Review: ‘All Star Batman and Robin Vol. 1’
A couple years ago, back when Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All Star Batman and Robin
At the time, it seemed like a good portion of comics critics felt similarly about the book. Then a curious thing happened. More and more reviewers started to come around to the new, harsh [[[Batman]]] that called Robin “retarded” and tried to kill cops.
Now with the first volume conveniently collected, I decided to revisit the series. Had it improved? Had I just given up to early? Or was it still ASSBAR?
As much as I love that nickname, I may have to retire it, because this series is not as bad as I first thought. Miller displays a near-mastery of pulp dialogue and narration, and Lee proves what everyone already knows, that he’s a master draftsman of superhero comics.
In case you’re one of the select few who haven’t read the book, it’s a wholly new take on Batman’s first years, and he’s portrayed as essentially a psycho. Which, in a lot of ways, makes sense. You have to be pretty nuts to put on tights and kick the crap out of muggers.
But Miller pushes it to ugly extremes, with Batman kidnapping Dick Grayson and forcing him into the war on crime, nearly killing fellow superheroes and possibly killing corrupt police officers. This Batman is completely unhinged, which becomes fully apparent in a later issue when the Joker appears and seems sedate by comparison.
Now, this is what Miller does well, crackling along at the harsh edge of humanity as he has in Sin City
The biggest problem here really is the creative team, as Lee’s art represents the superhero norm. His clean, highly detailed and gregarious style evokes the action-heavy, reader-friendly adventure comics. There is nothing dark or edgy about his work, and so paired with Miller’s script it creates a sense of cognitive dissonance. These two do not match.
I can only wonder if Miller’s script would be more effective paired with his art, all harsh lines and heavy contrasts. His successes have all come in books that he’s either drawn himself or teamed with a similarly gritty artist.
That said, I’m still not entirely sold on this thought, as the script becomes painfully stilted at points, especially during Batman’s lengthy narrations on how much he loves to break criminals’ bones. It almost seems in places as if Miller is testing the limits of excess, seeing how far he can go before readers storm the gates to tar and feather him.
Shortly after the famous (and oft-quoted) issue in which Batman declared, “I’m the goddamn Batman,” Miller responded to the loving response by filling a subsequent issue with some dozen or more “goddamn Batman” references. Instead of coming for Miller’s head, the fans lapped it up.
Which, in a way, I can understand. Who doesn’t like to have an occasional macabre fantasy?
But, for good reason, those fantasies tend to be fleeting. If only I could say the same about this series.
Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book journalist. Every Wednesday, he braves Atlanta traffic to visit Oxford Comics, where he reads a whole mess of books for his weekly reviews. Van’s blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.
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All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is a great book, but not for children nor some adults.In later issues, Batman may be coming to the realization that he is nuts. Look for that aspect to be expanded on by Grant Morrison sometime in the near future.
Is Morrison taking over ASSBAR (whoops, I did it again)? He's been exploring that theme in regular, ol' Batman.
Ooohh. Spooky. I was just being flippant.
Or was I being sardonic? That word came to me this morning. Never been used it before, but it seems to fit!
Have you read the first issues of "Batman RIP" by Morrison? It's just as baffling and jarringly out of character as All Star, but nowhere near as funny. Also, it's apparently canon.
This is one of those examples where good art can't save bad writing.
I'm very behind in my reading, so I just read issue 5. The art is beautiful, but the story is still crap. It's like Miller has contempt for all the characters and is showing us that. Wonder Woman being the worst kind of man-hater and calling someone 'Sperm bank'? The only person who struck me as in character was Plastic Man. It reads like a parody of a comic book.
First, this goes against every incarnation of Batman we've seen and degrades the character.Characters can't be degraded. They're not real. If the people who have been given the right to tell stories of the character decide he's going to wear a pink tutu and bugger Comissioner Gordon every issue, then that is what Batman is and does.A lot of us fans need to stop reacting to fictional characters as if they were real. It makes us look like morons to the rest of the world.
Comics characters aren't just fictional entities. They are bankable commodities. They are brand logos. Publishers need to protect their brands because the comics consumers can have fanatical brand loyalty. So yes, comics characters are as real as your credit rating. Totally made up, it's a fiction, but let's see you bank on them when they get abused. And when Batman buggers Commissioner Gordon, it's Gordy that wears the pink tutu! Batman is not a bottom, that is SO out of character.In the end, who "gives the right" to tell stories about a character. Is it the publisher? No. In the end it's the reader, who is asked to suspend their disbelief for a moment and imagine that this character is real. It's the readers who "give the right." If this depiction of Batman degrades that bond of trust between artist/publisher and reader, that believability [that credit rating], critics have every right to complain.Fact is, we are already morons to the rest of the world. That's part of what makes being a member of this super-secret club so fun!
Personally I agree with Miller in his portrayel of batman as a psycopathic sadist, thats how I always thought batman really is and that writers were just softening him up to try and attract younger readers. And I agree with you that he should propably draw the issues himself, I prefer Frank Millers art over Lee's any day, issues would propably com out faster as well, in fact I hear that they are rebranding it as Dark Knight: Boy Wonder and it will run for 6-issues. I dont know if it will start over or if they are just going to continue the series for the remaining issues.