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Batman Post-Crisis #40
Batman: Second Chances
The Dark Knight. The Boy Wonder. The Dynamic Duo. Together, Batman and Robin have kept the streets of Gotham City safe-while the boy beneath the mask, Dick Grayson, has kept Bruce Wayne from a lonely life of brooding darkness. But when a bullet fired from the Joker's gun nearly clips Robin's wings for good, their partnership is severed, and Batman resumes his war on crime alone. But he's not alone for long. When Batman first meets a tough kid named Jason Todd, the boy is more criminal than crimefighter. But from that first encounter, a powerful new bond is forged. The Dark Knight sees Jason's potential to be a hero-as well as the rage and revenge that torment him. The Batman has found his new Robin. Can Gotham's greatest hero help his protege fly right? Discover the origin of one of comics' most controversial characters in SECOND CHANCES-collecting the earliest adventures of Jason Todd, the second Robin, from the minds of legendary creators Max Allan Collins, Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Dave Cockrum, Denys Cowan, Norm Breyfogle, Jo Duffy and more! Collects BATMAN #402-403, #408-416 and BATMAN ANNUAL #11.
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 21, 2015
44 people are currently reading
459 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
810 books1,324 followersReceived the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
August 8, 2021
Some of the issues included were better than others. Dick confronting Bruce about being replaced as Robin was the most powerful. Others prompted the question of what audience the writers were aiming for.
February 14, 2023
While not only about Jason Todd and his becoming the second Robin, this was a collection full of second chances.
Firstly, Tommy Carma. He believed he was the real Batman and basically was after he found the Batcave and stole the Batmobile!
But of course, the one and only Dark Knight easily defeated the delusional man before stating he’ll get Carma some help.
The issues are interrupted by Year One which makes things a bit funny in regard to Jason’s timeline.
The story jumps back to when Bats and a street-wise Jason first meet, as the kid was tryna steal the Batmobile’s tires!
I thought it was an interesting choice to have Jason’s father connected to Two-Face.
Was it destiny that Batman and Jason met so the mentor could give this orphan a better path than he had?
I really liked the Penguin story.
It was about another character who needed a second chance to make something more out their life.
I also really enjoyed seeing a different side to Cobblepott.
I did skip a few issues, mostly I think because they didn’t sound like they were much about Jason.
The final issue was probably my favourite as it included Nightwing!
He and the new Robin team up but that kind of takes a backseat.
Dick tells Jason that he has someone to talk to, as he knows very well it’s a bit hard to share with Bruce.
The once companions do share an intense moment as well. You could really feel the emotions in that scene.
I love when Bruce and Dick interact. You can see how much the young man wants to connect with his adopted father.
Firstly, Tommy Carma. He believed he was the real Batman and basically was after he found the Batcave and stole the Batmobile!
But of course, the one and only Dark Knight easily defeated the delusional man before stating he’ll get Carma some help.
The issues are interrupted by Year One which makes things a bit funny in regard to Jason’s timeline.
The story jumps back to when Bats and a street-wise Jason first meet, as the kid was tryna steal the Batmobile’s tires!
I thought it was an interesting choice to have Jason’s father connected to Two-Face.
Was it destiny that Batman and Jason met so the mentor could give this orphan a better path than he had?
I really liked the Penguin story.
It was about another character who needed a second chance to make something more out their life.
I also really enjoyed seeing a different side to Cobblepott.
I did skip a few issues, mostly I think because they didn’t sound like they were much about Jason.
The final issue was probably my favourite as it included Nightwing!
He and the new Robin team up but that kind of takes a backseat.
Dick tells Jason that he has someone to talk to, as he knows very well it’s a bit hard to share with Bruce.
The once companions do share an intense moment as well. You could really feel the emotions in that scene.
I love when Bruce and Dick interact. You can see how much the young man wants to connect with his adopted father.
May 3, 2021
Well, this was a nice blast from the past. "Second Chances" tells the story of the most unpopular Robin ever-Jason Todd. It was rather cool to see covers that I remembered as a child.
Dick Grayson has been shot in the shoulder by the Joker. Batman freaks the fuck out and tells Robin he's going it alone. Dick is sad since Batman is mad. So Dick leaves to go find himself. Meanwhile, did I mention Batman was mad? Yep. Very mad. So mad that when he runs into little shitbag Jason Todd from boosting his Batmobile tires, he decides this bum will make a good Robin.
This issue also has Nightwing show up in a Batman comic. Dick and Jason seem to get along and Batman is no longer mad. Not too shabby. The art, strangely enough, works well, even for its time. Some of the plot/dialogue is kind of cheesy, but that's to be expected. Overall this was a nice collection.
Oh and there is a cutesy Penguin in love story as part of the Batman annual.
Dick Grayson has been shot in the shoulder by the Joker. Batman freaks the fuck out and tells Robin he's going it alone. Dick is sad since Batman is mad. So Dick leaves to go find himself. Meanwhile, did I mention Batman was mad? Yep. Very mad. So mad that when he runs into little shitbag Jason Todd from boosting his Batmobile tires, he decides this bum will make a good Robin.
This issue also has Nightwing show up in a Batman comic. Dick and Jason seem to get along and Batman is no longer mad. Not too shabby. The art, strangely enough, works well, even for its time. Some of the plot/dialogue is kind of cheesy, but that's to be expected. Overall this was a nice collection.
Oh and there is a cutesy Penguin in love story as part of the Batman annual.
August 23, 2015
This collection contains one of my favourite Batman stories of all time.
No, I'm not talking about Jason Todd's origin story, or the issue where Nightwing confronts Batman about his hypocrisy in firing one sidekick and immediately finding another.
I'm talking about Batman #412, where Bruce and Jason fight a punk mime.
...Okay, in all seriousness though, I love most of the stories in this collection. Jason Todd is my favourite Robin, and while I love some of the stories that have been told about him after his death/resurrection, these original Jason-Robin stories get to the heart of the character. I've spent a lot of time frustrated at more recent retcons (and people only familiar with those retcons) which depict Jason as a violent thug who was always destined for evil. It's nice to see these stories back in print as a counter to that sort of thing.
My one complaint is that issue 414 (a dark, violent Batman solo adventure, drastically different in tone to the stories around it) was included in the collection while issues 424-425 (crucial Jason-Todd-as-Robin reading material) were not. If you like this book, seek out those two issues!
