All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder [Paperback]

Frank Miller (Author), Jim Lee (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2009

Frank Miller, the creator of Sin City and talent responsible for some of Batman's greatest tales, (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, BATMAN: YEAR ONE) teams with superstar artist Jim Lee (BATMAN: HUSH) to bring you the high-octane origin story of Dick Grayson's transformation into Robin, the Boy Wonder. This ultimate tale of the Dynamic Duo features guest appearances by Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Black Canary and Batgirl is available in softcover for the first time.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401220088
• ISBN-13: 978-1401220082
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frank Miller is one of the seminal creative talents who sparked the current gigantic sub-industry of motion pictures featuring comic book- initiated product. A sub-industry which had become a super-industry. This most profitable aspect of this millennium's film production, now producing an annual flow of box office profits in the Billions of dollars, was launched when Frank Miller's graphic novel re-take on the classic comic book hero, Batman, resulted in an entertainment industry-wide reconsideration of the genre in the deeper and darker vision Miller brought to it.

Miller re-defined the presentation of comic book characters and heroic fiction with his grand-daddy of graphic novels, "The Dark Knight." This revolutionary work
not only kicked off the series of Batman films based on his redefinition, but a craze for such material that has thrown dozens of such heroes into multiple film franchise heaven. Certainly chief among these has been Miller's uniquely classical take on superheroic narrative, "300," and his "Sin City" books, each of which entered motion pictures with historic successes, and each now in Miller's creative phase of achieving its highly-anticipated sequel. Miller's co-direction of "Sin City" has made him one of the hottest
directors... as well as a guiding creative force...for the new genre. Or one might say "super genre."

Miller's latest graphic novel, Holy Terror, is his first original graphic novel in ten years. Join The Fixer, a brand new, hard-edged hero as he battles terror in the inaugural release from Legendary Comics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars LOVE/HATE, March 3, 2010

By 

Adam Hasser (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (Paperback)

Basically if you want great art and an overly angry Batman with little story then this is for you. If not you should wait and see if Vol. 2 ever gets completed and see if the story picks up.

This collects the first 9 issues of this series. I bought the first 9 single issues, even though they were often delayed. My problem wasn't the over the top take on Batman and the rest of the Justice League (which at times is annoying and a bit much), my problem is that nothing seems to happen in these 9 issues. Sure Jim Lee's art is great and Batman being a d&%$ is kind of fun but outside of Robin's tragedy and some random thugs and cops getting beaten up it's all set up. Set up for a second run that will take God knows how long for them to complete, if it ever happens.

If you want Frank Miller and Batman buy: Batman Year One or Dark Knight Returns.

If you want Jim Lee and Batman buy: Hush.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A poor retelling and characterization. Miller at his worst, July 26, 2011

By 

N. Kunka (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (Paperback)

I completely and utterly disapprove of the way Millar portrays Batman. He comes off as a raving lunatic and has spouts cheesy Spiderman-like lines as he beats up bad guys. I sometimes got confused and thought that it was Wolverine in a Batman suit, with all the "bub," "kiddo," and "snot-nosed punk" dialogue. I'm pretty sure that he or somebody else says "Shut up!" like 900 times in the 200 or so pages that the story takes to unfold. And nothing really does unfold at that. This is mainly the reinventing of the story of the Boy Wonder's recruitment into the Bat family and it starts with Batman kidnapping and psychologically torturing Grayson after the hit on his parents. Miller's Batman is a disgusting, unlikable brute with none of the detective skills or sense of morality that separates the Dark Knight from a street thug. Maybe that's what he was going for, but I found it dispiriting and utterly unheroic. By the end, I found myself in complete agreement with Clark that Batman had to be stopped and that he was more dangerous than some of the criminals on the street. He laughs like a lunatic as he springs into action, takes joy in how many bones he's broken over the course of the evening and says things like, "I love being the goddamn Batman." Maybe that works for the Punisher, but I like my Bruce Wayne to stick a little closer to the light side of the gray line.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Batman EXTREME!!!!!, November 14, 2009

By 

C. Soares (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (Paperback)

Few things can be said about Frank Miller. To some, he's one of the greatest things to even happen to the comic book industry, creating some of the most influential comic stories of all time. Others would rather have him roll over and die. All Star Batman falls between the two of these options, you either hate it, love it, or think it needs to tighten up a little bit.

I fall into the third option. I wasn't sure on whether to pick up this collection because so many people were just trashing this book. But I figured that I should try it and decide afterwords. While there are some gripes I do have about this book, overall I thought it was a good story and needed a little work. one of the biggest redeeming factors is Jim Lee's art work. It's just plain incredible. His Batman is how the character should look. But this Batman isn't the right Batman. I much prefer his work in Batman: Hush.

Now the main issue I have with All Star Batman is Batman himself. Miller makes him a deranged psychopath. It's like he's Joker in tights with his jumping off buildings while laughing maniacally. It just doesn't fit at ALL! Add on the fact that Batman partakes in random acts of fornication. Like I said, nothing fits. Gordan is a cheating sleaze, Wonder Woman is pure estrogen (more than she usually is), Superman and Green Lantern act like pansies, and Plastic Man is...well, he's just nuts.

While I have my issues with this series, I did enjoy the story. Redoing Robin's origin is a strong base to start from, though I was expecting more Batman and Robin teamwork and more Joker.

Overall, this collection is an okay collection to tear into, despite the extreme character changes.