable.
Overall, while this comic has many flaws, I still enjoyed it and while I certainly wouldn't out it
amongst Frank Miller's good comics, I probably wouldn't put it amongst the bad either. It's
somewhere in the middle.
6/10
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