Batgirl/Robin: Year One

Batgirl

by Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Marcos Martín (Illustrator)

Here it Robin's baptism by fire as dons the costume of Robin, the Boy Wonder for the first time and patrols the night by Batman's side. In his earliest adventures, Robin learns very quickly that what he thought would be fun is actually a matter of life and death.

And in the action-packed origin of the original Batgirl, explore Barbara Gordon's transformation from average citizen into costumed super-heroine.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

424 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.

His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.

In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.

His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.

He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .

While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.

In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.

On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My bad.
I mistakenly thought this was a new Year One story about Babs & Dick working together as young sidekicks. It was not.
Go ahead, laugh it up. I'll wait.



This isn't so much a review as it is a PSA for anyone out there who might be getting ready to make the same idiotic leap of logic that I did.
This is actually Robin: Year One Deluxe & Batgirl: Year One. Both of which I'd read years ago.
But hey, it was nice to do a re-read as both stories are pretty decent.



Anyway.
This would be a great buy if you're looking for a twofer.
Recommended.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to 3.5 stars, decent enough stories, but not gritty or dark, just sort of this is what happens. Artwork is more Animated Series style so not as realistic as most Batman, but that helps with the throwback subject matter. However, the problem is that for this to be back in the day, there are cell phones and GPS, right next to 1940s Batmobile and 1994 PCs and Fax machines...but isn't Gotham always past meets future? I suppose.

Robin focuses on Two Face and Dick learning his place, narrated by Alfred, which is a good touch. Serious in that Harvey beats Robin nearly to death with a bat...hmmm Jason Todd? Also in Batgirl, we see her discussing Oracle, her computer skills and foreshadow the Joker, even in his Killing Joke outfit...all in all full of nods...O'Neill and Adams intersection? Killer Moth is a joke, Firebug is insane, Black Canary is old as dirt...

Worth a read, fun, not essential, but good for Bat fans who like more than just solo Brucie.

[Campo Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was exactly what I wanted from this book.
I had a great time reading this, I didn't have to sit through another boring robin origin story that we already know. I just got robin year one and his struggles in the superhero game as a brand new sidekick, and to grumpy uncle dick batman of all people. lol.
I'm not so familiar with batgirl at least from the comic book type of view, so the origin story on her side was cool. I really liked how it mixed the back story in with flashbacks and action in between, it kept me entertained. It had a few slow points between the two storys but overall I really liked it. The art was cartoonish with a little edge but the colours were very bright and bold which I really liked it alot. I give this a 4 out of 5 and if you're a batman fan this is a must read especially if you have previously read batman year one.

[The Sapphic Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batgirl Robin Year One by Scott Beatty, Chuck Dixon, Marcos Martin & Javier Pulido.

The first issue of Robin brought a tear to my eye. I love when we get to see the human side of Bruce, the side that saw someone he could relate to in Dick and took him in and became a mentor. The side that is the reason an entire family forms around The Bat. I love seeing how Robin proves himself and becomes someone Batman calls a partner.

"I'm proud of you... Robin." 😭

Alfred's musings are also particularly sentimental and that end scene introducing Babs... Beautiful!

Then for Batgirl, we see her progression from a frustrated civilian who just wants to fight crime to starting her vigilante career. There are foreshadowing moments for Babs' future that gave me goosebumps. You also see the contrast of how Babs, who trains herself (vs Robin who's trained by Batman), can fumble and ultimately figure out how to do things herself in a way that gets Batman to notice and accept her.

I haven't been reading many comics lately. Maybe because the ones I've been reading haven't inspired me. But this book brought back the passion I have for comics. I wasn't just skimming. I was paying attention to every detail and admiring the colours and eating up the foreshadowing. This book is so much fun, and if you love the Bat family, you should read this!

