All Star Batman

[PinchyWearO]

Wow, a week and no reviews or threads on Batman's new title...I think I know why :rolleyes:

I'm a Miller fan, but I found this new title lacking.

We have a gratuitous underwear scene of Vicki Vale that goes overboard with a close-up *** shot. Miller makes no effort to distance Bruce Wayne from pedophiliac undertones. Worst of all: SPOILER We take Robin's parents' death murder from a circus "accident" (which made sense) to getting shot in the head? How original. SPOILER What was the point of this aside from attempting an "Ultimate" success?

[Adam Chapman]

Honestly, I enjoyed it. And FYI, the only reason there isn't a review for it is that it's a dual review, which takes some time, and also because I don't have a working internet connection at home at present, until later this week. ;)

[DocDoom]

Really liked the last page, didn't like the vicky vale pages and the way robin's parents died, maybe it was to show how corrupt the GCPD was that the guy wouldn't even bother to make it look like an accident, because he knew he wouldn't get caught, but why in public? i dunno... something just didn't feel right about that scene, otherwise, i give it a 8/10

[BeyondtheGrave]

I though it was ok. Vale was getting on my nervous with "I am on a date with Bruce Wayne" She said it like 10 times in the comic. Hopefully it will pick up.

[Bigby Wolf]

It was OK, but it was only the 1st issue. Now I understand the whole drafted into the war on crime statement by Batman but this version of Batman just doesn't really sit right with me, especially with how wreckless he was, he tore right through the police car probably killing the cops. Yes, I understand they were corrupt cops, but Batman killing is a bit off, but maybe the cops got out and we will see Batman taking them out next issue. And as this is out of DC continuity, I will take it as it is, a whole different take on Batman and Robin.

[PinchyWearO]

I'm wondering why Bruce had "his eye" on Dick (boy that sounds wrong) before his parents even died? Was he seriously considering recruiting him despite being in a happy family unit?

Unless...he had his parents killed :) Now THAT would be interesting!

[S.A. Parvaze]

What struck me most about the issue was just how bad the Miller/Lee match up is. Miller's heading off into his usual dark territory and Lee's drawing it as if Loeb's still at the helm.

[Cardiac]

What struck me most about the issue was just how bad the Miller/Lee match up is. Miller's heading off into his usual dark territory and Lee's drawing it as if Loeb's still at the helm.

Then it's as I feared. :~(

[Blake Petit]

It was a lot better than I expected, to be honest -- I've still got a bad taste in my mouth from DK2. But the Vicki Vale Underwear Extravaganza was really uncalled for. Not that I've got anything against beautiful women in their underwear, but really, it's pages like that which give comic books a bad name.

[chrismozer]

It was a lot better than I expected, to be honest -- I've still got a bad taste in my mouth from DK2. But the Vicki Vale Underwear Extravaganza was really uncalled for. Not that I've got anything against beautiful women in their underwear, but really, it's pages like that which give comic books a bad name.


I agree with you on DK2. What a let down that was. Hopefully Mr. Miller will have read numerous postings regarding DK2 and has learned from his mistakes.
As for Vicki Vale Underwear Extravaganza.....Women in underwear are always called for. Anytime, Anyplace. There is never a bad time for scantily clad women. Heck, i want my pallbearers to be scantily clad women!! Truthfully, i even found myself wondering what that whole thing was doing in the comic. Didn't add anything to the issue. It just made nice eye candy.

Hey...did eveyone buy both issues with the different covers? I was able to resist and purchased on the batman one.

[Blake Petit]

I agree with you on DK2. What a let down that was. Hopefully Mr. Miller will have read numerous postings regarding DK2 and has learned from his mistakes.
As for Vicki Vale Underwear Extravaganza.....Women in underwear are always called for. Anytime, Anyplace. There is never a bad time for scantily clad women. Heck, i want my pallbearers to be scantily clad women!! Truthfully, i even found myself wondering what that whole thing was doing in the comic. Didn't add anything to the issue. It just made nice eye candy.

Hey...did eveyone buy both issues with the different covers? I was able to resist and purchased on the batman one.

I refuse to buy variant covers. I pick up some comics for my uncle in addition to myself, and he wanted this one, so I have one of each. I'm just going to let him have whichever he wants and I'll keep the other -- doesn't matter to me.

[Adam Chapman]

I bought the Batman cover. Didn't bother with variants. The lingerie extravaganza WAS over the top and more than it had to be, but overall didn't detract from the comic too much for me. Is the pairing between the two perfect? No. But that's kind of why I like it.

[toastmeister]

I bought the Batman cover. Didn't bother with variants. The lingerie extravaganza WAS over the top and more than it had to be, but overall didn't detract from the comic too much for me. Is the pairing between the two perfect? No. But that's kind of why I like it.
Yeah! Me too! I think the clash of directions might eventually compromise into something completely different, as they reach the between zone of both their talents.

