All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder #1 (2005) batman
$5.50
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VERY FINE/NEAR MINT
DC's 1ST quote, when describing All Star Batman,"This is NOT Ultimate Batman." DC's Previews solicitation..."the ultimate tales of the Dynamic Duo!" Written by Frank (Sin City) Miller with art by Jim (Hush, For Tomorrow) Lee. Ships with 2 covers by Lee featuring Batman or Robin.
BONUS MY FIRST COMIC by RYAN KUITE
As a kid, I mostly stuck to the comic strips you find in the newspaper. Sure, I borrowed a couple of my friends Uncanny X-Men books, salivated over new episodes of Smallville, and read a few Sin City novels in high school when the movie came out, but my knowledge of comics didn't extend much further than the last page of the entertainment section. After a while, I kind of forgot about comic strips and let my Calvin and Hobbes collections gather dust on my bookshelf.
Fast forward to my first year of college. Bored with reading textbooks and still (months later) riding the high that is The Dark Knight, I decided to head over to the comic book store and whet my appetite. I was really interested in reading a Batman book, but most of what was on the shelf were new books in the middle of their respective story arcs. I had no idea where to begin. But then All Star Batman and Robin #10 caught my eye. I had never heard of Jim Lee, but I recognized Frank Miller's name from the cover of the Sin City books I read in high school. So I dug through the back issues and bought the first three books in the series.
Love at first sight doesn't even begin to describe my reaction. Frank Miller's dark, sardonic take on the Caped Crusader instantly pushed all of my buttons. It wasn't until later that I discovered just how much he was poking fun at the more ridiculous aspects of the Batman universe. For example, how silly it is that it's called the "Batmobile," or the (not so) vaguely homo-erotic relationship between Batman and Robin. And that's just the writing! Jim Lee's artwork is nothing short of arousing. The sheer amount of detail present on every page was astounding to me, not to mention the dynamic composition and beautiful coloring.
And thus began my love affair with comics . A few months later my collection had grown from a small stack to a few boxes numbering several hundred. I raided the public library on a weekly basis, checking out huge stacks of trades and graphic novels (and racking up a suitable tab of overdue fines!). I poured over boxes of back issues and the (occasionally paltry) graphic novel sections of various used bookstores. If it was notable or sounded interesting, I checked it out or added it to my list, regardless of author, artist, or publisher.
Although in the three years since I've read a significant number of books (some good, some great, and some SUPREMELY awful), I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what's available. I can't say All-Star kicked off my interest in comics, but it sure was instrumental in the process. If you haven't read it, pick up the trade. I guarantee it's worth it.
