The Boy Wonder

The Boy Wonder (2024) #1-5

by Juni Ba (Writer/Illustrator), Chris O'Halloran (Colorist), Aditya Bidikar (Letterer)

The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins--to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul.

But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City.

The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins--to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City.

As Robin, young Damian suddenly discovered he was merely one of a number of princes, preceded in the role by his brothers Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin...and Damian doesn't care to be merely anything.

But when his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham's dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers--and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means!

Visionary writer/artist Juni Ba makes his mark on the timeless story of Batman and Robin, synthesizing the characters' complex history into an accessible and heartrending fairy tale!

Collecting: The Boy Wonder #1-5.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Superheroes, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

184 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2025

About the author

Juni is an illustrator and writer hailing from Senegal and France. His current works include the Kayin and Abeni mini series and the Monkey Meat stories both published by Kugali. He’s also a cover artist with works for Skybound and IDW. His artistic fuel is mostly based on orange juice.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: A style-excelling lore retelling (on heroes' lows and highs), wherein Robin sees his family is more than meets the eye.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issue #1 ◦ Issues #2-3 ◦ Issues #4-5

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine what it must be like to be Damien Wayne (DW), son of Batman (B)...but you also have to fill the 'shoes' of four 'Robins' (R)...and your grandfather, Ra's al Ghul (RaG) is one of the deadliest foes of your father...your mother, Talia al Ghul (TaG) seems to have a problem with her father...think you might have some issues to deal with?! Juni Ba does a wonderful job of looking at the relationship between all the R, the unique relationship each R has had with B, the relationship between RaG, TaG and DW - a book R fans have been waiting for!

[Molly™☺ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stylish foray into Damian Wayne and how he connects with those around him. Ba has brought his own unique spin on the characters both through his writing style and artistic talent. Despite the almost cartoon visuals, it's surprisingly deep a times, and whilst the messages aren't exactly subtle, they work well in this context. A surprise package that really delivers, Ba has set the bar high for any other DC projects he may pursue in the future.

[Zei ☀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU DAMIAN WAYNE 🗣️🗣️

Also the art and the colours are so so nice I love it

[Eva B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art grew on me but goddamn is that Jason design...sure something!
A really, really good Damian character study, although every time a Robin story has all of them but Steph, an angel loses its wings.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damien Wayne has a little identity crisis/coming-of-age thing as he grapples with his upbringing under Ra's and Talia al-Ghul and the bar set by previous bearers of the Robin mantle.

It's a heavy-handed but enjoyable Black Label stand-alone story where Damien spends consecutive chapters hanging out with one of the original Robins in their new identities and learning some life lessons from their experience.

Mention of "identities" does bring up a little slight built into the series against Tim Drake. Tim has cycled through a number of identities and sometimes it's hard to tell which one he is using in any given DC book. Well, Juni Ba's script never even mentions Drake's code name at all. Is he Robin? Red Robin? Drake? Who knows?!?! All the other ex-Robins get introduced with a big superhero logo splashed across the art, but not Drake, he just pops in without introduction. He is even excluded from the sketch pages in the back, where all the other Robins-gone-by (and Batgirl) get their own pages with their new code names all big and bold.

And don't even get me started on the complete deletion of Stephanie Brown . . .


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: The Boy Wonder, Chapters 1-5 / Juni Ba, writer and illustrator -- Sketch & Design Gallery / Juni Ba, illustrator -- [Covers and Variant Covers] / Juni Ba, Cliff Chiang, Chris Samnee with Matheus Lopes, Khary Randolph, Valentina Napolitano, and Lea Murawiec, illustrators

[Paz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This was good if a bit underwhelming. I was hoping for a more Damian focused story, but it's more of an origin retelling that explores not only Damian's story but what it means to be Robin and the legacy of this mantle. So, in the first three issues we have the older Robins appearing, mentoring in some way, teaching some lesson to Damian.
Dick, Jason and Tim. For whatever reason, Babs is also featured alongside Dick, but no Steph? (I kinda am a bit puzzled about some Batfam characters missing here or being extremely underused like Alfred.)

