This is a decent story which is mainly well known for the out come rather than a great story. This is something I would recommend to fans of Batman to read for the sake of the importance to the Batman story line, but I probably wouldn't recommend to many others. In fact even if you're a Batman fan and you don't have a lot of money to through around there a lot of other Batman stories I'd point to before this one. Now I don't want to say that this is that bad of a story I was entertained and never thought about not finishing reading it.

I think the biggest problem for me was the fact that most of the time it didn't feel like the Batman universe. It just seems odd having Batman run around in the Middle East. Now having been a fan of comics for a number of years now, I have come to know that often I will be asked to suspend my disbelief. But a few times it took it a little too far form me in this one. For example it seems a little too coincidental that Batman follows the Joker to the same city in the Middle East that Jason Todd ran off to looking for his mom. Two other examples are Batman bringing gliders and a mini helicopter with him to the Middle East/Africa. And the Joker being recruited as Iran's ambassador by Ayatollah Khomeini. I don't know it could just be me but I thought that was a bit much.

There were a few good things about it to though. While I wouldn't say the art work was amazing or anything, I thought it was pretty good and reminded me of the artwork in some of the older Batman comics (I mean that in a good way). I also liked the fact that the story addressed that when the Joker got out of Arkham he was without most of his assets and need to make some money to get started up again. In short I recommend this for the historical aspects rather than a great story.

Okay,when DC was planning this storyline they knew they were treading into new territory.It would be a controversial time in the comics industry where the companies wanted to get more mature with their readers.DC lead a campaign in whicn the fans would vote to either kill Robin(Jason Todd,Dick Grayson's predecessor)or to let him live at the end of the story.Long story short,the Joker ends up beating Jason within an inch of his life with a crowbar.Batman was elsewhere at this time.Jason discovered that his mother was alive but under the Joker's fearful leadership.They met briefly before they were locked in a shipping crate.Jason was laying on the floor bleeding to death when the Joker placed a bomb with a timer in the crate.The Joker preceded to beat Jason's mom up pretty bad too.Just before the bomb went off,Jason shielded her from the blast.Jason died in her arms.Batman found the two,then Jason's mom dies and the last image you see is Batman carrying Robin's lifeless body away from the scene.It was a very gritty story for it's time but it was necessary for DC to evolve into the '90's.A new or old Batman reader or fan should own this story.Not only is it gripping, but it's comic book history just like the Death Of Superman and Knightfall.Excellent DC Comics read!

Batman: A Death in the Family is arguably the most controversial comic book storyline of all time - and everything about it is just great except for DC's reaction to the fan reaction to the death of Jason Todd (the second Robin). The revolutionary thing about the series is the fact that DC set up a hotline and allowed readers to decide Robin's fate after he was caught in an explosion in issue 428. A slight majority of the 10,000+ callers (in a window of only 36 hours) gave Jason Todd the thumbs down, and so it was that Batman once again became the lone Dark Knight (for a little while, at least). And the media hoopla commenced - which was, however much they still deny it, DC's plan all along.

Jason Todd was always a problematic Robin, but he had been getting more and more reckless - so much so that Batman finally takes him off active duty. Then Todd finds out that the woman he called Mother was not really his mother, and he sets out on a quest to find his biological mother - he has three names, and it's just a matter of finding each woman on the list. The search takes him to Beirut. Meanwhile, the Joker has escaped yet again, and it looks like he's trying to sell a nuclear weapon to terrorists in the Middle East. Fate dictates that the lives of all three major players intersect at a vicious crossroads overseas. What is most shocking about this story arc is not the death of Robin - rather, it is the manner of his death. His newly discovered mother basically betrays him, the Joker beats him to a bloody pulp with a crowbar (and really enjoys doing it), and then he's trapped inside a warehouse when it blows up. Still, even after the betrayal, he tries to save his mother's life - it makes for a truly fitting, superheroic end for the second Robin. The story doesn't stop there, though. Even as Batman is grieving Jason's death and questioning all of his actions and decisions regarding the boy, the Joker gets himself a job as the UN ambassador for Iran. That gives him diplomatic immunity, meaning Batman, no matter how much he wants to finally put an end to the Joker, can't touch him. The State Department sends Superman in to break the news to Batman, and for a while it looks like Bats and Sup are going to go at it. Batman knows that nothing good will come of the Joker's upcoming address to the General Assembly - and he's right. Still, the storyline closes on a note of ambiguity, which is almost how it had to be. The whole traumatic experience puts the dark back in the Dark Knight and has definite repercussions for the future development of Batman.