No, I'm not talking about Jason Todd's origin story, or the issue where Nightwing confronts Batman about his hypocrisy in firing one sidekick and immediately finding another.
I'm talking about Batman #412, where Bruce and Jason fight a punk mime.
...Okay, in all seriousness though, I love most of the stories in this collection. Jason Todd is my favourite Robin, and while I love some of the stories that have been told about him after his death/resurrection, these original Jason-Robin stories get to the heart of the character. I've spent a lot of time frustrated at more recent retcons (and people only familiar with those retcons) which depict Jason as a violent thug who was always destined for evil. It's nice to see these stories back in print as a counter to that sort of thing.
My one complaint is that issue 414 (a dark, violent Batman solo adventure, drastically different in tone to the stories around it) was included in the collection while issues 424-425 (crucial Jason-Todd-as-Robin reading material) were not. If you like this book, seek out those two issues!
April 14, 2021
The introduction of the second Robin, Jason Todd. Solid stories and art.
July 17, 2022
I will always stand by fact Jason Todd is best Robin especially for Bruce.
June 24, 2019
This collection starts off on a rather peculiar foot. It doesn't acknowledge the fact that after its first two issues, DC published Batman: Year One, Frank Miller's post-Crisis reboot of the Batman mythology. So we get two issues of an extremely quiet, small, and well-mannered Jason Todd … and then without explanation the "New Adventures" of Batman begin …
The new origin of Todd that comes with the New Adventures is great. It's nice having the possibility of a new Robin who's more angry and less noble than Grayson, even if this fact is used somewhat erratically in this particular volume. I don't really understand why the readers of the time didn't appreciate it.
Beyond that, the comics offer an interesting combination of classic silliness and more modern seriousness. On the one hand we have Two-Face, still committing numbered crimes and flipping coins; on the other hand we have stories like Starlin's "Victims" which could have come straight out of O'Neil's dark-and-gritty Question series. Overall, the stories are surprisingly well written and mature for the time period (and still good today).
If I have any complaint about this volume, it's the bad editing of it as a collection. The choice to include two issues prior to the advent of the new Todd is entirely bizarre, especially given the lack of explanation for the Todd reboot. And yet, it's even more mystifying that they left out Batman #401, the first post-Crisis issue of the comic. The one issue of Millennium crossover could also have used some better explanation. But, this seems to be a common failing in DC's current editorial office: they don't feel like their collections deserve explanations even when they really need them.
So, be warned of the blemishes, but this is good reading.
The new origin of Todd that comes with the New Adventures is great. It's nice having the possibility of a new Robin who's more angry and less noble than Grayson, even if this fact is used somewhat erratically in this particular volume. I don't really understand why the readers of the time didn't appreciate it.
Beyond that, the comics offer an interesting combination of classic silliness and more modern seriousness. On the one hand we have Two-Face, still committing numbered crimes and flipping coins; on the other hand we have stories like Starlin's "Victims" which could have come straight out of O'Neil's dark-and-gritty Question series. Overall, the stories are surprisingly well written and mature for the time period (and still good today).
If I have any complaint about this volume, it's the bad editing of it as a collection. The choice to include two issues prior to the advent of the new Todd is entirely bizarre, especially given the lack of explanation for the Todd reboot. And yet, it's even more mystifying that they left out Batman #401, the first post-Crisis issue of the comic. The one issue of Millennium crossover could also have used some better explanation. But, this seems to be a common failing in DC's current editorial office: they don't feel like their collections deserve explanations even when they really need them.
So, be warned of the blemishes, but this is good reading.
March 2, 2018
I have been looking for Jason Todd stories in trade paperback for ages! So when this came through the library, I absolutely had to borrow it. My over all thoughts: This is a great collection, full of complex and interesting stories that also give us some pretty in-depth, psychological looks at favorite characters--namely Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and, of course, Jason Todd.
I've always heard that Jason was the most annoying Robin (hence why the fans voted to kill him), but, honestly, I can't really understand that perspective. People cried foul when the writers originally made Jason a "Dick Grayson Redux," so how could they really complain when they spiced up his story with some differences? (Speaking of which, in the first two issues, Jason is already living at Wayne Manor, and then in the third issue--five issues later in actual publication--we get him and Batman meeting. I can't help but wonder if a crisis event or something similar happened in between those, allowing us to get this new and improved origin story. Would that be "Crisis on Infinite Earths" maybe?) A Robin dealing with anger, who had a much tougher exterior, seemed like a nice change of pace. But, apparently... that's not what people wanted either.
However... I digress. Jason's death is not a part of this collection. Instead, this book is all about his beginning: How he met the Dark Knight and how he trained to become Robin. Also included are a few other issues where he was, not necessarily the star, but still a strong part of the action. He felt as much like Robin as any of the older Dick Grayson stories I've read.
Speaking of Dick, I really enjoyed issue #416, "White Gold and Truth." (Though I don't know what they were thinking when the originally designed that Nightwing uniform; it's kind of hysterical.) I liked seeing Dick interacting with Jason, hearing how Dick had to overcome his own inner demons and doubts after Robin was taken away from him, and watching him confront Bruce over the matter. I've always liked Dick, but seeing how much he really had to grow between Robin and Nightwing makes his character all the more interesting and relatable. Plus, we got to see Batman's emotional side--which doesn't come out very often.
That's another thing I liked about these stories. Batman wasn't written so deeply in darkness that there weren't a few moments of levity, of humanity. Of course, some of those moments were a little cheesy, but that honestly just felt nostalgic, so I can't really complain. Some of the narration also crossed that line from dramatic to cheesy, but again... nostalgia. And, for the most part, the writers delivered perfectly pitched stories and character interactions.
Issue #414,"Victims," was particularly poignant. Jason wasn't in this one. Batman took center stage... more specifically, one of his failures took center stage. This story took a look at a crime in which the victim was someone Batman knew and how his emotions blinded him. It's interesting having that issue so close to #416, where his emotional outburst at Dick seemed like it might very well be the first step in repairing that relationship.
It was nice to compare how emotions can both hinder and help, and even more intriguing to contemplate the balance that needs to be struck in Bruce Wayne/Batman's life. What does he sacrifice by being the Batman? Are those sacrifices worth it? But, if he sacrifices too much, will he become no better than the criminals and madmen he fights? That's a conflict that's always present in Batman stories, and it was an interesting one here, especially since the crux of this collection is the fact that Batman basically admits that he needs a Robin. So, if you're like me and you want solid storytelling with just the right amount of nostalgia--and tons of Jason!--then this is a definite must-read.