[autumn]

dnf at around 370 pages
the robin half is really cute and fun but the batgirl half has got to be THE most painfully condescending (read: misogynistic) thing ive ever read in my life! it undoes literally every single thing i loved about 60s-70s batgirl - a kickass, non-sexualised, intelligent female superhero who's on equal footing with batman and is capable in her own right. this version of bg has literally none of that going for her. also killer moth is there. not recommended

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 3/4 stars

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batgirl and Robin begin





A more than good retelling of the first career days of DC Comics Boy Wonder and commissioner Gordon's daughter.
The Batman Animated series cartoon style art was just perfect for the two throwback stories and added a nice retró touch and feeling to them.








Themes and a lot of violence just make them far different from kids afternoon tv shows... It seems every Robin sooner or later is going to be beaten to death by some psycho.





The hints to Barb's future fate in "The killing joke", one of greatest Batman graphic novels ever, were a blast!



Highly reccomended to all young sidekicks origins stories fans out there.

[Chad Jordahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining YA book. Light and playful, but also thoughtful at times. Good art. I didn't like the Green Arrow's pages, though. Those sections pushed too far into science fiction territory and were out of phase with the rest of the book

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been heavy into Batman-exclusive comics and decided to read the sidekicks for a change. Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty don't disappoint. Strong writing, great characterization, believable dialog. The artwork isn't breathtaking but it's bright and bold pop art that accompanies the writing well. Arguably it's intentionally minimalistic in keeping with the pulp, vintage feel.

Robin Year One: I liked Bruce in this. He wasn't Frank Miller super-huge or stoic or downright evil, but a good balance, still human. He genuinely cared for Dick Grayson early in his career, believing in him but afraid of him getting hurt, which he does. I will say Batman's appearance was a little too Adam West at some points, less muscular than one sleek cape and cowl, but it's fine, it's just different and works well with the overall streamline look. When it comes to Robin...pixie boots and hot pants. I get it, it's vintage, a little transgender, but as a male hero his effeminacy kind of bothered me. Maybe I'm just use to the bodybuilder archetypes.

Interestingly, a lot of the narration comes from multiple perspectives in the form of journal entries, with unique handwriting serving to keep who's talking straight. Dick, Bruce, and Alfred are among the narrators. It's the same in Batgirl, too, and I believe James Gordon has some limited narration in there.

Batgirl Year One: Interesting origin story. (Edit) I'm wondering how Oracle's origin story fits into this. The writing constantly hints at paralysis and prophesying, i.e. Oracle, and the Joker plays no part in this, so maybe it's too early in her career. *Shrug. One thing that bothered me about the writing was the overt sexism and prejudice which explains Barbara Gordon's motivation to become Batgirl. James Gordon tells her she's too short, she's a girl, they only need one cop in the family. The FBI tells her she's too short. And then like a million guys hit on her because she's super duper attractive. Granted, she kicks ass, and holds her own against major villains and even Robin, but I feel like Chuck Dixon was maybe a little unfair with how gender-biased the story became. I'm no police expert, so is that really how it is modern day? Doubtful. Anyway, it felt hyperbolic and kind of irritated me, perhaps even felt like weak and archetypal writing, but not enough to dissuade me from wanting to finish.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Batgirl/Robin: Year One. It's a compilation of both Robin: Year One and Batgirl/Year One. They're connected to one another and both are nice reads. Both are also great origin stories for Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. Their character arcs are both solid.

Dick Grayson's arc starts off with him having fun and being carefree as a young superhero. He brings Bruce some joy too. However, he soon runs into the hardship and pain of the job. It gets rougher from there. He goes through a lot and makes mistakes. He still retains a fun personality, but also grows a lot and stays true to his values.

I like how Dixon wrote his relationship with Bruce/Batman. At first, it starts off with some warmth. As mentioned before, Dick brings some joy and light to Bruce. However, it becomes strained over time. Bruce becomes a very protective father-figure and it leads to tension. I won't spoil how their relationship turns out at the end, but I would say it is written well and felt realistic.