Here's my take on this Robin-ocide thing. DC created in Jason Todd a problematic character whom, to make matters worse, they did not develop in a very good fashion. A lot of Batman fans truly disliked this brash, young kid who whined all the time and was clearly never ready to fill Robin's shoes. How can we undo the wrong and get rid of Jason Todd?, they must have asked. We all know the plan they developed - let the fans decide whether he lives or dies. How relieved they must have been that the vote narrowly went their way and sealed Todd's fate. This had the double bonus of letting them blame the fans for Robin's death - and they did so, at every opportunity. What really sticks in my craw, though, is their reported astonishment at the media circus this decision created. I mean, come on, this whole scheme was designed as a publicity coup - and a pretty brilliant one, as it turned out. Here we are almost 18 years later, and we're still talking about and debating A Death in the Family. (Of course, DC recently made the extremely stupid decision of actually resurrecting Jason Todd - as a villain - in Batman: Under the Hood, despite editor Denny O'Neil's quote on the back of the A Death in the Family TPB saying what a "really sleazy stunt" it would be to ever bring him back.)

In 1988-1989 DC Comics published "Batman: A Death in the Family", in which Batman follows The Joker to the Middle East where he is trying to sell a cruise missle. By really strange coincidense Jason Todd is followning up an investigation into who his real mother is, and it brings him to Lebenon as well. It turns out his real mother is being blackmailed by The Joker to steal medical supplies and sell them. In a trap set by the Joker, Robin is killed and Batman swears bloody vengence. But in a cruel twist of fate Joker is assigned as an ambassator to Iran, and uses his position to try and kill the general assembly.

This was one of the first really grim story lines that DC tried, and I think it worked wonderfully. Jason Todd was not universally loved by fans like Dick Greyson was. The gimick of using a phone servey to determine Robin's fate was intresting , as Robin's death was voted for by a narrow margin. I am a little confused that fans were so outraged when Robin died. They voted for it, right?

As for the story, it was very touching. Todd is moddy and angry because he is having trouble getting over his paernt's death. Seeing that his mother might still be alive gives him hope. He is on cloud nine mnost of the time. But there is still a darkness there, he is rebellious toward Batman's authority. And that is what ultumatly gets him killed. Then there is how he died. The Joker beat him with a crowbar, and the blood flying all over the room was pretty brutal. After that the explosion that finally killed him was a blessing. It was heart breaking to see how pathetic the funeal was, with only Bruce wayne, Commisioner Gordon, and a very few others actually there. It was sad indeed.

A misunderstood story arc that is exciting, dramatic, and tragic.

Quite possibly the worst thing I have ever read. The plotting was sloppier than a mid-season sitcom, too much suspension of disbelief in all details that sell a story (the friend of the Todds, the names of possible people in the book, the fact that all 3 were alive and "interesting" people (why one of them couldn't be a coffeeshop waitress or something, esp if they came from Crime Alley). Perhaps the worst of the book was the cartoony artwork (one step above an Archie comic) and the avoidance of any depth of exploration of charcter. This was a wonderful opportunity to explore Batman's history of loss, his sense of individual responsibility balanced with protection of those he is close to, whether he can acheive attachments and whether he is an obsesssive zealot wrapped in the violent violet cloak of vengence or a man trying to work through his own past and issues of loss. Instead, Death in the Family was a crude, poor constructed, poorly coordinated piece of opportunistic garbage from the post-Reagan era. The 800 number says it all. If I were Denny O'Neill I would sanitize my name from this project and make no mention of this book, as though it were a bad joke or an off-color comment made when you thought no one was listening. Pure drivel. Only for the most obsessive collector (like myself).