I've always heard that Jason was the most annoying Robin (hence why the fans voted to kill him), but, honestly, I can't really understand that perspective. People cried foul when the writers originally made Jason a "Dick Grayson Redux," so how could they really complain when they spiced up his story with some differences? (Speaking of which, in the first two issues, Jason is already living at Wayne Manor, and then in the third issue--five issues later in actual publication--we get him and Batman meeting. I can't help but wonder if a crisis event or something similar happened in between those, allowing us to get this new and improved origin story. Would that be "Crisis on Infinite Earths" maybe?) A Robin dealing with anger, who had a much tougher exterior, seemed like a nice change of pace. But, apparently... that's not what people wanted either.
However... I digress. Jason's death is not a part of this collection. Instead, this book is all about his beginning: How he met the Dark Knight and how he trained to become Robin. Also included are a few other issues where he was, not necessarily the star, but still a strong part of the action. He felt as much like Robin as any of the older Dick Grayson stories I've read.
Speaking of Dick, I really enjoyed issue #416, "White Gold and Truth." (Though I don't know what they were thinking when the originally designed that Nightwing uniform; it's kind of hysterical.) I liked seeing Dick interacting with Jason, hearing how Dick had to overcome his own inner demons and doubts after Robin was taken away from him, and watching him confront Bruce over the matter. I've always liked Dick, but seeing how much he really had to grow between Robin and Nightwing makes his character all the more interesting and relatable. Plus, we got to see Batman's emotional side--which doesn't come out very often.
That's another thing I liked about these stories. Batman wasn't written so deeply in darkness that there weren't a few moments of levity, of humanity. Of course, some of those moments were a little cheesy, but that honestly just felt nostalgic, so I can't really complain. Some of the narration also crossed that line from dramatic to cheesy, but again... nostalgia. And, for the most part, the writers delivered perfectly pitched stories and character interactions.
Issue #414,"Victims," was particularly poignant. Jason wasn't in this one. Batman took center stage... more specifically, one of his failures took center stage. This story took a look at a crime in which the victim was someone Batman knew and how his emotions blinded him. It's interesting having that issue so close to #416, where his emotional outburst at Dick seemed like it might very well be the first step in repairing that relationship.
It was nice to compare how emotions can both hinder and help, and even more intriguing to contemplate the balance that needs to be struck in Bruce Wayne/Batman's life. What does he sacrifice by being the Batman? Are those sacrifices worth it? But, if he sacrifices too much, will he become no better than the criminals and madmen he fights? That's a conflict that's always present in Batman stories, and it was an interesting one here, especially since the crux of this collection is the fact that Batman basically admits that he needs a Robin. So, if you're like me and you want solid storytelling with just the right amount of nostalgia--and tons of Jason!--then this is a definite must-read.
July 7, 2016
3.5 stars (though I really wanted to rate this higher.)
While the material overall is pretty strong, the selection of issues could have been better to get a better view of the Jason Todd/Robin "arc" prior to Batman: A Death in the Family.
While the material overall is pretty strong, the selection of issues could have been better to get a better view of the Jason Todd/Robin "arc" prior to Batman: A Death in the Family.
March 26, 2022
This was a very weird experience. First of all, for the longest time I thought this was a Golden Era collection. It fully isn't, and the first person/journal pov should have given it away, but the artstyle and storytelling was very similar to golden era stuff so I just worked with that assumption for the longest time. And therefore cutting it a lot of slack. Which it apparently doesn't deserve.
Firstly, I fully do not understand why they decided to collect all these stories together besides the fact that they were published in succession to each other. But that's not even true since the first two issues are published separately. I genuinely just don't understand the logic. Three of the stories are left unfinished. If they're published as a collection then surely you would try to /collect/ the stories. Weird.
When it comes to Jason Todd, I actually think he was adorable. I loved his two issue backstory, I thought the house for troubled kids was a good plot point, I thought him constantly stealing people's car tires was hilarious, I thought the fact that when Bruce looked at him he saw a mix of Dick and himself was amazing. 10/10. Love batfamily angst. Seeing him adopt a child immediately after losing one was a very big challenge on us as a reader, because on one side you fall for Jason Todd's wittiness and spunk, but on the other side you mourn the loss of Dick. The story where Dick is at the museum with his school and Bruce is there as an investor and the worlds collide is great, I thought it was a cute side story on their inner-workings and on them developing as a team.
Which leads me to my next point: I liked seeing Bruce Wayne as the business man he is, see him at work and talking with people as a billionaire rather than a vigilante. And on that same page, I loved Vicky. What a G. Her talking about how much she hates Batman and how different Bruce is from him. Comedy gold metal. Girl you're so blinded by your attraction to Bruce you're struggling to notice they're the same person. Gotham's best journalist for what.
I also really enjoyed the beginning of that story with that girl that he becomes friends with as Bruce that then gets murdered. That didn't really get an end in this issue though so. :/ Upsetting.
Finally, Nightwing's return. Him and Robin interacting will always be sweet. His confrontation of Bruce was interesting, but not strong enough or expected enough to actually have an impact. He gets batman to say that he misses him, then he walks away. And once again we have the figure of Batman overlooking them at the end of this issue. I guess in a way this is the first itteration of Nightwing: Year One, and it's a solid base for what it is. I'm glad it got to be expanded later on, if anything.
Realistically speaking, if this collection had an actual cohesive thought behind it I would have given it a much higher rating. However the seeming unrelation between the stories as well as the fact that about half of them don't have an ending is very unnerving to me, no matter if this is how comic collections usually operate or not.
Firstly, I fully do not understand why they decided to collect all these stories together besides the fact that they were published in succession to each other. But that's not even true since the first two issues are published separately. I genuinely just don't understand the logic. Three of the stories are left unfinished. If they're published as a collection then surely you would try to /collect/ the stories. Weird.