Anyway, the story is simple. Damian is a little boy afraid of disappointing Bruce. Afraid of loneliness and abandonment. In his mind, he was already a disappointment to his mother and grandfather. And now, after he killed a criminal, he is realising how the ways of the demon are not what Bruce believes in. And if he can't connect with his father, if his violent ways are not accepted by Batman, is he a bad guy?
Batman's absence in the first four issues is a haunting weight in the story. Damian is alone in his moral conundrum. He sees himself superior to all previous Robins, yet is his morality one of a hero? Through the team-ups, Dick shows him kindness, Jason grit and tragedy, Tim how to play the game and be resourceful. And when the enemy that has been haunting Damian, a demon that has been abducting the poor people of Gotham, leads him to confront his family, Damian has to face his inner demons and accept his place in the world. Accept and embrace his new family.

It's a really emotional story at some points. The art style, though cartoonish, is weirdly effective. I don't know if I liked Jason's design, however it is impactful to see him so scarred and hurt.
The last two issues are very introspective, and though quite revisionist regarding Talia, it's a very hopeful ending, one that made me very proud of Damian.
Wish the story was longer, wish there was more of Damian on his own.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I almost wrote The Boy Wonder off as a weird one-off by a strange foreign author. I was so wrong! The Boy Wonder is a charming fairy tale version of Damian Wayne's life. There's delight in every panel, from the clever morals to the sharp illustrations (almost Darwyn Cooke!) to the brilliant action. I loved it from front to back.

The gist is that Damian's the new Robin, but he feels stuck behind all the previous Robins who are off doing bigger, more exciting things. Plus, on one of Damian's first times out, he killed a guy and he's feeling weird about it (especially after Bruce chastised him). So, when Bruce is out of town, Damian takes it on himself to capture a demon.

Naturally, the demon is a more complex being that requires the help of all those previous Robins (cue "lessons learned"). It also all leads back to Damian's mother and grandfather, and a big exciting battle around a Lazarus pit. Perhaps not a shocking outcome for the story, but it matches up with the fairy tale vibes - this is a story you've certainly read before, but put together in a delightful new way.

Very excited to explore Juni Ba's other works now! Will not make the same mistake twice.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much a story about Damian as Robin as an introduction to Damian in the Bat-family and his choices of career so to speak.

It's full of good feelings, probably a bit naive, but it's very well done with a sense of conviction that commands respect.

I'd like to add Juni Ba's cartoony, highly expressive drawing - an author I recently discovered: love at first sight - and Chris O'Halloran's superb, warm colours to recommend this positive book, with a Damian - who'd have thought? - that you want to follow and support.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute artwork, story is a fairly straight forward retelling of Damian's origin and how he interacts with the other Robins.

I always thought the "Black Label" was for more adult oriented stories but this feels more like it's directed at younger readers, which isn't a bad thing but it might not be to the usual Black Label reader's tastes.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

drawn in the style of genndy tarkovsky’s hit 2001 television show samurai jack (srsly, it takes so much inspiration). the character writing here is totally off, i didn’t appreciate how all three robins preceding damian were tritely categorized. i was conflicted about talia’s depiction: the trapped princess in a world of demons and dryads i liked, the mother who didn’t deserve to have her son with her i didn’t.

[rih ⟡]

troptroptrop cute!!!!! l’artstyle ogmmgmg.

[Geethika Atluri · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE ART!!!!
the story telling vibe vibe is impressive too but
THE ART THO!!!

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was more so about Damian's relationship to Bruce, Talia, Ra's, Jason, Tim, and Dick than a new Robin story. It basically retells his story and goes through what seemed like a slightly changed version of events - I'll get to what I mean by that later.

