Things that make you go "What The --?!!"

I've always been a fan of comic books. Primarily Marvel Comics, but I've dabbled into DC Comics once in awhile.

I'd read rumors about All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder on the Internet, and I had to check it out for myself.

The All-Star line of DC Comics is intended to allow rotating groups of well-known writers and artists to give their take on a character. They're not necessarily bound by the history of the character, either. Think of it as a "re-envisioning."

For Batman and Robin the first duo would be Frank Miller and Jim Lee.

Some consider Frank Miller the rebel of comic book writing. He hates certain characters and certain cliches, and will waste no time in expressing said hatred. He had a legendary run on Daredevil and has done other well-known works such as The Dark Knight Returns and Sin City.

Jim Lee is a talented artist who helped revive the X-Men in the 90's. His redesign of many characters was the basis for character design in X-Men: The Animated Series. He has a pension for drawing characters doing what should be physically impossible feats, but he has a good eye for detail.

With those two at the helm, what could go wrong?

Um..

When I completed my look at the first 4 issues, I thought, "How did DC let this see print?"

Some remarkably odd items:

- Batman running over (and apparently killing) cops.
- Superman's brief appearance and only lines of dialogue? "Damn!"
- Dick Grayson, Age Twelve!
- Batman hitting Dick Grayson.
- The Magic Milk Carton

And many others. Best I direct you to one of the most complete, and funny, reviews of the series (warning: naughty language ahead): Click Me!

If I had to make any kind of sense from this series, is that there is a slim chance Frank Miller may actually be trying to present a different kind of Batman, one with deep seeded mental problems, primarily delusions. His parents were killed, so he groomed himself into this fighting machine. He mentions "drafting" Dick Grayson, so I guess in Batman's mind, he is the General, and anyone suffering his fate or a similar one will be summarily drafted and prepared for "war."

Who knows. Maybe it's just Frank Miller writing whatever the hell he feels like. This could be all one joke. I almost expect the last issue to feature Bruce Wayne waking up and going "Wow, what a nightmare!"