When I first started reading ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER, I despised it with all my being. I’m talking BATMAN RETURNS level of dislike here, OK?

Well, maybe I didn’t loathe it that much as that Burton Bat-abomination, but you get the picture. ;)

However, I found myself kinda sorta liking it as the story progressed. For one thing, I got it that writer Frank Miller was kinda sorta making fun of “A-Hole Batman” -- which he ironically helped create. I also came to believe that he was setting us all up for a Batman epiphany and that it would come in the form of one Richard Grayson.

In ASB&R #8, The Joker is inserted into the story and it looks as if he will end up being the main villain of this story arc. This Joker is one sadistic SOB, let me tell you -- just read the opening scene of this issue as it tells you all you need to know about how Miller intends to portray the character.

(AUTHOR‘S NOTE: I can guarantee we’ll get some of the same sort of reaction to this version of The Joker as we got with Heath Ledger’s in THE DARK KNIGHT. Just watch….)

Batman’s still an A-Hole, even though I’m starting to see a few kinks in his armor. *cough* Dick Grayson *cough*

In this title's never-ending desire to include all of the DC UNIVERSE, Green Lantern Hal Jordan shows up in this issue and it’s obvious that The Dark Knight despises all of these super-powered beings -- which I admit, I find kind of cool and funny. VERY funny, actually as I loath Batman in the Justice League. Anywho...

(AUTHOR‘S NOTE 2: I could be reading too much into it, but it seems to moi that Miller pays a little homage to that ELSEWORLD tale “In Darkest Knight.” Or maybe not.)

Also making her first appearance in ASB&R is Catwoman -- who is sporting her very purple and 1990-ish costume. And she’s soon to be in cahoots with The Joker, or so it seems.

I’ve never been a big fan of Robin, but I’ll admit that I kinda sorta like this version of Grayson. Hell, I almost want him to knock the living crap out of Batman -- which I think he ends up doing, metaphorically. Anyway, no Robin yet, but we’re getting close.

The good? Jim Lee’s artwork is spectacular yet again -- although it sometimes comes across as nothing more that big-ass splash pages. Nonetheless, some really, REALLY nice stuff here from Lee.

Also, it’s clear to me that Miller envisions ASB&R as his “YEAR TWO.” Case it point, The Joker’s “one-nighter” says to him, “Wasn’t there someone else called ‘Joker’ who poisoned the water supply, a year or so back?” “Yes, that was me,” he says, “I was just getting started.”

If this is Miller’s “YEAR TWO,” then this Joker is the same one that we see in THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, right? While he doesn’t look the same (it’s not Miller’s artwork), this is clearly the TDKR version of the character that we saw in the aforementioned Miller classic.

There’s an interesting dynamic here. Miller’s YEAR ONE is considered canon by DC and is the zero hour when it comes to Batman’s current comic book continuity. However in continuity, the character went down another road, as THE LONG HALLOWEEN and DARK VICTORY are “YEAR TWO” when it comes to the current Batman (along with Matt Wagner’s “DARK MOON RISING” miniseries).

Yet it seems that Miller would have gone down a different road with this Batman -- which he obviously does in ASB&R.

His Batman turns into a total ass rather quickly, don't you think?

Isn’t it a tad too early for Batman to be such a burned-out cynic? But again, Dick Grayson possibly cures that soon enough.

Here’s my take (and advice) for y’all: Wait for the inevitable graphic novel/TPB when it comes to this particular ASB&R‘s story arc.

If you tried to start reading right now, you’d be thoroughly lost. Each issue being a series of cliffhangers doesn’t help matters either for those wanting to jump in midstream.

But I do dig a tatted-up Harlequin of Hate!

Kinda-sorta.