The art style is very unique. Not as pretty as I'm used to, but it added some character and emphasized emotions at several points. This is one of the tellings I feel was meant to redeem Talia in a sense. Gone is the version of events where Damian's creation was a non-consensual moment, but instead this is the former version where Talia and Bruce was a love story. The ending of this is a We Are Robin messaging about anyone being able to join the cause to band together and we can redeem those who've lost their way.

My biggest confusion about this was the lack of Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown, and Cassandra Cain. The inclusion of Babs as Batgirl and lack of Stephanie was actually revisionist - unless this is meant to be a completely different universe and I missed it. If we needed to tell a story about the Batfamily being there for Damian - why was Cass excluded? Also, this could've used more Alfred. If they wanted a Batgirl, why not use the one that actually worked with Damian and did have a positive effect on him - Stephanie? And if we're going back to the We Are Robin messaging, not sure why Duke wasn't included because he was a big part of that arc/event.

While I'm bummed Steph and Duke weren't included, not including Cass was the most baffling to me because there's a whole bit about redeeming oneself after killing and that was her whole story. Mind you, after DC rebooted itself over and over again, I don't even know if that's a part of her origin anymore, but I'll have to read her new series and see.

One thing I appreciated was an opportunity to see Tim and Damian work together again. Their relationship interests me in that we don't get a ton of moments of them together where Tim's not incredibly antagonistic or cautious around Damian. Tim's the one member of the batfamily I don't get the affection for, but he's more interesting to me when interacting with the Batfamily. So, of course I find it interesting when he interacts with Damian, my personal favorite.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Instant classic, especially book 2.

[Dan P · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first couple of issues are incredible. Perfect comics. But then Damian starts prevaricating about the lessons he's learning like a moral philosophy professor and the pace grinds to a halt to receive the lecture. Edit down about 30% of the dialogue and this would shine. Preserve the meaning but cut out the over-explanation, right? It's how I often feel reading Chris Claremont.

I'm all for pointed social critique, but despite the gorgeous art and really good intentions this comic is exactly as simple and naive as the stories it's looking down its nose at. Simple is not bad! But lack of self awareness hurts to read. Fucking beautiful though!

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Não adianta, o Damian Wayne é meu Robin favorito. Me desculpem os demais, mas o Damian é o que oferece mais possibilidades de histórias e tem mais camadas. Contudo, este Robin: o Menino Prodígio de Juni Ba, parece querer oferecer uma história do Damian (um menino assassino) para um público infanto-juvenil. Pelo menos é esse o tipo de linguagem que o autor se utiliza aqui. A minissérie foi vendida sob o selo Black Label (sabendo-se lá o que significa hoje em dia), mas poderia muito bem ter saído pelo Selo Kids ou Teens (com exceção de Damian decapitar um assaltante logo na primeira história). A narrativa visual é o grande atrativo da HQ, mas o roteiro é bastante naïve e parece ter sido escrito como um cautionary tale para a juventude incauta. A forma como a história é contada, com cada edição dedicada a um Robin irmão, anteriores à fase de Damian, também se relaciona com o público infanto-juvenil, bem como os demônios relacionados com Ra's Al Ghul. É um quadrinho legal, mas poderia ser muito mais se não tivesse essa confusão de públicos-alvo.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Robin stories I’ve ever read. It is light hearted enough for a younger reader and sincere enough for any Bat fans. I loved the style, reminds me of Cartoon Network nostalgia, my childhood vibe. This is going to be one of those books I recommend to any comic fan, especially someone starting off. I really enjoyed this one.

[nia · Rating 4 out of 5]

love love loved the way damian was written here. his development from being thrown headfirst into an environment thats so different from what he had known with the league and having to adapt what he had been taught to what he can be as robin was done really really well. the art was so unique and fit in perfectly with this story. you can definitely see the complexity of damian’s relationships with bruce, talia, his upbringing, and this new family he’s been thrown into.

i loveddd talia in this its so refreshing seeing her portrayed with her own internal struggles regarding her loyalty to her father, the reality of the situation shes grown up in knowing shes stuck always trying to be more but never quite getting there, and the fierce love she has for damian (and even bruce). they can never make me hate her

only wish that steph and duke were included in this too. a story about damian realising what being robin means without steph who was robin as well or duke who started a whole movement centred around using robin as a symbol? missed opportunity.

