All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1

Creative Team:  Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Scott A. Williams

Goodreads Summary:

The talents responsible for some of Batman's greatest tales, Frank Miller (BATMAN:  THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, Sin City) and Jim Lee (BATMAN:  HUSH) team up for the first time to bring you Batman and Robin like you've never seen them before in this reinvention of these classic characters.

All hell breaks loose at the circus as Bruce Wayne and gal pal Vicki Vale witness a young boy's life shattered before their eyes.  Orphaned, Dick Grayson has nowhere to go and no one to turn to -- no one but Bruce Wayne!  Expect action, adventure, guest-stars and the unexpected as Miller and Lee deliver the ultimate tales of the Dynamic Duo!

My Review:

4 out of 5 stars

In this hardback graphic novel, issues #1-9 of All Star Batman & Robin are collected that redesign the origin story of how Dick Grayson became emerged into the vigilante crime fighting world.  Dick Grayson, the youngest member of The Flying Grayson's is left an orphan when his parents are shot while performing in the circus.  Batman immediately sweeps him up and begins to introduce him to his world of crime fighting.

At this point, Batman is well established and is both intrigued and annoyed by the young Dick Grayson who is young but very smart and agile.  Bruce is often surprised at all that Dick can do.  I really enjoy this reintroduction to Robin's origin and find it very interesting.  Batman was a lot more aggressive and brutal in this collection than in many others.  He loves the violence and strives to inflict pain on those he is pursuing.

This collection also includes some guest appearances from other well known comic book characters, such as Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Superman and a young Batgirl.

I really loved the interactions between Batman and Dick as well as the fact that almost every character has their own narration and voice throughout the issues.  It was really interesting to see not only into Dick and Bruce's head, but also the Joker's, Wonder Woman's and Black Canary's.  What I found amusing, was that Alfred and Bruce are in some disagreement on Bruce's inclusion of Dick and the fact that he is a twelve year old boy and I really enjoy Batman's battle with his mixture of both annoyance and pride when dealing with Dick.

There are some interesting interactions with the women in this book that I found thought provoking.  There is a panel where Black Canary is lip locked with Batman, which I found pretty standard but there is a slightly odd interaction between Wonder Woman and Superman that I thought I should mention.  Wonder Woman goes from cursing Superman to making out with him in the difference of one panel, and what I liked about it is that Superman is left shocked and in awe of what has just happened.

I thought that this was a very good collection and I really enjoyed reading it.  There are parts were Batman's complete disregard for human life (not that he was killing people) both surprising and a bit disturbing.  I know he is dark but I was surprised by some of the things he was doing.  However, I really think that this is a very important collection to read for all Batman fans and also fans of Dick Grayson, it's a great reintroduction into the character and I also love that the old favorites are included as well.

Wonder Woman: Love and Murder

Creative Team:  Jodi Picoult, Terry Dodson, Drew Johnson and Paco Diaz

Goodreads Summary:
"New York Times" bestselling author Picoult ("The Tenth Circle") puts Wonder Woman on a collision course with her long-missing people, the Amazons, in this action-packed story.  After Special Agent Diana Prince is assigned to capture Wonder Woman, her problems are only beginning, as a deadly foe begins to close in on her.

My Review:
3 out of 5 stars


I have always been a huge fan of Wonder Woman and after reading Wonder Woman:  Who is Wonder Woman? I picked up this at my local library.  The book collects issues #6-10 of the 2006 run of Wonder Woman, although you do not need to have read the previous issues in order to understand the story.  This particular volume was intriguing because it was written by Jodi Picoult, who is a well known fiction author and I was interested to see what she would do with the story.

In this collection, Wonder Woman is still battling with her new human identity of Diana Prince, a special agent for the Department of Metahuman Affairs.  She is having trouble blending in and being human and is also being ordered to capture Wonder Woman without revealing that she is the one they are after.  As well as dealing with these pretty normal problems, she is also trying to deal with Circe being back and impersonating her to frame her for evil deeds she did not commit.  Things take an even more crazy turn when her mother, Hippolyta, is brought back from the dead and is determined to wage war on the Earth.

Wonder Woman is great as ever in this collection even with the addition of dealing with human problems.  She's struggling with trying to find her place and it's great to watch her try and make her way through the world.  I really enjoyed this collection and I'm very curious to find out more about Hippolyta being back and where she will play a role in the future issues.  I just love how some of the humor in this book, there is a great scene where Nemesis is saving a girl who is falling and Wonder Woman shows him the proper way to save her... And her cat.  

I think that this volume was great and I really enjoyed reading it.  Was it perfect?  No.  But it's a great read for those who love Wonder Woman and I will be reading the next continuation which is Wonder Woman:  Amazons Attack! which is written by Will Pfeifer with art done by Pete Woods.