When it comes to Jason Todd, I actually think he was adorable. I loved his two issue backstory, I thought the house for troubled kids was a good plot point, I thought him constantly stealing people's car tires was hilarious, I thought the fact that when Bruce looked at him he saw a mix of Dick and himself was amazing. 10/10. Love batfamily angst. Seeing him adopt a child immediately after losing one was a very big challenge on us as a reader, because on one side you fall for Jason Todd's wittiness and spunk, but on the other side you mourn the loss of Dick. The story where Dick is at the museum with his school and Bruce is there as an investor and the worlds collide is great, I thought it was a cute side story on their inner-workings and on them developing as a team.
Which leads me to my next point: I liked seeing Bruce Wayne as the business man he is, see him at work and talking with people as a billionaire rather than a vigilante. And on that same page, I loved Vicky. What a G. Her talking about how much she hates Batman and how different Bruce is from him. Comedy gold metal. Girl you're so blinded by your attraction to Bruce you're struggling to notice they're the same person. Gotham's best journalist for what.
I also really enjoyed the beginning of that story with that girl that he becomes friends with as Bruce that then gets murdered. That didn't really get an end in this issue though so. :/ Upsetting.
Finally, Nightwing's return. Him and Robin interacting will always be sweet. His confrontation of Bruce was interesting, but not strong enough or expected enough to actually have an impact. He gets batman to say that he misses him, then he walks away. And once again we have the figure of Batman overlooking them at the end of this issue. I guess in a way this is the first itteration of Nightwing: Year One, and it's a solid base for what it is. I'm glad it got to be expanded later on, if anything.
Realistically speaking, if this collection had an actual cohesive thought behind it I would have given it a much higher rating. However the seeming unrelation between the stories as well as the fact that about half of them don't have an ending is very unnerving to me, no matter if this is how comic collections usually operate or not.
November 6, 2024
Re-read review 6th November 2024
I'm a big fan of Nightwing's origin story in "Nightwing Year One", so it's interesting seeing this earlier version of the story, along with the post-crisis introduction of Jason Todd stealing the tyres off the batmobile.
It does occasionally feel a bit 1960s Batman in the dialogue, but I liked Jason's introduction and his dynamic with Batman, even if it did feel a bit rushed, which makes sense for the time.
Bruce firing Dick after he was shot and then immediately going out and finding another little orphan as a replacement does feel a bit weird, but it's a Batman comic and they do make some attempt at justifying it with a nice scene between Bruce and Dick towards the end.
Sometimes this older books feel like a bit of a slog, but aside from the opening story about a copycat Batman, I really enjoyed this.
Original Review - 1st May 2017
Interesting seeing the post crisis introduction of Jason. I do like this version of the character, a street kid who, just like Bruce and Dick needed someone to help him avoid the life of crime he seemed destined to lead.
The stories are very much of their time, so you need to take that into account before reading, but they're still quite enjoyable.
I prefer the Nightwing: Year One version of Dick being fired, but I do like the overall consistency in that Batman just wants to keep him safe. The very simple explanation of why he recruited Jason, because he missed Dick is good enough justification for me.
I'm a big fan of Nightwing's origin story in "Nightwing Year One", so it's interesting seeing this earlier version of the story, along with the post-crisis introduction of Jason Todd stealing the tyres off the batmobile.
It does occasionally feel a bit 1960s Batman in the dialogue, but I liked Jason's introduction and his dynamic with Batman, even if it did feel a bit rushed, which makes sense for the time.
Bruce firing Dick after he was shot and then immediately going out and finding another little orphan as a replacement does feel a bit weird, but it's a Batman comic and they do make some attempt at justifying it with a nice scene between Bruce and Dick towards the end.
Sometimes this older books feel like a bit of a slog, but aside from the opening story about a copycat Batman, I really enjoyed this.
Original Review - 1st May 2017
Interesting seeing the post crisis introduction of Jason. I do like this version of the character, a street kid who, just like Bruce and Dick needed someone to help him avoid the life of crime he seemed destined to lead.
The stories are very much of their time, so you need to take that into account before reading, but they're still quite enjoyable.
I prefer the Nightwing: Year One version of Dick being fired, but I do like the overall consistency in that Batman just wants to keep him safe. The very simple explanation of why he recruited Jason, because he missed Dick is good enough justification for me.
June 26, 2017
An uneven but enjoyable collection in which a vague theme of redemption threads the tales. A few stories that leave unresolved cliffhangers drag down the overall quality, but the volume as a whole is enjoyable.
April 6, 2025
This collected edition chronicles some of the key adventures in the short-lived career of Jason Todd, the second Robin, after his origin story was completely rebooted in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths. In some respects, Second Chances forms the first of a "Replacement Robin" trilogy that continues in Batman: Death In The Family and Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (both of which are reviewed here). These comics were published at the same time Batman was going it alone in Tim Burton's first feature-film adaptation, but stand as a testament to what an important place in the Batman mythos -- and superhero pantheon in general -- the Boy Wonder occupies.
This graphic novel begins with a two-part story that is completely superfluous to the titular arc, featuring Batman's struggle against a costumed imposter. There's a little mentoring of his new protégé, sure, but this installment, though published first, is chronologically out-of-order with what comes next: the (rebooted) origin and training of Jason Todd.
That storyline, covered in "Did Robin Die Tonight?", "Just Another Kid on Crime Alley," "Two of a Kind," and "Second Chance," is the real meat of this collection, though Max Allan Collins' scripts are somewhat more juvenile than I remember, with a lot of on-the-nose dialogue (and too much talk in general). (Though, in fairness, I suppose these stories were meant to entertain 12-year-olds, the age I was when I first read them.)
The next two chapters, "The Sound of Silence" and "The Ghost of Masahiko Tahara" are amusing-enough standalones that don't add much to the emotional through-line of the new Dynamic Duo, other than dramatizing their nascent partnership as an increasingly effective association.
"Victims!" marks the first installment in this collection from writer Jim Starlin and artist Jim Aparo, and the quality skyrockets commensurably. Starlin is adept at telling tightly plotted 22-page stories with an emotional arc, and Aparo, for me, was the definitive Batman artist of the eighties.
Starlin and Aparo's second contribution to this collection is a fantastical tie-in issue with a continuity-wide event series called "Millennium" that is only thematically relevant to the rest of Second Chances insofar as it demonstrates the new Robin's proclivity for impetuousness (which will bear tragic fruit in Batman: Death In The Family). Otherwise, it's inconsequential.