OVERALL loved this a lot. the art is so peak

[James De Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great little book. The story does feel familiar, but Juni Ba still managed to give us an all-time mini series here. Juni’s art and storytelling framework is so complementary of each other.

The only character yet design I didn’t like more than the original was Red Hood’s, but every other art decision made here is stellar.

One of the true surprises of 2024 for me. I can’t wait to read more of Juni’s stuff.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I did get confused in the first 2 chapters, but on a re-read, it all made sense. I don't know much about the backstory of the 4 "bat boys", but their characters seemed clear enough. The art style changes frequently, going from almost realistic to totally cartoony, and it works great.

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Альтернативні історії — це завжди можливість подивитися на знайомих персонажів з нового ракурсу, не прив’язуючись до подій основного всесвіту. І комікс «Диво Хлопчик» від сенегальського коміксиста Джуні Ба дозволяє переосмислити спадщину Робіна та його роль у родині Бетмена без жорстких рамок основного канону. Це історія, яку можна читати незалежно від знайомства з усіма попередніми сюжетами, і вона пропонує свіжий, яскравий погляд на юного хлопчика.

У центрі сюжету — Деміан Вейн, син Бетмена і Талії аль Ґул, вихований як майбутній лідер Ліги Вбивць. Однак після повернення до Ґотема він отримує можливість спробувати себе у новій ролі — спадкоємця Бетмена, Робіна. Його зустріч із «старшими братами» — іншими Робінами, такими як Дік Ґрейсон, Джейсон Тодд і Тім Дрейк — стає справжнім випробуванням. Разом їм доводиться протистояти новій загрозі, яка шириться темними вулицями міста. У цьому процесі Даміан відкриває для себе, що означає бути не лише воїном, а й членом родини.

Однією з найбільших переваг цієї історії є те, як вона розкриває відносини Деміана з іншими членами бетсім’ї. Часто його образ зображується виключно як бунтівний, зарозумілий та відсторонений, але тут Джуні Ба додає йому глибини, гумору та навіть моментів вразливості. Сценарій дуже добре показує його спроби довести свою значущість не лише батькові, а й усій сім’ї. Також варто відзначити, що комікс чудово балансує між комедією та драмою, що робить його легким для читання, але водночас емоційно насиченим.

Великою принадою коміксу «Диво Хлопчика» є художній аспект від Джуні Ба. Його стиль динамічний, живий та виразний. Він відрізняється від звичного стилю коміксів DC, додаючи історії власного характеру. Це суміш нуарної естетики та казкового стилю. Малюнок має виразні, але не надмірно деталізовані лінії, часом тонкі, часом грубі, що створює цікавий графічний ефект. При тому, персонажі мають чітко виражені силуети, які роблять їх упізнаваними навіть при мінімальній деталізації обличь. А використання насичених тіней, контрасту світла й темряви, де переважають приглушені, трохи брудні тони, додає відчуття давнини і надає малюнкам нуарного настрою.

«Диво Хлопчик» — це чудова історія не лише для давніх фанатів супергероїки, але й для тих, хто просто хоче почати знайомство з цим всесвітом. Комікс легкий для сприйняття, але при цьому не боїться торкатися серйозних тем. Він розкриває розвиток Деміана Вейна та його місце у бетсім’ї. А ще за відчуттями, це як африканська казка, що поєднує у собі супергеройські елементи. Тому, якщо ви шукаєте щось свіже та нестандартне у світі DC, цей комікс є хорошим вибором.