There is a parallel in how Jim Gordon treats Barbara and how Bruce treats Dick Grayson. Jim is a caring and loving father. At the same time though, he is also very protective and refuses to allow Barbara to be a police officer. This also leads to a lot of tension and strain in his relationship with Barbara. In addition, his protective nature also leads to some tension between him and Batman. He respects both Batman and Robin, but also becomes protective of Robin (though not to the extent that Batman does) and he frowns on how Batman works with a teenage sidekick. His feelings are all understandable and I like how Dixon wrote him too.

I also like Barbara's character arc. She is determined to prove her father - and so many others - wrong. There are several characters throughout parts of the book who doubt her. Yet, she doesn't give up and is very strong through her determination and courage. Like Dick, she does get a bit impulsive. She also makes mistakes. But, she grows as well. I like how Dixon wrote from her POV too. She has a strong voice and I like her personality too.

I think Dixon wrote Alfred well also. We get to see parts of both Barbara and Dick's stories from his eyes. He is like a father figure, albeit much less stern than Bruce and Jim. We see his worry as well as his care for Bruce, Dick, and Barbara.

Nevertheless, parts of his narration were difficult to read. We see the letters he wrote - and it was challenging to decipher the handwriting. I squinted at my screen and couldn't read it. It was a penmanship issue.

Moreover, I have mixed feelings about Dick and Barbara's relationship. Some of it was written well. However, the dialogue between them could be better in my view. I wasn't a fan of some of his actions either.

Still, I think Batgirl/Robin: Year One is a good book. It is a lot of fun at times. The action is good. The art is decent and I like the stories. The pacing is even generally (though there are some time jumps that I'm not a fan of). Altogether, I found this book to be a good read.

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, the year one stories are fantastic and while the Batman Year one story is a classic, this one was more endearing and here's the fun part , we didnt really have the usual flying grayson backstory shown on repeat . There were countless nods to future continuity events like killing joke for batgirl , oracle being mentioned quite a few times , robin shown the end of an crowbar .

In fact this felt like something straight out of the Batman the animated series , and if you are a Batman fan , you know that's high praise indeed .

[Chaitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't expecting too much out of it, because even though I don't know much about Batman universe, I know Robin's a kind of a joke. And I've never seen a Batgirl in action. But!

Robin Year One

Dick Grayson grew on me. Batman's a side character, which is expected, but I liked their relationship. The first couple of issues deal with lame villains, but then Two-Face beats Robin with a baseball bat, and almost kills him, just after Robin has condemned the judge to death. After which Robin has a mostly Bat-less adventure, and that's quite cool.

Batgirl Year One

Batgirl is Barbara Gordon. Supposedly Captain Gordon's daughter, even though I think even in Robin Year One (by the same people) she's referred to as his niece. Babs wants to join the police and is laughed out of it. On a lark she puts on the Batsuit and starts crime-fighting. Through what has to be absolutely illegal spy-cam work, Batman and Robin help her through her initial hickups. I think I loved Barbara Gordon from the beginning - I love her inner voice possibly more than any other Bat character I've read so far. Her villains are not anyone to write home about (even though there's a panel showing her saying she's not afraid of her destiny, and she's facing a mannequin Joker as she says that), but her personality makes it a worthy read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Year One review

Batgirl Year One review

[Jasmiina F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this one. The stories were amazing (although I wish Batgirl would have gotten more interesting villains) and I'm so happy I got to read this.

[Victoria Hawco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love my Bat-Children.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has become increasingly difficult to find good Batman stories that feature the Bat Family. So I applaud the creators of these two limited series for writing plausible origin stories that hardly feature the Caped Crusader. And it's very fun! This book occasionally dives into dark territory but the difference between Batman and his sidekicks are the Robin and Batgirl don't try to hide their love for the adventure. They look at mystery with the wide eyed view of a kid. This was such a fun Robin story. The Batgirl story does work but when it focused on other characters such as black canary or Killer Moth, I was nearly snoozing. Regardless I enjoyed reading them and seeing how the writers characterized both of these characters with very different personas. Yes they both seek the thrill, and yes they are both trying to validate themselves in the eyes of Batman. But Robin was at least drafted into it by Batman when he was made Wayne's ward. Batgirl on the other hand, begins doing the batgirl charade as a game before seeing it as her true purpose. Either way, I want more Bat family stories.

