BATMAN & ROBIN The Boy Wonder Volume One

There is a reason why Frank Miller doesn't suck when it comes to writing comics. Most of those reasons are amply displayed in Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder. Take Miller, add celebrated artist Jim Lee and allow them to retell the story of Batman's sidekick and you have what might simply be one of the great comics of all time. Yes. I. Said. It. One of the great comics of all time.

For someone who has nothing left to prove, it's gratifying to see an artist continue to push the envelope. It would be easy for Miller to live off of 300 or Sin City. Sort of like Steinbeck in the 1930's. But he continues to take chances and expand our views of what a great graphic novel can be. Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder is art. Pure and simple.

This compilation was first published in 2008, so some of you may have been familiar with the earlier single issues. Lucky for me I've not read any of them before now, so this was my first exposure to this story. I'm glad it came to me like this. If I would have started reading from the beginning, I might have been forced to storm the DC offices and go all Tom Cruise in the first Mission Impossible and read the pages right off the editors desk at night, with a flashlight taped to my forehead.

There are so many "Oh My God" moments in this book it's nearly impossible to list them all. First, you can start with Batman who is the darkest of knights under Miller here. We all know the story of young Dick Grayson and the tragic death of his parents. How Bruce Wayne takes the young boy under his bat-wing to become his loyal sidekick. But here, to say that Miller puts his own unique spin on the story is the biggest understatement since Pacino sat across from DeNiro in Heat. The fact that I can't come up with a better metaphor is one of the reasons that Miller is Miller and I'm well...me. The Informant.

What Miller does is make the Bat the least sympathetic character in the book. His tough love approach to young Grayson is cringe-worthy at times. But it works. And he throws in so many surprises and guest appearances and twists along the way that this collection becomes almost a mini-encyclopedia of the DC verse. Let's just say young Robin opening up a can of whoop ass on The Green Lantern is worth the price of the book alone.

Batman and Robin: The Boy Wonder would be good enough and worth reading if all you had was Miller's words. It could be a novel. But throw in Lee's art and you're talking a classic. Which all they seem to do these days. Lucky for us and nice work if you can get it.

This is one we recommend takes a permanent spot on your shelf.

Buy/No Buy: Definitely buy. In fact spring for the hardcover. It's a keeper. (And you could do us both a favor and buy your copy through one of our affliates by clicking on one of the links above. We got eat to you know! Just sayin').