[Ariya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breath of fresh air. The very charming story-within-the story and fairy tale-like narrative is nothing less amazing for introducing Damian Wayne who always had a larger-than-life persona for a ten year-old boy raised by the group of elite assassins. Possibly one of the best coming-of-age stories; one that invites readers to appreciate its deeper message rather than brushing it off as just another superhero spin-off. Despite being quite straightforward and aiming for moral direction, it's everything I've asked for to see how Damian Wayne is portrayed: his inner conflicts, his fears for weaknesses and abandonment, his desperation to please, his insecurities about being his father's Robin and his struggle to take the mantel of ‘superhero’ while still fighting against his old ways. Everything has just been smoothly unraveled (and I’m jealous - how Juni Ba just makes it look so effortless) and the ending! I didn’t expect that turn, but then it delivered quite a wholesome one that really made me shred a few tears.

And the art. JFC. My eyes are truly damn blessed taking all the details in symbolism, the colors. The Arabic art style integrated so beautifully with Damian's identity, perfectly matching how he perceives the world through the myth of extremities, namely the demon to hunt down, other Robins to compete for his father's love, his way of understanding the world’s darkness, yet all filtered through the mind of a child who hides his fear beneath a roguish, fearless facade. And I looove seeing him drawn as a smol angry bean almost all the time lol.

And if that wasn’t enough, the book did another thing right: Talia is NOT sexualized here. In fact, she's an amazing character with a redemption arc, and even more so, her trauma has been told so cleverly that I've never felt more sympathetic towards her before. Now she finally has her own journey more than Damian's mother or Bruce's one time fling. It's just so, so lovely that we rarely get to see a middle-aged woman, more or less a mother. With AGENCY. In the comic books!!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything!! Eye catching art? Check. Character designs that were unique and showed the personalities of said characters in a fresh way? Check. Hopeful undertone as story progressed that is much needed in these trying times? Double, triple check! Also I can't go on without saying I loved all the batfamily moments and ssooo so glad Jason made an appearance in this and was written in a way that was, what I felt like, the closest to what I think his personality is in a loongg time.

Just read this book, you're not gonna regret it. Pinkie promise.

[Tom Selley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fantastic read. I've never seen a writer lean into the fairy-tail concept when approaching Damian's story, but it is done so here in a way that is so effective that I'm surprised it hadn't been done sooner. Ba plays on the Al-Gul's link to demons whilst depicting the bat-family as high-flying, angelic figures, creating a great contrast for Damian to find himself between.

Often, a Robin book can struggle to center the character in their own narrative, often existing in the bat's shadow, but here is a space with a unique aesthetic and narrative that sets it apart. An interesting read and a great introduction to the Robins, and further evidence that hating on Damian should be left in the 2010s.

[hare]

that Jason issue was so extremely peak.. we’ve been yelling justice for our boy since UTRH and it’s finally been delivered 😭🙏

this was such a well told story, I loved the art and Damian’s arc was amazing; the exploration of family dynamics was meaningful and fits perfectly with the themes inherent to the bat family (it’s literally in the name lol)

Juni Ba low key a goat already GIVE THAT MAN AS MANY BOOKS AS POSSIBLE 🔛🔝🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥

edit: also in a lot of ways comic books can be considered modern / american mythology so I think Ba’s fairy tale inspired take was really smart and interesting

[Gus Mendonca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma estilosa recontextualização da história dos quatro Robins e do significado da família do Batman. A arte de Juni Ba é muito cinética e estilizada, mas o roteiro é o que realmente brilha na Hq. Raras vezes eu vi um roterista que caracterizasse tão bem as diferenças entre os quatro irmãos Wayne. Excelente leitura.

[Aidan]

Ayyy post crisis Damian Wayne lore as a Tartakovsky Cartoon Network series.

Red Hood looks like a Bionicle and his issue was the best.

My own politics being simplified and preached back at me increasingly with each issue became a bit of a slog. Not sure the frame narrative was necessary, and the narrator reveal was a bit too much wish-fulfillment for me.

[Ailysh Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god, only five issues but I don't think I've ever loved a series as much as this one 😭😭