"Batman #428: Robin Lives! (One Shot)" Comic Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

Finally revealed! From the DC Vault: The unpublished alternate ending to "A Death in the Family" in which Jason Todd survives his encounter!

BATMAN #428: ROBIN LIVES!

Writer: Jim Starlin
Art by: Jim Aparo, Mike Decarlo
Cover: Mike Mignola

What if one of the darkest hours in Batman's crime-fighting career never happened? Thirty-five years ago, fans voted on Jason Todd's fate after his brutal encounter with The Joker, which set Jason on the path to becoming the gun-toting vigilante Red Hood. But suppose fans had voted differently... DC Comics transports you back in time with this special faux-simile edition of Batman #428 in which Robin lives! Featuring pages reconstructed from artist Jim Aparo's alternate art boards--which have been plucked from the DC vault and fully restored and remastered--this reedited version of A Death in the Family, Book Three turns the Dark Knight's greatest tragedy into a moment of triumph. Adding to the immersive authenticity of this alternate-history comic book, this version includes all the ads from the original 1988 edition plus a rewritten letters column.

Rate and discuss this special DC Comics release right here!

Related Discussions:
-Batman: A Death in the Family Classic Comic Talkback (Spoilers)
-Batman: Under The Red Hood Comic Talkback (Spoilers)

 

[prpis]

Oh wow that’s amazing…is this the original script they worked with then, or something brand new for this?

edit: just read it. gave me the opportunity to read the original infamous comic. not much change except some pages and dialogue. that face bruce has screaming "he's alive! thank god!" will never not amuse me. it's just so DOOFY. the editor's comment states Jason would've woken up eventually, but it makes me wonder how the story would've changed if Jason was in a coma for a long time. Either way, Jason dying and then coming back later anyways made the whole "death" thing unnecessary, unless you count the whole Red Hood thing.

 

[wonderfly]

Oh wow that’s amazing…is this the original script they worked with then, or something brand new for this?

edit: just read it. gave me the opportunity to read the original infamous comic. not much change except some pages and dialogue. that face bruce has screaming "he's alive! thank god!" will never not amuse me. it's just so DOOFY. the editor's comment states Jason would've woken up eventually, but it makes me wonder how the story would've changed if Jason was in a coma for a long time. Either way, Jason dying and then coming back later anyways made the whole "death" thing unnecessary, unless you count the whole Red Hood thing.

How did you pick up the issue? Physical or digital? I bought a copy for my Kindle. Going to sit down and read it today. Sounds like an interesting "What if?" comic! (or "Elseworlds", since this is DC).

 

[prpis]

Digitally. Surely a good “What If?” but with only a few changes, makes me wonder how much of this is just a gimmick. I’m sure the comic will become a collectible.

 

[Ed Nygma]

For some reason I thought the whole thing would be different. I had no idea it was literally the same comic minus one or two pages, since Jason being blown into a coma is... I don't know, not exactly "alive" if that's what was voted for? It also strangely keeps the panels of Bruce flying "the body" back and Jason's funeral, only now Alfred, Gordon and Barbara are attending "Sheila's" funeral. Uh... it seems like the plan was sort of always to err on the side of killing him is what I'm getting from this.

 

[Spider-Man]

I actually missed out on this comic. My shop didn't order enough copies even for those on pull lists. A second print comes out later this month. Even though it sounds like the changes aren't big I'm still really curious to see how it all plays out.

 

[wonderfly]

For some reason I thought the whole thing would be different. I had no idea it was literally the same comic minus one or two pages, since Jason being blown into a coma is... I don't know, not exactly "alive" if that's what was voted for? It also strangely keeps the panels of Bruce flying "the body" back and Jason's funeral, only now Alfred, Gordon and Barbara are attending "Sheila's" funeral. Uh... it seems like the plan was sort of always to err on the side of killing him is what I'm getting from this.

