ROBIN WEEK: Plus, a new edition of the Robin-centric Absolute Dark Victory…
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Welcome to ROBIN WEEK! One of the greatest heroes in comics history debuted 85 years ago, on March 6, 1940 — and we’re celebrating with a series of features saluting the Boys, Girls and Teens Wonder. For the complete index of features, click here.
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Y’know what’s cool? It’s an especially good time to be a fan of the original Boy Wonder, who celebrated his 85th birthday on Thursday.
Right now, you have two solid limited series coming out of DC featuring the Dynamic Duo in the early days — Batman & Robin: Year One, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, and Batman: The Long Halloween — The Last Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and a team of outstanding artists paying tribute to the late Tim Sale.
Main cover by Chris Samnee for the upcoming Batman & Robin: Year One #6
And what better way to celebrate a birthday than with presents — to yourself! The 12-issue Batman & Robin: Year One, which is almost at the midpoint, will be collected in hardcover and paperback in December. And while the inevitable Last Halloween compendium hasn’t been scheduled yet, a new edition of Absolute Batman: Dark Victory, which is Loeb and Sale’s version of the Robin origin and the first sequel to The Long Halloween, is set for September.
Dig these official descriptions from online retail listings:
BATMAN AND ROBIN: YEAR ONE
By Mark Waid and Chris Samnee
Join superstars Mark Waid and Chris Samnee as they explore the earliest days of the Dynamic Duo!
The early years of Batman and Robin were anything but smooth sailing. Join fan-favorite creative duo Mark Waid and Chris Samnee as they explore the first year of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson’s partnership, both as a newly minted father and son in the eyes of the public and as the crime-fighting Batman and Robin to the criminal underworld of Gotham City! Dick may be capable and enthusiastic, but does he have what it takes to stand up against the deadliest costumed villains the city has to offer? And Batman may be prepared for anything—but is he prepared to be responsible for the life and safety of a teenage sidekick?
Collecting Batman & Robin: Year One #1-12
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ABSOLUTE DARK VICTORY (2025 Edition)
By Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
Author Jeph Loeb
Illustrated by Tim Sale
A New York Times Bestseller! Presenting the classic tale of the Dark Knight from writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale for the first time in DC’s upscale Absolute format!
Collecting BATMAN: DARK VICTORY #0-13, this epic continues the story of THE LONG HALLOWEEN. It is early in Batman’s crimefighting career, when James Gordon, Harvey Dent, and the vigilante himself were all just beginning their roles as Gotham’s protectors.
Once a town controlled by organized crime, Gotham City suddenly finds itself being run by lawless freaks, such as Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and the Joker. Witnessing his city’s dark evolution, the Dark Knight completes his transformation into the city’s greatest defender. He faces multiple threats, including the seeming return of a serial killer called Holiday. Batman’s previous investigation of Holiday’s killings revealed that more than one person was responsible for the murders. So the question remains: who is committing Holiday’s crimes this time? And how many will die before Batman learns the truth?
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Several thoughts:
— I sure hope Batman & Robin: Year One includes all the groovy variant covers, like the one for Issue #6 by Cliff Chiang (above), who also turned in an issue of The Last Halloween.
— The Year One hardcover lists for $49.99 and the paperback lists for $29.99. Both are 340 pages and are due Dec. 2, 2025.
— The new edition of Absolute Batman: Dark Victory lists for $100. It’s 408 pages and is due Sept. 16, 2025.
— Standard caveat: While the Absolute has been solicited, Year One has not. So anything can change.
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MORE
— The Complete ROBIN WEEK Index of Features. Click here.
— ROBIN’s 85-Year History Through 13 CLASSIC COLLECTIBLES. Click here.
March 7, 2025
“Year One”. This series is one of the limited new stuff I’m currently buying. The story is a fresh, new take without being radical. Some fun classic covers too!
March 7, 2025
What about the awesome ‘Robin: Year One’ by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty? The story is wonderful and the art by Javier Pulido and Marcos Martin is very striking and adds to the mythos.
After all, Chuck and Scott have done Batgirl: Year One and Chuck on his own did Nightwing: Year One. Those all are very well done stories.
March 7, 2025
Batman & Robin: Year One proves once again that Mark Waid should be shepherding the DCU going forward. Between this and World’s Finest, he’s given us a great view of the past, while titles like Justice League Unlimited has us firmly planted to see what’s next. Now if we could only get a Legion of Superhero title that takes the original team forward instead of reinventing it every time a new writer comes aboard, I’d be pretty damn happy.
March 7, 2025
DT, I have got to agree with you there. WF is another “new” comic series I’ve picked up as both single issue and as TB (gotta give Dan credit for that one). While the presentation/artwork doesn’t necessarily work 100% for me the writing is spot on. It’s the stories that have me looking at them. (No pun intended)