futurememory's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my god. Hilariously, horrible writing. #9 had to be the best, though.
All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder is a parody of everything batman. Batman is essentially, batcrazy. He's a complete brute that just beats people up for the hell of it. But oh, the parodies! Haha! The Justice League is ruthlessly skewered (I love the Superman here) and there's just nonsense and the most hilarious catchphrases scattered throughout. If you want great Batman writing, proceed with caution, and take everything with a grain of salt.
This is just so bad, but so good, in a so bad way.
P.S. The art really is spectacular, however.
All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder is a parody of everything batman. Batman is essentially, batcrazy. He's a complete brute that just beats people up for the hell of it. But oh, the parodies! Haha! The Justice League is ruthlessly skewered (I love the Superman here) and there's just nonsense and the most hilarious catchphrases scattered throughout. If you want great Batman writing, proceed with caution, and take everything with a grain of salt.
This is just so bad, but so good, in a so bad way.
P.S. The art really is spectacular, however.
kavinay's review against another edition
2.0
It gets two stars for exposing how ridiculous Green Lantern is. Other than that, it's an object lesson in that some creators can deliver a definitive take on a character and then proceed to completely destroy their credibility thereafter. This is Batman on shrooms.
ketallpot's review against another edition
3.0
I... don't really know how to rate this book. It's not a very good representation of Batman and Robin (or any one else for that matter) but it is very funny. I guess a three for entertaining me.
wbforeman999's review against another edition
2.0
You don’t need me to tell you how bad this is i’ll let other reviewers do that everyone’s talked about the Frank Miller writing at nausea and how cuckoo it is It is they say the goddamn Batman more than 10 times it’s not just in that one panel. The thing that got me was Jim lee’s art some of it is gorgeous. The splash pages are great to look at. then the ugly side of that is how he draws women in this book straight out of an early image 90s comic where it’s a lot of close-ups of the female anatomy, and the women just don’t look natural they look like ugly porn star pinups it’s just ugly to look at
howattp's review against another edition
3.0
It's a frenetic, harsh book that's a really intense retelling of Batman's adoption of Robin. The artwork is absolutely stunning.
samantics90's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure what to give this book. It was so off the wall, but hilariously so. Good "off the wall," if you may. If you want to read a Batman story that will just constantly have you laughing and shaking your head, this is the book to read.
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic Novel BookClub Sept 2016:
This one was....weird. It's very, very, VERY Frank Miller. There are definitely some positions of the women and choices by them that are glaring Old White Boy's Club, at least one of which really pissed me off as a female reader. Which actually bleeds into everything he did with Canary and Diana, too.
I think the first thing that grabbed me while reading it was how well the artist did Dick's eyes, and really a lot of the art, when it wasn't being "gritty, bloody or gratuitious." I loved every single thing Alfred. I loved the Gordon's appearance, (except for the mother/wife, being shown only once as an alcoholic), but both Father and Daughter were lovely in the little clip we got.
Batman really was an eye/mental sore for most of his whole appearance.
This one was....weird. It's very, very, VERY Frank Miller. There are definitely some positions of the women and choices by them that are glaring Old White Boy's Club, at least one of which really pissed me off as a female reader. Which actually bleeds into everything he did with Canary and Diana, too.
I think the first thing that grabbed me while reading it was how well the artist did Dick's eyes, and really a lot of the art, when it wasn't being "gritty, bloody or gratuitious." I loved every single thing Alfred. I loved the Gordon's appearance, (except for the mother/wife, being shown only once as an alcoholic), but both Father and Daughter were lovely in the little clip we got.
Batman really was an eye/mental sore for most of his whole appearance.
davybaby's review
2.0
There are six uses of "the goddamn Batman" in this nine-issue graphic. There is also this exchange, which pretty much sums up the dialogue in the series:
BLACK CANARY: "Batmobile"...?
BATMAN: Not one word. I've taken enough grief about calling my goddamn car the goddamn Batmobile. I'm the goddamn Batman and I can call my goddamn car whatever the hell I want to call it.
BLACK CANARY: Whatever you say, man of mine. That's just a totally queer name for a car, is all.
