All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is the comic that finally convinced me that Frank Miller–the legendary creator behind such remarkable stuff as The Dark Knight, 300, and Sin City–is now totally, utterly, and pathetically creatively bankrupt. It’s a terrible, terrible book, one that reads less like something Miller wrote and more like a really mean parody of his earlier work. I honestly cannot stress just how fucking awful and depressing this comic is, but I dare you to read it. (The panel above is a pretty great representation of the unintentional hilarity the book has to offer. Just for a little bit of context, the weeping Robin just saw his parents get graphically killed like two pages earlier in that issue.)
That said, at least something entertaining is coming from the book. While the PG-13-level All-Star Batman oh-so-cleverly blacks out certain words whenever characters swear, Miller not only writes those words into the script, but the full text also goes all the way through the lettering and printing stages. Only problem? In the most recent issue, the censorious black bars weren’t printed darkly enough, making the words behind them legible. So if you’ve ever wanted to see Batgirl say “fucking,” or hear her referred to as a “little cunt” or a “fucking little piece of jailbait ass,” here’s your chance.
Keep up the good work, Frank.
Scans of the offending issue (which DC is frantically trying to recall) and more info: CBR and The Beat.
I liked All-Star. It was sophmoric, stupid and slightly mastubatory… but entertaining.
That issue when Batman and Robin take on the Green lantern in a yellow room? Classic.
Miller is a bit of a one-trick-pony. I’m all for “colorful” language, violence, sex etc. in my comix but Miller is crass, gratuitous and seems to have a major chip on his shoulder.
a review of all Miller’s work leads one to think that his problem is related to an unresolved sexuality. His hyper-agressiveness combined with stories of men in tights is enought to realize the obnoxious jerk should have realized he as homosexual years agao . . . . . he would most likely be a little more pleasant then.