Robin Year One (Robin) [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• ISBN-10: 1401218466
• ISBN-13: 978-1401218461
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,032,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A competent Robin, October 4, 2008

By 

Kauffinbauchser (Tacoma, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robin: Year One (Batman) (Paperback)

I just loved this book. Robin here is depicted as a competent crime-fighter instead of the bumbling child he is so often relegated to.
I don't know how I missed this one, I suppose it's a "sleeper hit". Rather than explaining and over explaining his origin story the book starts with Robin new at, but in the thick of his partnership with Batman. Most of the story is narrated by Alfred who's character achieves a deepness here I don't think I've read anywhere else. It is almost the story of Alfred as a father and his two sons Dick and Bruce, rather than the usual father/son relationship with Batman and Robin.
The coloring in the book is amazing. Yellows, greens and oranges are used instead of the standard blue, gray, and blacks. I though that was a fascinating choice. The pencils seem like an ode to a 40's or 50's Batman era.
I can't say enough good things. If you've been let down by "year one" books before give this a shot, it might make a believer out of you.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why it's the Dynamic "Duo", August 11, 2005

By 

Corum Seth Smith (Hendersonville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robin: Year One (Batman) (Paperback)

In his crusade against crime, Bruce Wayne (Batman) meets a young man whose parents are murdered. Moved to deep compassion, Bruce adopts the boy and trains him as a crimefighter. Dick Grayson shows great potential and promise.

However, many have doubts. Alfred fears that another boy has had his childhood stolen, and Commissioner Gordon heartily disapproves; what if the child is hurt? Alfred, as the narrator of the story (great choice) relives the difficulties of raising Bruce. Can Robin prove he is worthy of superhero status?

"Robin: Year One" does a great job of showing the relationship between Alfred, Dick, and Bruce. Alfred is the father of the two men, giving aid and support that make Batman and Robin possible. Dixon does a magnificent job making it feel like a "family."

Using contrast, Dixon portrays a brooding Batman whose darkness is brightened by the undying optimism and good cheer of Robin, the Boy Wonder. While Bruce did not have many friends growing up, Dick is extremely well adjusted socially. Together, one complements the other, and a truly dynamic duo is born.

However, like any family, there are moments of strife, tension, and sorrow. Dixon paints such a believable and identifiable picture of the Robin character that readers will feel as Robin feels. Can he prove that he is worthy? Will he lose his childhood in a scramble for justice?

"Robin: Year One" is one of the best Batman universe graphic novels out there.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your normal "Year One.", February 11, 2003

By 

Blake Petit "Novelist, columnist & reviewer" (Ama, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robin: Year One (Batman) (Paperback)

The Year One story has become commonplace in comics today, and far too often the writers attempt to retell or update the characters origin, failing in the attempt. (For a perfect example of this see Spider-Man: Chapter One. Better yet, dont.) This story evades that trap entirely and turns into a great character study of the boy who would become Nightwing and his relationship with his shadowy father-figure.

Chuck Dixon, between his work on Robin, Nightwing and the Birds of Prey, has got to be the most successful writer of Batmans family there ever was. In this book he teams with Scott Beatty to craft a tale not of the origin of Dick Graysons Robin, but of his early adventures after he already secured the job. It shows off a new villain, makes it clear that things were not as easy as it would seem, and showcases the precarious nature of the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in a fashion as good or better than any Ive ever seen.

Dixon and Beatty also fill in a few blanks along the way. In encounters with later Robins -- Jason Todd and Tim Drake -- we learn that the criminal Two-Face was obsessed with Batmans junior partner. This story shows off how that began. We get to see a lot of the lamer villains -- the Mad Hatter in particular, in a far creepier light than usual. We even get some good character moments between Robin and then-Captain Jim Gordon, who is one of the best supporting characters in the history of comics.

All in all, a really good book for the Batman or Nightwing fan.