Comic Info
Comic Name: Robin: Year One
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Chuck Dixon/Scott Beatty
Artist: Javier Pulido/Marco Martin
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2002
Robin: Year One #1
Reprints Robin: Year One #1-4 (December 2000-March 2001). Dick Grayson is finding his feet as a ward of Bruce Wayne and as Batman’s new partner Robin. When Robin is targeted by Two-Face as Batman’s weakness, the bond between Bruce and Dick is shattered…and Dick finds himself on his own and without the mantle of Robin.
Written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, Robin: Year One is a DC Comics superhero comic book collection. The four issue collection features art by Javier Pulido and Marcos Martin. The issues in this collection were also included in Batgirl/Robin: Year One and a deluxe edition.
Batman: Year One is an iconic series. The comic not only fleshed out some of Batman’s early years, but it also created a format that has been borrowed time and time again since its release. The series is one of the better examples of this.
The Year One stories have means that helps explore the character, but they also allow the older style writing of the original issues to be written in a more modern story. The way comics are written has changed over the years and continue to change…but story manages to feel both modern but also timeless in its style.
Robin: Year One #3
Part of the reason the series works is that it features great art which is a throwback to classic art. There is a simplicity to the art of the series that resembles older comics. The style is still more modern in page layout and action flow, but it ties back to the art style which is more simplistic.
The real reason it works is the character himself. Like Kurt Busiek’s Untold Tales of Spider-Man featuring a teen Peter Parker, young heroes are somewhat identifiable. As a kid everyone wanted to be a hero (we played superheroes all the time) and Robin’s zeal for being a hero is something that can be understood…unlike his older version Nightwing, Dick is fun and happy. Batman is the dark one, and Robin is the one with zeal toward his work.
This series has a lot of fun, but it is the darkness that creates a realistic divide. Robin is beaten and almost killed…something that is sharp contrast to the lightness the series seems to portray. Gordon’s order and Batman’s questions about retiring Robin are legitimate, and in a real world having a kid dodge gun bullets while you jump around in a bat costume is insane…but comics make it look easy.
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