The final Starlin/Aparo episode, "White Gold and Truth" is the crown jewel -- the entire collection is worth owning just for this issue. This was one of my all-time favorites as a kid -- I read it and reread it often -- and I was relieved to discover how well it holds up. It is a perfectly self-contained story that not only recaps the "retirement" of the first Robin, Dick Grayson, but Jason's revamped origin, as well. Furthermore, there is a lot of emotional complexity at work here, particularly with respect to the unresolved anger Dick harbors toward Batman for being told his sidekick services were no longer necessary... only to discover he'd been replaced by a newer, younger model. It's a really good issue that manages to portray the so-called "Bat Family" as credibly dysfunctional, and really captures Batman's emotional aloofness in way that's usually either downplayed (in "friendlier" takes on the character) or pushed to the point of extreme nihilism (as in Frank Miller's repugnant All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, Vol. 1). Nearly thirty years after first reading it, "White Gold and Truth" remains one of my favorite Batman stories -- a comic that requires no other issues leading up to or away from it be read also in order to be enjoyed.
Though "White Gold and Truth" segues perfectly into Batman: A Death in the Family, Second Chances is nonetheless capped with a short Penguin story from 1987's Batman Annual that doesn't belong here, but is worth inclusion for no other reason than it features the artwork of the amazing Norm Breyfogle, who became my favorite Batman artist of the nineties. "Love Bird" is a slight story, but it features a moderately clever twist at the end, and at least it's short.
Jason Todd was the most psychologically complex of the initial three Robins -- far more interesting than the well-adjusted Boy Scouts that preceded and followed him -- and it's only a shame he wasn't embraced by the fandom. (Resurrecting him as the antihero Red Hood was an egregious mistake, as his death had more meaning to the mythos than his brief life ever did, and should've been held sacrosanct.) Second Chances at least offers new and old fans alike their own second chance -- to revisit the short, tragic career of a misunderstood character who once bore the name and insignia of one of the most legendary superheroes in comicdom.
This graphic novel begins with a two-part story that is completely superfluous to the titular arc, featuring Batman's struggle against a costumed imposter. There's a little mentoring of his new protégé, sure, but this installment, though published first, is chronologically out-of-order with what comes next: the (rebooted) origin and training of Jason Todd.
That storyline, covered in "Did Robin Die Tonight?", "Just Another Kid on Crime Alley," "Two of a Kind," and "Second Chance," is the real meat of this collection, though Max Allan Collins' scripts are somewhat more juvenile than I remember, with a lot of on-the-nose dialogue (and too much talk in general). (Though, in fairness, I suppose these stories were meant to entertain 12-year-olds, the age I was when I first read them.)
The next two chapters, "The Sound of Silence" and "The Ghost of Masahiko Tahara" are amusing-enough standalones that don't add much to the emotional through-line of the new Dynamic Duo, other than dramatizing their nascent partnership as an increasingly effective association.
"Victims!" marks the first installment in this collection from writer Jim Starlin and artist Jim Aparo, and the quality skyrockets commensurably. Starlin is adept at telling tightly plotted 22-page stories with an emotional arc, and Aparo, for me, was the definitive Batman artist of the eighties.
Starlin and Aparo's second contribution to this collection is a fantastical tie-in issue with a continuity-wide event series called "Millennium" that is only thematically relevant to the rest of Second Chances insofar as it demonstrates the new Robin's proclivity for impetuousness (which will bear tragic fruit in Batman: Death In The Family). Otherwise, it's inconsequential.
The final Starlin/Aparo episode, "White Gold and Truth" is the crown jewel -- the entire collection is worth owning just for this issue. This was one of my all-time favorites as a kid -- I read it and reread it often -- and I was relieved to discover how well it holds up. It is a perfectly self-contained story that not only recaps the "retirement" of the first Robin, Dick Grayson, but Jason's revamped origin, as well. Furthermore, there is a lot of emotional complexity at work here, particularly with respect to the unresolved anger Dick harbors toward Batman for being told his sidekick services were no longer necessary... only to discover he'd been replaced by a newer, younger model. It's a really good issue that manages to portray the so-called "Bat Family" as credibly dysfunctional, and really captures Batman's emotional aloofness in way that's usually either downplayed (in "friendlier" takes on the character) or pushed to the point of extreme nihilism (as in Frank Miller's repugnant All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, Vol. 1). Nearly thirty years after first reading it, "White Gold and Truth" remains one of my favorite Batman stories -- a comic that requires no other issues leading up to or away from it be read also in order to be enjoyed.
Though "White Gold and Truth" segues perfectly into Batman: A Death in the Family, Second Chances is nonetheless capped with a short Penguin story from 1987's Batman Annual that doesn't belong here, but is worth inclusion for no other reason than it features the artwork of the amazing Norm Breyfogle, who became my favorite Batman artist of the nineties. "Love Bird" is a slight story, but it features a moderately clever twist at the end, and at least it's short.
Jason Todd was the most psychologically complex of the initial three Robins -- far more interesting than the well-adjusted Boy Scouts that preceded and followed him -- and it's only a shame he wasn't embraced by the fandom. (Resurrecting him as the antihero Red Hood was an egregious mistake, as his death had more meaning to the mythos than his brief life ever did, and should've been held sacrosanct.) Second Chances at least offers new and old fans alike their own second chance -- to revisit the short, tragic career of a misunderstood character who once bore the name and insignia of one of the most legendary superheroes in comicdom.
August 21, 2019
I bought this collection purely because I wanted to actually read Jason Todd's origin story. I've heard so much about it - from other fans, as references in other comics, and in fanworks - that I felt I was doing myself a disservice by not actually reading it myself. That being said, I can better understand why some fans were upset upon the original introduction of Jason as Robin. Bruce's stated reason for firing Dick as Robin was that it was simply too dangerous to be a child vigilante (despite the fact that he was 19 when the Joker shot him in "Did Robin Die Tonight?"), and then two issues later he's offering a random kid who's significantly younger than Dick and has little/no training a cape? I mean, I like Jason - he's one of my favorite characters - and that made me angry. And I have the benefit of several decades worth of hindsight and the knowledge that he will grow to be an awesome character! So, I definitely got a better understanding of fan reactions to the first two Robins and the transition from Robin I to Robin II out of this volume.
