Batman & Robin: Year One #1
Kevin Rossi
Recap
In anticipation of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s upcoming Batman and Robin: Year One, Comic Watch is going back to the Dark Knight's earliest days in Gotham. In a week-long series of features and reviews, our staff will dive deep into Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s seminal origin story, exploring its influence on comics and beyond.
While Bruce Wayne adjusts to the realities of adopting orphan Dick Grayson, a mysterious new crime boss called the General has come to Gotham to claim the city by disrupting and destroying its other mobs. But what is his connection to Two-Face? Batman and his new sidekick, Robin, are out for answers, but it'll take everything they have to navigate both sides of their relationship as father and son and dynamic duo, with Dick Grayson's present and future hanging in the balance!
Review
The phrase “year one” carries a lot of weight at DC. Initially used as the subtitle to 1987’s Batman #404-407 by frequent collaborators Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, the four-issue story was used as the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths retelling of Batman and Jim Gordon’s first year in Gotham City. Since then the story has been rebranded as Batman: Year One and universally praised for its tone and handling of the relationship between Batman and Gordon. Using “Year One” now communicates decades of history and leaves readers expecting a certain tone and style, and that is exactly what writer Mark Waid and artist Chris Samnee have given readers with Batman & Robin: Year One #1. Colorist Mat Lopes and letterer Clayton Cowels are also on the book, and each person plays a major role in this issue’s success.
Depicting the beginnings of Batman’s partnership with Robin, Dick Grayson specifically, Batman & Robin: Year One #1 skillfully rides the line between lighthearted fun with fast-paced danger. Samnee’s art and panel layouts are stunning and do much of the heavy lifting in the issue. Waid and Samnee have years of experience working together, so it makes sense that the art and writing feel solid and streamlined. Both men plotted the story together, so they were on the same page before the script was even written. The art takes cues from 1987’s Batman: Year One but still feels like Samnee’s work coming out in 2024. Mat Lopes’ coloring is always a standout in any book he works on and this is no different. He has the ability to bring the best out of the art without losing detail and having such a distinct, recognizable style despite always putting the pencils and inks first. The two artists do an incredible job capturing the feeling of the original story without coming off as trying to replicate it.
Waid’s writing is also a highlight of this issue. There are so many lines that will knock the wind out of readers yet it is filled with a child-like wonder from the Boy Wonder. Waid has written a younger Dick Grayson in recent years in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, but that series is much more overt in the period it takes place in. The youthfulness of Robin in Batman & Robin: Year One #1 is surprisingly well written with hints of the man he will grow up to be. There is a youthfulness in Batman as well. Batman: Year One saw an inexperienced Batman smoothing things out but making mistakes. This series has an experienced Batman but readers will see him learning how to work with Robin.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Batman & Robin: Year One #1 knocks it out of the park capturing the tone and feeling of its predecessor without trying to recreate it by painting by number. The entire creative team’s stylistic characteristics come through giving the issue a fresh and modern feeling. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee have a similar dynamic as Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli but with a wealth of experience and knowledge from the decades since the original story. Batman & Robin: Year One is already looking like it will hold its own as a definitive Batman and Robin story.
Year One Week: Batman & Robin: Year One #1: The Dynamic Duo
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
