From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives! #1 is written by J.M. DeMatteis and published by DC. Artwork is by Rick Leonardi, colours by Rico Renzi and letters by Taylor Esposito. Main cover art (left) is by Leonardi and Dave Stewart.
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives! #1 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
In 1988, DC fans made a seminal choice in the history of DC publishing—voting to kill off Jason Todd’s Robin in the Death in the Family storyline. Now, for the first time, we want to find out what would have happened if fans had voted to let him live. And it begins—with the murder of The Joker!
Review
In the pantheon of legacy Bat-stories there’s those who will name The Killing Joke as the ultimate classic. Whilst others will cite the groundbreaking Death in the Family as the pinnacle of Dark Knight storytelling. This week the 1988 storyline is being dusted off for a new story under the From the DC Vault banner and from writer J.M. DeMatteis. It’s time to ask the question of what if Robin survived?
DeMatteis teams with artist Rick Leonardi, colourist Rico Renzi and letterer Taylor Esposito to take readers back to the 80’s. It’s a brave move which comes hot on the heels of last year’s recreation of Batman #428 which replaced the original pages of Jason Todd’s death with the pencils planned for if fans had voted for the character to survive. After peaking the interest of fans, DC tasked DeMatteis with further exploring the after effects of Joker’s brutal attack, expanding it in to a four-issue mini-series.
The creative team strikes a fine balance in recreating the aesthetic of a comic book from 1988. Robin Lives! #1 feels like it’s arrival from a time capsule but also sidesteps plenty of the 80’s tropes which no longer exist in contemporary storytelling. The book flows as if it were part of the current ongoing narrative of DC and feels like a worth alternative to the original ending. The fact it start in an unexpected place and continues to surprise throughout certainly goes a long way to justifying its existence as more than a simple nostalgia cash-cow. The series opens on a different death. The death of The Joker. Killed by a single bullet to the head from an unknown assailant. We learn through news coverage that Batman was present during the killing but it is unknown as to whether he pulled the trigger. The first sign that perhaps surviving the attack may have been a worse outcome for Jason than dying.
An unidentified narrator picks up the story of Jason, explaining the young ward of Bruce Wayne had just barely survived the attack. The narrator makes it clear they’re aware of the Dynamic Duo’s alter egos. The character has an astonishing level of insight, particularly when it’s later revealed who they are and their connection to Bruce and Jason. It seems that DeMatteis is setting up a number of potential plot points for the months ahead with plenty of room for further revelations.
There’s an inevitability to how Jason reacts to his own recovery. DeMatteis digs in to the core characteristics of Jason as he was in 1988, shrugging off all of his development since. It means what when we see him lashing out at Bruce and Alfred it feels like how the teenage Jason would behave. Rather than continuing to reflect to the more measured version of the character we would see in a book of today. It sounds simple but with over thirty years of stories which follow Death in the Family the idea of Jason Todd is deeply ingrained in DC culture. But there is an aspect of looking at the events which could have been knowing what we know now. Weaving in the wider Bat-family, particularly exploring the relationship between Dick and Jason as the first and second Robins, is exciting to watch for this very reason.
The first issue culminates in a heartbreaking series of events as Jason and Bruce take their anger out on the wrong person. For one it ends disastrously. For the other it ends embarrassingly. But as a Dynamic Duo it feels like there’s healing ahead for these two and that could be the making of Robin Lives! as it continues.
Verdict
The debut of Death in the Family: Robin Lives! more than justifies the series existence as a what if scenario for Jason Todd. J.M. DeMatteis writes a brilliant character exploration for Jason, Bruce and even Joker showcasing where their stories could have gone if things had ended very differently.
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