While I liked the other stories that were included here, my hands down favorite was "White Gold and Truth," the second to last story in the volume, where Dick returns to Gotham as Nightwing to confront Bruce about Jason being Robin. It had great interaction between Dick and Bruce, but more than that I loved the interaction between Dick and Jason. I've heard it said that one of the reasons Jason as Robin was a base breaker was because Dick never accepted Jason having the mantle. This story proves that completely wrong. Dick gives Jason his old Robin costume, his phone number and invites Jason to reach out to him, then they bond by busting a illegal drug lab together. The acceptance of the Robin mantle passing from one to the next could not be clearer, and they panels on which these take place beautifully show how the end of one era has been accepted and the dawn of another era has been celebrated by the participants themselves.
Just for the three stories that I really wanted to read - "Did Robin Die Tonight?," "Just Another Kid on Crime Alley!," and "White Gold and Truth" - Second Chances would have been worth the buy. The other stories included, especially the ones showing some of Jason's run as Robin, just added to my enjoyment of the collection. This is a collection that I am happy to have purchased, and it is one that I would recommend or gift to a comic reader or Jason Todd fan.
While I liked the other stories that were included here, my hands down favorite was "White Gold and Truth," the second to last story in the volume, where Dick returns to Gotham as Nightwing to confront Bruce about Jason being Robin. It had great interaction between Dick and Bruce, but more than that I loved the interaction between Dick and Jason. I've heard it said that one of the reasons Jason as Robin was a base breaker was because Dick never accepted Jason having the mantle. This story proves that completely wrong. Dick gives Jason his old Robin costume, his phone number and invites Jason to reach out to him, then they bond by busting a illegal drug lab together. The acceptance of the Robin mantle passing from one to the next could not be clearer, and they panels on which these take place beautifully show how the end of one era has been accepted and the dawn of another era has been celebrated by the participants themselves.
Just for the three stories that I really wanted to read - "Did Robin Die Tonight?," "Just Another Kid on Crime Alley!," and "White Gold and Truth" - Second Chances would have been worth the buy. The other stories included, especially the ones showing some of Jason's run as Robin, just added to my enjoyment of the collection. This is a collection that I am happy to have purchased, and it is one that I would recommend or gift to a comic reader or Jason Todd fan.
January 5, 2021
A pretty good collection of Batman comics. Considering I read #357 through to here, I can only imagine how confused Batman readers were back in the 80s. They retconned things that were settled less than 50 issues previous to these and it's really odd. Most things were changed to add more conflict.
This collection chronicles Jason Todd's retconned introduction. When Batsy met him in issue #357, he was Jason Todd, the acrobat and son of the "Flying Todds". His parents were killed by Killer Croc and he went to stay with Bruce. He had red hair which he later dyed to put on a costume and fight crime with Batman. They did everything to avoid calling him "Robin", but Bruce slipped up a few times and eventually Dick drops by to tell them it's silly for them not to just call him Robin. Dick willingly hands over the costume.
After the retcon, Jason Todd is a street kid Bruce finds trying to boost the wheels off of the batmobile. He has black hair, he's been living alone for a long time after his mother died of a drug overdose and his father was killed by Two Face, who he worked for. Bruce sends him to a "school" run by a woman who uses street kids to commit crimes. He helps Batman close the school down and Bruce agrees to train him to be Robin. In the retcon, Jason is pretty much Dick's complete opposite. Adding conflict.
In the retcon, Dick was fired after the Joker shot him and Bruce suddenly(?) felt guilty about having a child for a partner. Dick was 19 at the time (I swear, the ages for Dick and Jason shift all the time). He leaves the manor, goes to college, fails at college and starts leading the Teen Titans. In the retcon, Robin was taken from him. Adding conflict.
When Dick confronts Bruce about hiring another child sidekick, Bruce tries to give the run around before ultimately admitting that he missed Dick. Which, y'know, I'd empathize with him for if he hadn't been the one that fired Dick. It's a great scene though.
Overall, pretty solid collection. Nowhere near as weighed down by unnecessary romantic conflict like the issues before it and I loved seeing Jason's joy at being Robin.
This collection chronicles Jason Todd's retconned introduction. When Batsy met him in issue #357, he was Jason Todd, the acrobat and son of the "Flying Todds". His parents were killed by Killer Croc and he went to stay with Bruce. He had red hair which he later dyed to put on a costume and fight crime with Batman. They did everything to avoid calling him "Robin", but Bruce slipped up a few times and eventually Dick drops by to tell them it's silly for them not to just call him Robin. Dick willingly hands over the costume.
After the retcon, Jason Todd is a street kid Bruce finds trying to boost the wheels off of the batmobile. He has black hair, he's been living alone for a long time after his mother died of a drug overdose and his father was killed by Two Face, who he worked for. Bruce sends him to a "school" run by a woman who uses street kids to commit crimes. He helps Batman close the school down and Bruce agrees to train him to be Robin. In the retcon, Jason is pretty much Dick's complete opposite. Adding conflict.
In the retcon, Dick was fired after the Joker shot him and Bruce suddenly(?) felt guilty about having a child for a partner. Dick was 19 at the time (I swear, the ages for Dick and Jason shift all the time). He leaves the manor, goes to college, fails at college and starts leading the Teen Titans. In the retcon, Robin was taken from him. Adding conflict.
When Dick confronts Bruce about hiring another child sidekick, Bruce tries to give the run around before ultimately admitting that he missed Dick. Which, y'know, I'd empathize with him for if he hadn't been the one that fired Dick. It's a great scene though.
Overall, pretty solid collection. Nowhere near as weighed down by unnecessary romantic conflict like the issues before it and I loved seeing Jason's joy at being Robin.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2015
A nice, but 'odd' collection. While this is supposed to be the (2nd) origin of Jason Todd-the 2nd Robin, the collection opens with a two part story BEFORE the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that opened the door for the new origin. So in those two stories Jason is already Robin....then we jump into the 'new' origin, where we see Dick Grayson's time as Robin end, and open the door for Jason.
Good stuff, overall. The story where the new Robin runs into Nightwing(Grayson) is very good.
A 'solo' Batman story is in here, and a story all about The Penguin. Like I said, an 'odd' collection...But worth the time, if all you know about Jason Todd is the Red Hood story....
Good stuff, overall. The story where the new Robin runs into Nightwing(Grayson) is very good.
A 'solo' Batman story is in here, and a story all about The Penguin. Like I said, an 'odd' collection...But worth the time, if all you know about Jason Todd is the Red Hood story....