I bought the issue digitally (on my Kindle) and read through it, and was going to comment, but your comment largely covers my thoughts.

It's crazy how little was different with the plot, just a few panels artwork and dialogue rearranged. It doesn't change that Batman is driven to seek revenge against the Joker, it doesn't change there's still a funeral scene (except it's for Jason Todd's mother), it's just....a bit of a let down, in that regard. But still a fun nostalgia experience, for that era in comics.

Most of interest to me was the portrayal of the Joker here. This was written by Jim Starlin (with artwork by Jim Aparo) and the Joker looks....exactly like he stepped out of the 1970's "Neal Adams" era (to me, anyway). A plot involving the Joker becoming the ambassador of Iran is just....hokey (like the 60's TV show).

This came out originally in the Fall of 1988 (so it was written several months prior). It occurs to me that there were two things in the late 80's that changed the Joker (and comics depiction of him): The first is "The Killing Joke" (released a few months earlier in 1988, so it wouldn't have influenced the writing of this comic), and the excellent portrayal of the Joker by Jack Nicholson the very next summer (in 1989) in the Batman film. The 1970's/80's "scheming for money" Joker would give way to the "kill them all just for a laugh" Joker, starting around this time period (starting with "The Killing Joke"). Films like "Silence of the Lambs" in the early 90's might have helped set the tone for the Joker as well (but that's just me theorizing). It just strikes me that by the early to mid 90's, Joker was being portrayed much more menacingly then what I saw in this issue.

 

[Ed Nygma]

I bought the issue digitally (on my Kindle) and read through it, and was going to comment, but your comment largely covers my thoughts.

It's crazy how little was different with the plot, just a few panels artwork and dialogue rearranged. It doesn't change that Batman is driven to seek revenge against the Joker, it doesn't change there's still a funeral scene (except it's for Jason Todd's mother), it's just....a bit of a let down, in that regard. But still a fun nostalgia experience, for that era in comics.

Most of interest to me was the portrayal of the Joker here. This was written by Jim Starlin (with artwork by Jim Aparo) and the Joker looks....exactly like he stepped out of the 1970's "Neal Adams" era (to me, anyway). A plot involving the Joker becoming the ambassador of Iran is just....hokey (like the 60's TV show).

This came out originally in the Fall of 1988 (so it was written several months prior). It occurs to me that there were two things in the late 80's that changed the Joker (and comics depiction of him): The first is "The Killing Joke" (released a few months earlier in 1988, so it wouldn't have influenced the writing of this comic), and the excellent portrayal of the Joker by Jack Nicholson the very next summer (in 1989) in the Batman film. The 1970's/80's "scheming for money" Joker would give way to the "kill them all just for a laugh" Joker, starting around this time period (starting with "The Killing Joke"). Films like "Silence of the Lambs" in the early 90's might have helped set the tone for the Joker as well (but that's just me theorizing). It just strikes me that by the early to mid 90's, Joker was being portrayed much more menacingly then what I saw in this issue.

I don't know why I assumed it would be a branched timeline kind of thing, where Jason is completely alive and he and Batman track down Joker together (ie a happy ending). In other words, I assumed the vote was for the future of the comic and its tone- change Batman's life in a negative direction nudging him towards Dark Knight Returns, or keep on the light hearted path they were on pre-Crisis. This seems kind of a cop out, like "vote on the outcome of American Idol! Either Clay Aiken will die, or he'll get in an accident and be unable to perform! YOU decide!!!"

I was never a fan of Killing Joke- much too grim and adult for my liking, no wonder my favorite version of Batman is DCAU where it's excised from continuity- but I think DC shot themselves in the foot by having Joker hurt Barbara and then be the one to kill/maim Jason just months later. It gave him too much of an influence on the supporting cast and kind of pigeonholed him into 'psychotic monster' forever. What would be the harm in having Two Face do it, spread the 'love' around to other villains so to speak? Lol.