[laureads · Rating 3 out of 5]

hard to rate this as a whole because it's two different stories even if they're connected. for robin's year one, the story was short but sweet and i loved his arc, especially with alfred's narration!
for barbara's, i liked her introduction but it was a bit more all over the place
also i liked how colorful the art was

[Douglas Cosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harkens back to the older comics, with simpler art and more straightforward framing, but with a modern bite (blood, relationships, etc.). Good origin story for Batgirl, with interesting triangle between her, Batman/Robin, and her dad. It is not obvious how this is going to turn out, especially at first, when nobody really knows who each other is. Very enjoyable, recommended. Good, but not great.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great volume. Nothing is great here, but we see nice characters emerging, all around the bat family and all. My only complaint in here is about Babs story. I believe 12 issues was a lot to tell this kind of story. But, still, it was good to read.

[Earnest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of the 3 Year One miniseries of the Bat-Family, Batgirl's by Chuck Dixon would have to be the best. It clearly tells the story of how Barbara Gordon became Batgirl in a better way than Miller's Year One where the over-all mood of the piece is dark and gritty while the characters are troubled personas seeking to assuage their inner pain through justice and violence. In contrast, the two Year One of the sidekicks are colorful bildungsromans with the right balance between humor and drama.

When Barbara Gordon's plans of following in her father's footsteps fails due to a technicality, a fateful encounter with The Dark Knight gives her the inspiration on how to follow her calling. The episode where Barbara wears the costume in a Halloween party before becoming the actual Batgirl is ingenious. We see the training and hardships she has to undergo to become a masked vigilante. This is especially good to see since Barbara is just an ordinary human, without even the help of the billions that made the Batman. Step by step we go along with her journey, how she met several other crimefighters and how Batman initially rejected. Her interactions with other DC characters were fun to read, mostly with Robin - her romance with Dick Grayson is one of the greats in comics and their puppy love antics here are really cute.

Robind's Year One was not as good as the other without the same depth but it still had its moments. But you have to consider that Dick Grayson is not my favorite Robin, most of the time he just seem silly especially with that horrendous costume. Tim Drake would always be the prefect Robin for me. The artwork since written by the same artist is at the same high caliber. In the story, Robin proves just how capable he is and essential to the Batman in may ways. We also get to see Batman and Alfred deal with an addition to the family since it was just the two of them before.

[abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5


I really really loved both of these stories. It was a breath of fresh air to read a Robin: Year One story arc without the usual take on Dick’s first year as Robin. The story was intriguing, and the narration by Alfred was an interesting choice. It gave Dick’s story more value, and emotion. I got a little teary eyed by Alfred’s journal entries especially the ones comparing Dick and Bruce. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. 4/5 stars.


Moving on to Batgirl: Year One, I absolutely adored this story. I’m going to admit I don’t know much about Barbara Gordon besides the basics of her character (and her relationships with both Dick & Bruce 🤢) so reading a origin story focused primarily on her was really informative and enjoyable. The story itself was very well written, especially with Babs personality. She’s a very relatable character (a bit too emo tumblr girl if you ask me, but still relatable) and her ambitious nature made her character very likable. My main enjoyment just came from Babs growth from college student to superhero. It was the perfect way to tell an origin story. This is easily a 5/5 stars.


Everything in both of these was great. I’m always gonna have a few complaints obviously (nothing is ever perfect). In both comics the plot could become slower moving (more common in Babs story than Dick’s), the odd misogynistic language from middle school and high school aged Dick 🤨, and Bruce Wayne being an asshole (I love that man but he’s needs a trigger warning, he’s 5 red flags).


