Frank Miller’s newest work at DC is causing quite a bit of controversy, but what I see is the beginning of a great story.

I bought this largely because I am a huge Frank Miller/Batman fan, and though I generally dislike Robin stories, I figured I’d give this one a try.

It is fantastic.

I think it portrays a style of Batman story that hasn’t been explored very much, maybe at all.  This sort of story is in the vein of what Year One and Batman Begins has done first: Batman is new to the job, messing up, unsure of himself.  There is one key element that separates All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder:

Batman is having a blast!

He is totally enjoying all the chaos he is causing in the criminal and corrupt world, not having fully realized the responsibilities and horrors that come along with the job that he has created for himself.  Robin, however, is the perfect vehicle for this sort of evolution in his character: is Robin a good way for Batman to deal with his tragic childhood, or just a madman’s cruel way of extending his tragedy to another, innocent individual?  It isn’t just the reader who asks this question, but Batman himself, an issue that I hope is provoked and dealt with even more thoroughly in the coming volumes.

But this series doesn’t just deal with the Dark Knight himself: there is a great deal of storytelling about the beginnings of the Justice League (boy scout Superman, goofy Green Lantern, and ready-to-kill-Batman Wonder Woman) and of the Batman copycats (Black Canary, Batgirl).  It portrays a world that is just as enamored (or annoyed) with the new creation of the superhero as we were the first time we picked up a comic book.

All that being said, I think that this series possesses the same unbelievable fun that all of Miller’s work has.  Is it possible to read Ronin or The Dark Knight Returns without getting a sort of breathlessness, a thought coming across in your mind that says, “Holy ****, this is awesome!”  I think All-Star Batman and Robin has that feeling as well, and to have that feeling with Batman again is so exciting!

If you are a fan of Frank Miller, it might be impossible for you to dislike this.  If you are a huge batman fan: I think if you enjoy the idea of the origins of the crazy DC Universe and its characters then you will enjoy it, but if you like batman solely for the detective work or action (don’t get me wrong, those are two of the best elements of Batman), then you might not like it as much.

Major Con, though: as of now it’s only available in hardback and is a whopping 25 bucks.  Be on the lookout for the paperback, due on on June 6th.

• Buy: @ Amazon , @ TFAW.com