August 7, 2018
In truth this is closer to a 3.5 but I had a good time reading this collection so rounding up felt right.
These post-CRISIS early Jason Todd stories are worthy of any Bat-aficionado's time. They represent a unique moment in Batman's history: Dark Knight Returns had been unleashed upon the world the same year these issues were released and Year One was published right in the middle of this run. Batman is growing and changing right before our eyes and the transition is something to see: awkward, imperfect, yet captivating all the same.
These post-CRISIS early Jason Todd stories are worthy of any Bat-aficionado's time. They represent a unique moment in Batman's history: Dark Knight Returns had been unleashed upon the world the same year these issues were released and Year One was published right in the middle of this run. Batman is growing and changing right before our eyes and the transition is something to see: awkward, imperfect, yet captivating all the same.
November 2, 2015
A solid collection of comics. All together some good stories and some beautiful artwork as well.
September 23, 2024
This is a mix bag, with some great highs, and a few lows.
Right out the gate get a great two parter about a derange guy following in Batman's steps but going the full murder route. It's really well done. Then get some decent ones with Jason's new origins and upbringing that are pretty solid. The following issues with two face are pretty bad, but luckily the last couple of issues are great when Sterlin takes over and gives us a very hard headed Jason while also diving deep into Bruce and Dick's issues too.
Overall solid, worth reading to see how Jason was before his death. Not all great, but great parts!
Right out the gate get a great two parter about a derange guy following in Batman's steps but going the full murder route. It's really well done. Then get some decent ones with Jason's new origins and upbringing that are pretty solid. The following issues with two face are pretty bad, but luckily the last couple of issues are great when Sterlin takes over and gives us a very hard headed Jason while also diving deep into Bruce and Dick's issues too.
Overall solid, worth reading to see how Jason was before his death. Not all great, but great parts!
December 13, 2022
An interesting era of Batman I've never read before with some hit and miss stories. Some real good stuff and some real cringe stuff but overall I'm glad I stumbled across this one, if for nothing else to see Batman refer to his car as a buggy. Wild.
September 11, 2025
jason todd you mean so much to me 💖
August 26, 2015
It's good to see DC finally releasing into trade form a lot of the 1970s and 1980s Batman stories. There was a lot of good stuff back then, including the precursor to the Frank Miller "dark" reboot, prefigured in much of this earlier material. This volume is rather curious but much-needed: a collection of some of Jason Todd's earliest adventures as Robin including his "origin" story when Batman catches him stealing the Batmobile's tires.
Immediately we see the charm at work here: these pre-gritty, more self-aware Batman stories are fantastic. So a kid can steal the Batmobile's tires? Batman walks down the street at night in plain sight talking to pimps and drug dealers? People don't make the connection of Batman visiting the Crime Alley site where Bruce Wayne's parents got shot every year on that very same anniversary? There was a certain winsome, acerbic innocence to comics back then. Batman was reasonably violent and Batman even made mistakes--and I'm not talking I-created-this-villain-because-of-my-mask stupid psychological shit.
This is the real worth of these stories: Batman fucks up sometimes.
I'm talking like Batman taking a street hood kid under his wing and thinking he can tame the young guy. We all know what happens to Jason Todd and he's become a cool character in his own right, but what does he mean to Batman? Todd is uncouth and violent and vengeful. But so is Batman. And these stories remind us of that. Batman is equally rash: one story features him totally mucking up a case because a young blonde socialite who shared his penchant for helping others gets brutally murdered. The case never even gets solved! Some might question the inclusion of the weird Penguin story at the end, but it's also to show you that Batman isn't infallible. And neither is Robin. Todd's Robin showcases, maybe, a transition to the weird, brooding Batman we now know so well, a Batman who has learned from his mistakes and has withdrawn because of it. Fits well into the over-arching continuity, I think.
Immediately we see the charm at work here: these pre-gritty, more self-aware Batman stories are fantastic. So a kid can steal the Batmobile's tires? Batman walks down the street at night in plain sight talking to pimps and drug dealers? People don't make the connection of Batman visiting the Crime Alley site where Bruce Wayne's parents got shot every year on that very same anniversary? There was a certain winsome, acerbic innocence to comics back then. Batman was reasonably violent and Batman even made mistakes--and I'm not talking I-created-this-villain-because-of-my-mask stupid psychological shit.
This is the real worth of these stories: Batman fucks up sometimes.
I'm talking like Batman taking a street hood kid under his wing and thinking he can tame the young guy. We all know what happens to Jason Todd and he's become a cool character in his own right, but what does he mean to Batman? Todd is uncouth and violent and vengeful. But so is Batman. And these stories remind us of that. Batman is equally rash: one story features him totally mucking up a case because a young blonde socialite who shared his penchant for helping others gets brutally murdered. The case never even gets solved! Some might question the inclusion of the weird Penguin story at the end, but it's also to show you that Batman isn't infallible. And neither is Robin. Todd's Robin showcases, maybe, a transition to the weird, brooding Batman we now know so well, a Batman who has learned from his mistakes and has withdrawn because of it. Fits well into the over-arching continuity, I think.
January 17, 2024
Boas histórias numa coleção mal editada.
Os primeiros 2 issues nesta coleção tratam de uma história em que o Jason Todd já assumiu o seu papel como segundo Robin, seguindo-se depois de uma "origin story" de como o Jason Todd conheceu o Batman (issues #408-414 e #416), misturando pelo meio alguns issues episódicos, um dos quais deixa aberto um mistério de um assassino em série em Gotham que só será resolvido na coleção posterior "Batman: The Caped Crusader vol. 1". Confusos? Eu também.
Inclui também o #415, parte de um crossover execrável em que algumas personagens foram substituídas por aliens, estilo Secret Invasion... Naturalmente este issue encontra-se completamente descontextualizado nesta coleção.
No final recupera com o issue em que o Dick Grayson, agora Nightwing, confronta o Batman por este ter recrutado um novo Robin e com um Annual engraçado sobre o Penguin. Ainda assim, a qualidade deste livro é inconsistente de issue para issue, alguns são bastante bons, outros nem tanto, sendo um dos issues, para além de mau, completamente desnecessário para a coleção.