But there were way more things that I loved over my issues. The art was fucking awesome. It was very cartoony, but had a lot of shadows and silhouettes, with darker colors. The minimal text was even better than the art. I’m so sick of so much text on comic book pages, I love how this just got the point. Both stories were also just fucking phenomenal. And Alfred the Goat >>>>>

[Blair Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much better than I'd hoped for! The art throughout was quite good, and and fairly stylized.

Having the Robin book "narrated" by Alfred worked very well, as it highlighted the contrast between the way Batman and Robin approached crime fighting, and also allowed us to access a conscious. I've seen too few books of this nature address the morality of having a teen fight crime as he does.
Despite that, many of the scenes with Robin (especially early on) were humorous, and kept the book a little lighter than it could have been.
As I said, I enjoyed the artwork, especially the way Two-Face was "shot" in various scenes.

The Batgirl portion of the book was also entertaining, but with the potential moral questions lessened. There was quite a bit less buffoonery, but I enjoyed the humour in Barbara's inner monologue. The Batgirl/Robin interactions were very entertaining. I'm a fan.

While the two halves could easily work on their own, I think the melding of them into one collection really added something.

[Harper Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a compilation of Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One. Personally prefer Barbara's story to Dick's. Both stories serve as a decent retelling of both characters' respective origins and how they meet Batman.

Robin having the athletism to become a crimefighter is more believable than Batgirl. Him being an acrobat since young and getting trained by Batman for months, compared to Batgirl who just received martial arts lessons from some public community. Other than this, Batgirl's storyline is more interesting overall.

Being a sequel from The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, Two-Face's presence as the main antagonist in Robin's story really took a step back for me. Dent's actions are less intriguing here in Robin: Year One compared to his otherwise brilliant origin story in TLH. Besides maybe Firefly, the antgonists for both Robin and Batgirl's stories are written in such a boring way.

Nonetheless, Batgirl/Robin: Year One is still better than almost any Bat family related stories out today.

[Nola Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines the four issues that detail Robin's Year One of service with Batman, and the nine issues that show how Barbara Gordon was transformed into Batgirl. Batman and Robin also pop up in some of Batgirl's episodes. As origin stories, they show two teenagers deciding on the life they want to lead, and then being given a baptism of fire to see if they really understand what they're in for. The stories were good, though I did get confused a little at times. It could be because I'm not as familiar with the Batman universe, or because I read it over a period of a few weeks. There's more reading than you'd think! But I enjoyed the story overall, and the art is consistently good. The book is presumably aimed at teenagers, but still has appeal for adult readers. An interesting retelling, and a good introduction to the franchise.

[Adam Fenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun and a pretty good story to bring the characters to life. I do think that the differences between Batgirl and Robin's origin stories were distinct and I wish Batgirl's story was darker, it felt more like a simple overcoming of her fears and proving herself to peers. While Robin has to overcome both physical and personal challenges to overcome. It almost felt as though the author was afraid to really hurt Batgirl.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In truth I only read the Robin:Year One side as I own the Batgirl Year One in comic form. I thought this was a dual story format with both superheroes lives as the focus of the tale but it's two separate archs. That being said, I really enjoyed the Robin side and found it particularly insightful on Robin after his parents are murdered and how he copes as Batman's sidekick.

[Nerdish Mum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading this. I thought the stories were well done and really enjoyable and fun. If I had to choose which I preferred I would have to say I liked the Batgirl beginnings ever so slightly more. I love Barbara as Batgirl, I love her personality and I loved her stories. A definite recommendation from me.

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did a great job of developing Batgirl and Robin. You get a really strong sense of their personalities, and you get a strong feeling for why they are doing what they are doing. The villains are also really well developed. I really liked the clean a simple art-style that is used in this book. This is perhaps one of my favorite comics.

[Matilda Poggi · Rating 5 out of 5]

big fan of dick grayson

[Jaima · Rating 4 out of 5]

dd and I both enjoyed this one. Had a great storyline. Where's the sequel?