Re-issue of alternate ending Batman #428 where ‘Robin Lives’ instead of being killed by The Joker goes into 2nd printing
One of the most creative and outrageous moves ever devised by a comic book company had to have been in 1988 when DC Comics allowed their readers to call-in and vote whether or not Batman’s sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder, would live or would be killed off in an upcoming issue of DC’s “Batman” comic book. Even more outrageous is that readers, by a narrow margin, voted to kill off Robin – and DC complied – allowing Batman’s arch-nemesis The Joker to beat Robin to death with a crowbar.
In “A Death in the Family”, a four-part series of the Batman comic, the death of the Boy Wonder was featured in Batman #428, which was released on October 18, 1988.
In another creative move by DC’s Batman writing staff, on the 35th anniversary of Robin being killed off, the publishers announced that they were re-releasing Batman #428 with an alternate ending – an ending where Robin lives.
As 2023 was winding down, DC announced plans to release a never-before-seen story from its vault, featuring an alternate ending to one of the most polarizing events in DC history.
On December 12, DC released a “faux-simile” edition of Batman #428, the penultimate chapter of “A Death in the Family,” featuring a previously unpublished ending in which Jason Todd survives his brutal encounter with The Joker.
Due to the success of the faux-simile release of ‘Batman #428: Robin Lives!,’ which features a different and alternate ending where Robin was not beaten to death by The Joker, that very popular issue is going back to press for a second printing.
The second printing issue is available for pre-order now, and will be available at participating comic book shops beginning Tuesday, January 30, 2024. This second printing features a main cover based on the original cover art by Mike Mignola and Anthony Tollin, rendered in a stark black and white with red spot color. The comic is also available with a variant cover, featuring original art from the unpublished content from series artist Jim Aparo.
Thirty-five years ago, fans famously voted on Jason Todd’s fate after his brutal encounter with The Joker, which set Jason on the path to becoming the gun-toting vigilante Red Hood. In addition to fully restored and remastered pages of Aparo’s original artwork Batman #428: Robin Lives! also includes all the ads from the original 1988 comic book, plus the original letters column.
There have been several Robins over the years that have served as Batman’s iconic sidekick. The original Robin, Dick Grayson, grew up and moved out of the Wayne mansion and is now a grown up superhero in his own right, “Nightwing.” The Robin that was killed off in 1988 was Dick Grayson’s successor to the role, Jason Todd, a juvenile delinquent with a troubled past and a violent demeanor that many fans didn’t love all that much – which most likely resulted in a majority of call-in readers to vote for his demise.
For more information on Batman, Robin, The Joker, Jason Todd, and the World’s Greatest Super Heroes, visit the official DC website at www.dc.com.
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(Source: DC Comics)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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