Summary
DC has announced a new 12-issueBatmanandRobinminiseries by the fan-favorite creative team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.Batman and Robin: Year Onefollows the early months of not just the Dynamic Duo, but Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson: father and son.
Hitting digital and store shelves on October 16th, 2024,Batman and Robin: Year Oneby Waid and Samnee is a new take on a classic DC origin story. DC fans may be familiar with the early days of Batman’s partnership with his very first sidekick, but this new 12-issue miniseries will also explore the budding father/son relationship betweenBruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.
BATMAN AND ROBIN: YEAR ONE #1 (2024)
October 16th, 2024
Variant Covers:
Mikel Janín, Matteo Scalera, Karl Kerschl, Lee Weeks
InBatman and Robin: Year One, while Bruce Wayne adjusts to the realities of adopting orphan Dick Grayson, a mysterious new crime boss called the General has come to Gotham to claim the city by disrupting and destroying its other mobs. But what is his connection to Two-Face? Batman and his new sidekick, Robin, are out for answers, but it’ll take everything they have to navigate both sides of their relationship as father and son and dynamic duo, with Dick Grayson’s present and future hanging in the balance!
As the solicitation teases, the story will also featurea new crime-boss villain known as “the General.“Along with the classic DC “Year One” title, this miniseries promises to be essential reading not only forBatman and Robin fans, but for fans of stellar, time-proven writing and art.
Every Version of Robin in Order, From First To DC’s Future
Dick Grayson may have been the original Boy Wonder to fight along Batman’s side, but he was by far the last to don the Robin name and pixie boots.
TheBatman and Robin: Year OneMiniseries Promises an Emotional Bruce Wayne / Dick Grayson Story
The 12-Issue Series Explores the Dynamic Duo’s Family Dynamic
Waid and Samnee join forces as co-plotters and writer/artist, respectively, for the first time on a DC project, butthey’re well known for their teamwork on beloved runs of Marvel titles likeDaredevilandBlack Widow.Waid has lately been hard at work at DC, helmingbooks likeBatman / Superman:World’s Finest,Shazam!, andAbsolute Power, all alongside artist Dan Mora.Batman and Robin: Year One, however, appears to be a more grounded, family tale. As Waid says:
“It takes place only a month or two after Bruce adopted Dick, and it’s sinking in for Bruce that he hasno ideahow to be a father to a kid that age. He has no role model—his own father was long dead by the time he was Dick’s age. Nothing he’s ever done has prepared him for this, and Alfred—wise as he is—doesn’t have much experience here either.”
Waid has recently spent time with Dick Grayson in bothBatman / Superman: World’s Finest, with Mora, andWorld’s Finest: Teen Titans,with artist Emanuela Lupacchino. Both titles are available now from DC Comics, both digitally and in collected editions.
While there’s no shortage of origin story tales for Batman and Robin — including the somewhat-recentRobin & Batmanminiseries by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen — it’s always a compelling story and a cornerstone of the DC Universe, which is about to undergo massive changes afterOctober’s conclusion ofAbsolute Power. An updated version of the classic story, especially from veteran and top-tier storytellers like Waid and Samnee, can never go amiss, especially witha renewed focus on the very human dynamics between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.
Where DoesBatman and Robin: Year OneFit into DC Continuity?
Is This Story True “Canon”?
With explosive changes about to hit the DCU — and with the “everything goes"attitude of DC’s Infinite Frontier erastill lingering across the line — it’s hard to say, at this early point, where Waid and Samnee’s revamped Batman and Robin origin story will fit into DC continuity. It’s distinctly possible this will fit in with Waid’s in-continuityWorld’s Finestbooks, including his time writing Dick’s Teen Titans, but it’s just as possible this is a one-off tale. What the future holds is impossible to pin down, but betting on the enduring popularity ofBatmanandRobinis always a sure thing.
Batman and Robin: Year One#1is available October 16th, 2024 from DC Comics.