But that "eye on him" comment really was ridiculous. It made me cringe, and wonder where the hell Miller's Batman from Year One had gone. This better not be a cheesy story.

But hey! I enjoyed it! Well-scripted, even if 4 pages were lost to Vicki Vale's ***, however pretty.

[necrosNWJP]

Personally, I liked it. Yeah, I'll admit the panty scene didn't have to be there, but I wasn't complaining. I personally like the scene of the Batmobile crashing threw the police car and killing everyone in it. And if you're seeing “pedophiliac undertones” it’s probably because you’re looking for them.

[Cardiac]

As far as I can tell this adds nothing to the Batman titles. I thought All-Star was supposed to be stories outside continuity, not Frank Miller's take on Robin's origin.

[S.A. Parvaze]

And Frank Miller's take on Robin's origin wouldn't count as a story outside continuity? :x

[GreenLantern]

Yeah, the Vicki Vale uunderwear extravanganza sounds awful from the way you guys say it is. But remember, this frank miller. His work isn't exactly G or PG. In fact, It's at most mature at times.

Now, I know your gonna say "it's still uncalled for" but that's the way he thinks. And the editor allowed it so it's not just his fault.

[Arrrggghhh]

Didn't like this series at all.

Vale in underwear: Miller probably felt he needed to do something interesting with her. Writing this way would probably work for Sin City characters . . .
The homosexual innuendoes; Bruce Interests in the boy? What the cops were going to do to the boy? Enough! . . .

But my BIGGEST problem with this title was the final splash page: (spoiler)
Kid just saw his folks' heads blow up - and moments later a man in a bat suit grabs him by the neck, dangles him and tell him he’s been recruited. What???
You know – I remember reading that Frank Miller stated he didn’t like writing the superhero genre anymore – this series have me believing this to be absolutely true. Passing on this title, waiting for the Superman version:
Arrrggghhh

[davew]

Anyone pick up issue #2?

This was a lot better than last time. Miller's Batman is a f**cking psychopath in this book, he's hardly acting like a hero and obviously wants Robin for completely selfish reasons - I really wouldn't be surprised if he was connected to the Graysons' murder in some way. There's even a bit of humour there to lighten things slightly (what's a "Ward"?).

I like the art a lot more this time round too - no return of those cheesecake sequences from issue #1, and some awesome batmobile action. Also, some nice character stuff (especially in the multiple-panel pages towards the end of the issue) - and that splash of Batman's hand over Robin's mouth, gassing him, with Bats reflected in his eye, is just fantastic. I stayed looking at that page for well over a minute.

I still think Batman's being portrayed in a very odd way, - he seems particularly reckless towards loss of life, and even more detached than usual - but it's interesting enough to keep me reading. After the first issue, I thought I'd give it one more shot before dropping it, but this issue convinced me to keep following it.

(Oh, and for the record, I bought the Miller cover. The Lee cover just didn't do anything for me, and Miller's image is a nice Year: One reference).

[AmazingMattMan]

i thought issue 2 was really wierd and thats all i can say about it

[Picard]

Well, unfortunatley, issue #2 was even worse than issue #1. Won't bother with the next one :(

[Adam Chapman]

I found #2 to be absolutely horrendous. Whoever this is, it's not Batman. He's so different in every bad way possible from normal Batman. From any Batman. This guy is a killer and a psychopath, who's a disgrace to the Batman name. I could have liked this if this "Batman" was really the Joker. That's it.

[BatmanSmells]

Wait... You don't think that Batman is normally a psychopath? That's the basis for his whole character. He's got deeply-seeded emotional problems that are displaced into violent and brutal assaults on civilians. That's him in a nutshell and you don't think he's always been crazy?

[Adam Chapman]

He's crazy, but he's got an internal code, and in this issue alone, he violates so many tenets of his personal code which prevents him from being a murderous criminal psychopath. He's crazy, but he's got an important personal code of ethics. That code is shattered in this issue. He's as bad as the Joker in this issue.

[Eleanor Cromwell]

I haven't read #2 yet -- did it just come out this week, or do I have to complain to my bookstore?

As far as Batman being a psychopath, Bruce has not been normal since that night in the alley. And I don't think a personal code gets you too far either. Frank Castle has a personal code. Conan the Cimmerian has a personal code. They both leave a lot of corpses behind them.

[AmazingMattMan]

batman was so different then regular batman i honestly dont know how dc can say this isnt essentially ultimate batman. theres no way this is the "iconic" batman story that was never told or whatever they are trying to pass it off as.

im on the fence for issue 3. i might not get it but i mean....it does sort of intrigue me in a wierd way

[Lizard Man]

I think thats the point. Anyone who's going to recruit a kid to become a costumed vigilante has serious problems. At least here he's shown to have his doubts about what he's doing to the boy before the psycho/fanatic in him wins.