I don't have a problem with the phrase, "the goddamn Batman." I don't even have a problem with Batman saying it. It's kind of funny the first time, and it gives you the interesting impression of Batman as a narcissistic weirdo, which rings fairly true. It's the over-use of it, and the complete lack of narrative voice between the characters. Black Canary and Robin both insult Batman by using queer, and every character's 90's teenager dialogue sounds like Frank Miller writing a parody of Kevin Smith.
That said, here are some of the more interesting points made in the series:
- Green Lantern is berated by Batman for having potentially limitless power, but lacking the imagination or intelligence to do anything interesting with it.
- Batman's training of Robin is described as an act of torture, kidnapping, and drafting of a soldier for war. In fact, the main arc of the series leaves the reader in serious doubts about Batman's status as a hero at all.
- Batman, as seen by Robin, is clearly insane. Robin's cooperation looks a lot like Stockholm Syndrome, and only occurs after he's been traumatized, threatened, and neglected until he's reduced to literally hunting and eating a rat in the Batcave.
While the relationship between Batman and Robin is interesting, it seems like partially intentional self-parody of the absurd grittiness that Miller helped bring to the character twenty years before. I'm curious, had the series continued, if it would have justified itself rather than simply continuing the trend of gritty-for-the-sake-of-gritty.
Miller proved his ability with Year One and The Dark Knight Returns that he can write an excellent Batman book. But in this, the lazy writing overshadows the good points and interesting takes on characters. In fact, the lazy writing, along with Jim Lee's consistently excellent but sexist art, actually made me embarrassed to read this comic. Miller and Lee are two of the most self-indulgent comics creators in the business, and both were at their worst in this series.
BLACK CANARY: "Batmobile"...?
BATMAN: Not one word. I've taken enough grief about calling my goddamn car the goddamn Batmobile. I'm the goddamn Batman and I can call my goddamn car whatever the hell I want to call it.
BLACK CANARY: Whatever you say, man of mine. That's just a totally queer name for a car, is all.
I don't have a problem with the phrase, "the goddamn Batman." I don't even have a problem with Batman saying it. It's kind of funny the first time, and it gives you the interesting impression of Batman as a narcissistic weirdo, which rings fairly true. It's the over-use of it, and the complete lack of narrative voice between the characters. Black Canary and Robin both insult Batman by using queer, and every character's 90's teenager dialogue sounds like Frank Miller writing a parody of Kevin Smith.
That said, here are some of the more interesting points made in the series:
- Green Lantern is berated by Batman for having potentially limitless power, but lacking the imagination or intelligence to do anything interesting with it.
- Batman's training of Robin is described as an act of torture, kidnapping, and drafting of a soldier for war. In fact, the main arc of the series leaves the reader in serious doubts about Batman's status as a hero at all.
- Batman, as seen by Robin, is clearly insane. Robin's cooperation looks a lot like Stockholm Syndrome, and only occurs after he's been traumatized, threatened, and neglected until he's reduced to literally hunting and eating a rat in the Batcave.
While the relationship between Batman and Robin is interesting, it seems like partially intentional self-parody of the absurd grittiness that Miller helped bring to the character twenty years before. I'm curious, had the series continued, if it would have justified itself rather than simply continuing the trend of gritty-for-the-sake-of-gritty.
Miller proved his ability with Year One and The Dark Knight Returns that he can write an excellent Batman book. But in this, the lazy writing overshadows the good points and interesting takes on characters. In fact, the lazy writing, along with Jim Lee's consistently excellent but sexist art, actually made me embarrassed to read this comic. Miller and Lee are two of the most self-indulgent comics creators in the business, and both were at their worst in this series.
thetenthchapter's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very weirdly violent and psychotic incarnation of Batman and the origins of Dick Grayson as Robin. The story was absolutely crazy at times with a plethora of DC characters seemingly thrown in at random to embellish the plot but never actually resolved. Despite this though the graphic novel was overall a fun read.
P.S Jim Lee please stop objectifying women in your art, PLEASE! It's not fun for anyone involved.
P.S Jim Lee please stop objectifying women in your art, PLEASE! It's not fun for anyone involved.