All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder

    (DC, 2005-2008)
™ and © 2005 DC Comics, Inc.

This issue just has to get the four-star treatment, right? It’s written by the genius responsible for the brilliant Batman: The Dark Knight and “Batman: Year One” and is drawn by Jim “Hush” Lee, one of the best modern Batman artists in the biz. So it’s entirely above reproach, right? Well, not quite. It’s very good, no doubt about it, even great at times, but let’s not be handing out any Eisner Awards just yet.

All Star Batman & Robin #1 is a beautifully drawn, tautly written piece of work that no fan of The Caped Crusader or The Boy Wonder should do without. Lee has apparently dispensed with pencils and other mundane tools of the trade in favor of a magic wand (check out the Robin cover, which virtually flies off the page), while Frank Miller’s film noir-influenced scripting is the literary equivalent of a flurry of punches from a prize fighter.

Traditionalists may find fault, however, with the gratuitous shots of a scantly clad Vicki Vale and with the sinister reworking of Dick Grayson’s origin.

— Brett Weiss

Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist

#1

  9/1/2005
  $2.99
  $2.00
15 copies available from $1.00 		Batman coverFrank MillerJim Lee

#1 Variation A

  9/1/2005
  $2.99
  $1.75
13 copies available from $0.99 		Robin coverFrank MillerJim Lee

#1 Variation B

  9/1/2005
  $2.99
  $4.50
1 copy available for $35.00 		Retailer Incentive Variant/RRP Edition; Sketch coverFrank MillerJim Lee

#2

  11/1/2005
  $2.99
  $2.50
12 copies available from $1.25 		Frank Miller cover; Robin flinching from Batman shadowFrank MillerJim Lee

#2 Variation A

  11/1/2005
  $2.99
  $2.99
10 copies available from $2.25 		Red cover; Batman standing over robin in rainFrank MillerJim Lee

#3

  12/1/2005
  $2.99
  $2.00
19 copies available from $1.00 		Batman and Black Canary coverFrank MillerJim Lee

#3 Variation A

  12/1/2005
  $2.99
  $5.00
15 copies available from $5.00 		Frank Miller cover variant; Black Canary soloFrank MillerJim Lee

#4

  3/1/2006
  $2.99
  $2.50
14 copies available from $1.00 		6-page fold-out of the BatcaveFrank MillerJim Lee

#4 Variation A

  3/1/2006
  $2.99
  $6.50
8 copies available from $4.25 		Frank Miller cover variant 1-10 6-page fold-outFrank MillerJim Lee

#4 Variation B

  3/1/2006
  $0.00
  $15.00
No copies available 		Dynamic Forces signed cover; 6-page fold-out of the BatcaveFrank MillerJim Lee

#5

  7/1/2007
  $2.99
  $2.25
8 copies available from $1.50 		 Frank MillerJim Lee

#5 Variation A

  7/1/2007
  $2.99
  $10.00
4 copies available from $10.00 		Variant Cover by Frank MillerFrank MillerJim Lee

#6

  9/1/2007
  $2.99
  $4.00
11 copies available from $2.25 		 Frank MillerJim Lee

#6 Variation A

  9/1/2007
  $2.99
  $8.00
1 copy available for $7.90 		Variant Cover by Frank MillerFrank MillerJim Lee

#6 Variation B

  9/1/2007
  $2.99
  $4.00
1 copy available for $17.00 		B&W Diamond Retailers Summit sketch coverFrank MillerJim Lee

#7

  11/1/2007
  $2.99
  $3.50
10 copies available from $3.50 		 Frank MillerJim Lee

#7 Variation A

  11/1/2007
  $2.99
  $12.50
7 copies available from $10.00 		Variant Cover by Frank MillerFrank MillerJim Lee

#8

  1/1/2008
  $2.99
  $4.75
6 copies available from $3.25 		 Frank MillerJim Lee

#8 Variation A

  1/1/2008
  $2.99
  $20.00
2 copies available from $19.90 		Variant Cover by Neal AdamsFrank MillerJim Lee

#8 Variation B

  3/1/2008
  $0.00
  $61.00
No copies available 		Retailer Incentive Variant/RRP Edition; Variant Cover by Neal Adams with Blue shadingFrank MillerJim Lee

#9

  2/1/2008
  $2.99
  $2.75
4 copies available from $2.25 		Includes DC/Wildstorm Dreamwar previewFrank MillerJim Lee

#9 Variation A

  2/1/2008
  $2.99
  $19.00
1 copy available for $18.90 		Variant cover by Neal Adams; Includes DC/Wildstorm Dreamwar previewFrank MillerJim Lee

#10

  8/1/2008
  $2.99
  $2.99
8 copies available from $2.06 		 Frank MillerJim Lee

#10 Variation A

  8/1/2008
  $2.99
  $17.00
1 copy available for $16.90 		Variant cover by Frank QuitelyFrank MillerJim Lee

#10 Variation B

  3/1/2008
  $2.99
  $47.00
5 copies available from $45.00 		Recalled edition; Interior censor bars fail to conceal profanityFrank MillerJim Lee

#10 Variation C

  3/1/2008
  $2.99
  $31.00
No copies available 		Recalled edition; 1 in 10 variant cover; Interior censor bars fail to conceal profanityFrank MillerJim Lee

Book #1

 
  $19.99
  $19.99
No copies available 		Collects #1–9; Introduction by Bob Schreck; ca. 2008Frank MillerJim Lee

Book #1 Deluxe Edition

 
  $99.99
  $99.99
No copies available 		Hardcover; Absolute Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder; Collects All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy WonderFrank MillerJim Lee

Book #1 Hardcover

  6/1/2008
  $24.99
  $18.00
2 copies available from $17.00 		Hardcover; Collects #1–9; Introduction by Bob SchreckFrank MillerJim Lee

Special Edition #1

  2/1/2006
  $3.99
  $6.00
3 copies available from $5.30 		Includes Frank Millers script for issue #1; B&W penciled version of issue #1Frank MillerJim Lee