[BeyondtheGrave]

I don't read any other Batman titles besides Gotham Central and this title but I felt the whole Batman is more of psychopath in this issue was over the top. I was slightly freaked out. The first thing that hit when I was reading was this ain't Batman. So far both these issue were ok and fail to impress me.

[davew]

Wait... You don't think that Batman is normally a psychopath? That's the basis for his whole character. He's got deeply-seeded emotional problems that are displaced into violent and brutal assaults on civilians. That's him in a nutshell and you don't think he's always been crazy?

That's why I can go with this take on Bats. I know it's not exactly close to the classic Batman, and even appears to violate a lot of the basic tenets of who Batman is... but regardless, I really enjoyed the issue and I'm finding the story a whole lot more compelling after issue #2.

[jameswh]

The artwork is great but the portrayal of Batman is really off. This just isn't any kind of Batman we know. Wasn't too keen on the Alfred/Vicki vale thing either. I think Frank Miller has lost it big time on this one.

[Fanatix]

The artwork is incredible. Lee is just a spectcacular artist.

I liked dick grayson. He came off as smart ***, tough kid with a lot of guts.

But batman is a psychopathic freak who hopefully gets capped in the head by one of the cops. This feels too much like millers trying to make batman a hero in sin city, not gotham.

I think the problem with frank miller is that he writes like its still the 80's and that being ultra-violent is revolutionary. Well its not anymore, its been done to death and we've all read ultra violent and dark stories now. Whats revolutionary now is stories with depth, intrigue and lots of character exploration (like alias, or identity crisis). The sooner miller figures this out the sooner he either starts writing better stories, or quits.

[davew]

This feels too much like millers trying to make batman a hero in sin city, not gotham.

There's definitely a very Sin City vibe to it. That first page with the batmobile driving round the hillside could be lifted straight from a Sin City book...

[Sloat]

Feels like this is the first Batman comic in a while that really matters, really will matter down the line.

My only complaint is that the monologues sound the same - the same staccato repetition swimming in each head.

It's dark. It's touching. It's brutal. It's well-crafted (panel divisions, page composition, the grandeur of Lee's art).

[Lizard Man]

One strange thing is that Batman grew quite a lot of stubble very quickly. He was clean shaven on his date with Vicky Vale. I don't think that many hours have passed since then.

[JSaint25]

I found #2 to be absolutely horrendous. Whoever this is, it's not Batman. He's so different in every bad way possible from normal Batman. From any Batman. This guy is a killer and a psychopath, who's a disgrace to the Batman name. I could have liked this if this "Batman" was really the Joker. That's it.


This post and a lot of the others worry me. I think I'll read the first two issues in the store or in a Barnes and Noble somewhere and I'll see how it goes, if I'll pick this up.

[Eleanor Cromwell]

I wish to withdraw my previous comments and apologize unreservedly. I have now read issue 2. I agree, it's out of control. It's almost like Miller decided to write a What If titled What if the Howletts had lived and it came out Logan ended up as Batman.

[BatmanSmells]

Let's put it in perspective though. In the classic Batman days (I'm talking Golden Age here kids) Bruce was crazy, and he did murder criminals in cold blood. Robin came into the picture to lighten the mood a little bit. All of a sudden Batman had this responsibility to keep the little guy sane, and it started rubbing off on him. I know that Batman and Robin's respective origins have been reinterpreted from time to time. However, in the first appearances of Batman he was certainly crazy, and had not developed the personal restraint he has now.
I think Frank Miller is perfect to show how the responsible side of Bruce had to slowly develop, but only after he took on Robin as his ward and sidekick.

[Fanatix]

I don't know about that, it seems like a stretch to say that there are ulterior motives here. That this story is actually deeper than a sin city rip off as batman in a completly corrupt gotham. That this is to show batmans real origins as a psychopath only to develop his morality because he took care of a smart mouthed kid. Who he puts in danger by making him his sidekick in the most dangerous version of gotham presented to date.

To me, this is just a beautiful masterpeice set to something a slightly derranged teenager could write.

[AmazingMattMan]

One strange thing is that Batman grew quite a lot of stubble very quickly. He was clean shaven on his date with Vicky Vale. I don't think that many hours have passed since then.

haha i noticed that as well. it reminded me of tim allen in the santa claus

[Picard]

One strange thing is that Batman grew quite a lot of stubble very quickly. He was clean shaven on his date with Vicky Vale. I don't think that many hours have passed since then.

Classic batbeard.
I'm sure he has some sort of beardstimula for his batbeard in his batbelt.

[davew]

Classic batbeard.
I'm sure he has some sort of beardstimula for his batbeard in his batbelt.

Maybe Bruce is just so damn manly, he doesn't need that. When not in costume, he has to shave every 2 hours or someone will put two and two together...