Aos futuros leitores do Batman que pretendam ler sobre esta fase das vidas do Batman e do Jason Todd, ofereço três alternativas:
- Para quem está a optar por uma leitura rápida de essenciais do Batman, ler apenas os issues mais importantes aqui presentes: #408-411 e #416; ou
- Optar por ler Nightwing: Year One, escrito pelo muito consistente Chuck Dixon, que escreveu também as histórias Year One do primeiro Robin e da Batgirl.
- Para os restantes, ler esta coleção, mas na seguinte ordem: #408-414, #402-403 e por fim #416 seguido do Annual #11 (evitando a todo o custo o issue #415).
Os primeiros 2 issues nesta coleção tratam de uma história em que o Jason Todd já assumiu o seu papel como segundo Robin, seguindo-se depois de uma "origin story" de como o Jason Todd conheceu o Batman (issues #408-414 e #416), misturando pelo meio alguns issues episódicos, um dos quais deixa aberto um mistério de um assassino em série em Gotham que só será resolvido na coleção posterior "Batman: The Caped Crusader vol. 1". Confusos? Eu também.
Inclui também o #415, parte de um crossover execrável em que algumas personagens foram substituídas por aliens, estilo Secret Invasion... Naturalmente este issue encontra-se completamente descontextualizado nesta coleção.
No final recupera com o issue em que o Dick Grayson, agora Nightwing, confronta o Batman por este ter recrutado um novo Robin e com um Annual engraçado sobre o Penguin. Ainda assim, a qualidade deste livro é inconsistente de issue para issue, alguns são bastante bons, outros nem tanto, sendo um dos issues, para além de mau, completamente desnecessário para a coleção.
Aos futuros leitores do Batman que pretendam ler sobre esta fase das vidas do Batman e do Jason Todd, ofereço três alternativas:
- Para quem está a optar por uma leitura rápida de essenciais do Batman, ler apenas os issues mais importantes aqui presentes: #408-411 e #416; ou
- Optar por ler Nightwing: Year One, escrito pelo muito consistente Chuck Dixon, que escreveu também as histórias Year One do primeiro Robin e da Batgirl.
- Para os restantes, ler esta coleção, mas na seguinte ordem: #408-414, #402-403 e por fim #416 seguido do Annual #11 (evitando a todo o custo o issue #415).
August 27, 2024
NOTE: Please read this book before "The Caped Crusader: Volume 1' as this has a storyline which is resolving that collection.
This volume is called 'Second Chances" and whilst that definitely appertains to the story of Jason Todd, the second Robin it also creates a thematic link to several stories here
The first post-Crisis story strangely starts with a strange tale about PTSD sufferer believing they are batman. It's a good story but strange following the fallout of 'Crisis on Infinite Earth's" as this robin will get rebooted in a few issues time.
The issues missing after this are 'Batman:Year One" so if you like you can take some time out to read that (like I did)
Then we get to the reboot of Jason Todd. As I'd read "Batman: The Caped Volume 1" before this I was aware of just how long this character was going to last as that volume leads up to "A Death in the Family"
There are interesting themes raised here such as whether Batman should be training a young sidekick especially one that is still trying to deal with the death of his parents. The main theme is actions and consequences which I felt should have been built up upon before embarking on the "Death in the Family" storyline.
Strangely, Jason Todd got another second chance in "Under the Red Hood" which was a great reinvention of his character.
I definitely recommend reading Second Chances, Caped Crusader Volume 1 and then Death in the Family if you are a fan of the Red Hood
This volume is called 'Second Chances" and whilst that definitely appertains to the story of Jason Todd, the second Robin it also creates a thematic link to several stories here
The first post-Crisis story strangely starts with a strange tale about PTSD sufferer believing they are batman. It's a good story but strange following the fallout of 'Crisis on Infinite Earth's" as this robin will get rebooted in a few issues time.
The issues missing after this are 'Batman:Year One" so if you like you can take some time out to read that (like I did)
Then we get to the reboot of Jason Todd. As I'd read "Batman: The Caped Volume 1" before this I was aware of just how long this character was going to last as that volume leads up to "A Death in the Family"
There are interesting themes raised here such as whether Batman should be training a young sidekick especially one that is still trying to deal with the death of his parents. The main theme is actions and consequences which I felt should have been built up upon before embarking on the "Death in the Family" storyline.
Strangely, Jason Todd got another second chance in "Under the Red Hood" which was a great reinvention of his character.
I definitely recommend reading Second Chances, Caped Crusader Volume 1 and then Death in the Family if you are a fan of the Red Hood
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2021
This was so hard to finish. Collins has no clue how to write Batman, he uses a weird mix of street level tropes, extreme cheese and (obviously) dated pop culture references and injects it with the campiness of the 60s show but presents it as a serious piece of work. It just doesn’t work. It’s a complete mess.
The switch to Starlin’s scripts at the end is a welcomed change but comes too late to do anything about the book’s overall feel as a complete miss. 2 stars for that sweet sweet Jim Aparo art.
The switch to Starlin’s scripts at the end is a welcomed change but comes too late to do anything about the book’s overall feel as a complete miss. 2 stars for that sweet sweet Jim Aparo art.
September 21, 2025
3.5***
Some of the stories in this were good and others were just run of the mill to catch a bad guy. I try not to be opposed to reading older stories because some for these really were great insight into Batman’s character. I also liked seeing Nightwing struggle with Batman getting a new Robin. Good stuff
Finishing this on Batman day is poetic
Some of the stories in this were good and others were just run of the mill to catch a bad guy. I try not to be opposed to reading older stories because some for these really were great insight into Batman’s character. I also liked seeing Nightwing struggle with Batman getting a new Robin. Good stuff
Finishing this on Batman day is poetic
October 22, 2025
3.5/5
Historias de las primeras apariciones de Jason (y algunas nada que ver). La mejor fue la anteúltima, con el retorno de Dick como Nightwing.
Duele un poco más sabiendo lo que se le viene a Jason
Historias de las primeras apariciones de Jason (y algunas nada que ver). La mejor fue la anteúltima, con el retorno de Dick como Nightwing.
Duele un poco más sabiendo lo que se le viene a Jason
November 27, 2025
Everyone's always talking about the red hood but Post-crisis Robin is forever my favourite version of Jason. Wish he had more content, but this collection includes some great issues of his. Also love that it includes Batman #416, one of my favourite appearances of Nightwing in the 80s.
August 29, 2019
First time reading any Batman and Robin, great artwork but superficially enjoyable
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