The book renders the tale in which the second Robin, Jason Todd, meets his end at the hands of a notorious villain. Understanding some of the current Batman storylines requires knowledge of this event.
The death in the family that the title describes molds the Batman character into what he is today; extremely reluctant to work with partners and overprotective of the two family members he still has.
Strangely, this event reminds me of why Batman is truly a hero. Only he must pay the price for his one-man war on crime; casualties are unacceptable. He is willing to sacrifice himself completely to the task of cleaning up and protecting Gotham, he is not arrogant or cruel enough to manipulate others to do his bidding, however. This is his burden, and no one elses'. I think it is more of necessity than choice that he does work with anyone else.
This book also reminds me of one of the things that most angered me about DC in this era; I wish they had just retired the second Robin because of his recklessness. In fact, that is what Bruce considers before Todd's life is cut short. So perhaps that complaint is overblown, but this will always remain Bruce Wayne's and Batman's, darkest day. Keep that in mind when you decide whether or not to get this.

An important chapter in the life of Batman "A Death in the Family" is one of my favorite Bat-comics. Killing off Robin (Due to a reader's poll so the readers killed him, not the writers) was both risky and created a fascinating edge to Batman. The Joker, in usual maniacal form here, weaves his sinister plots as Jason tries to find his long-lost mother. With real emotion, sharp action and an incredible finale, this is possibly the best in the Batman comic series. The artwork is deep, dark and complementive. Really impressive and inviting, and the theme contains a real sense of yearning for acceptance and a need for self-completion. A must have addition to any Batman fan's collection.

Anyone who has followed the Batman comics over the years knows what kind of impact the death of the Jason Todd-era Robin had on the Batman mythos, but the outcome makes more impact than the overall story. A Death in the Family is a solid tale of the Dark Knight seeking justice for the death of Jason at the hands of the Joker, but just about everything about this story comes off as lame. Jim Starlin's writing is cliche, and the Joker becoming the ambassador of Iran? Please. Now I know this is a comic book, and I'm as much a comic geek as the next guy, but that is plain old ridiculous. What saves A Death in the Family worthwhile (somewhat) is the emotional impact of the outcome, and the solid art by Jim Aparo is a nice touch, but if it weren't for the impact this would leave on the Batman mythos, this wouldn't be worth picking up at all. What would have been a nice bonus though, would be if DC would include the alternate outcome of the story (fans could call in and vote whether or not Robin would live or die) which I'm sure they have laying around somewhere, which would be a nice extra to fans who remember when this storyarc hit.

And the best Batman story ever is only like 4 stars anyway, and that's only on a good day. So this story, being the worst Batman story ever, doesn't stand a chance. Robin was voted dead by Batman readers, and they pinned it on the Joker. If Batman ever finds out he's going to beat his readers down. You have been warned.
Also Jim Starlin is the 14th worst mainstream comicbook writer of all time. (My super-computer did the calculations.) He's right below Steve Englhart and right above that Mraz guy who used to write Green Lantern. I wish my super-computer wasn't such a geek!

You've got to love DC. Every few years they decide to make national headlines by killing off a major character and boost sales. Now of course, DC NEVER wanted people to know that the Robin that was killed was NOT the original Dick Grayson character but rather the second Robin Jason Todd (who?) and what's more they left his fate up to a vote by fans via a 900 number. That shows you hoe popular Jason Todd was.

DC got what they wanted. I was working part-time in a comic store and I remember vividly the all-out frenzy there was over the original issues. We limited one per customer and I never saw so many parents in the store to buy that ONE issue as moms and dads took separate places in line to get this "collectible".

The Story was written by Jim Starlin who is an excellent writer but seems so much better with the more cosmic storylines people know him so well for rather than a gritty Batman story. Jim Aparo's art, while capable really is old style 1970's all the way. Aparo was an excellent artist in the 1970's but simply could not compete with guys like McFarlane and others in the 80's.

Jason gets mixed up with the Joker who is granted citizenship by Iraq! later gets beaten by the Joker with a crowbar and then blown up. Well of course it would be not long before Batman would take Tim Drake as the third Robin and Jason would become a mere footnote. Bet DC never alerted the press to that little tidbit of information.

This book is an awful excuse for comic book writing. In it we find the second Robin, Jason Todd, in a search for his biological mother. He goes off to other countries to search for three possibilities. And both Batman and the Joker end up there for different reasons.
After going through the first two women, Robin and Batman find his real mother. Then Batman goes off for a little while and Joker shows up and kills Robin and his mother.
The lowest point in this is when Joker becomes the ambassedor of Iran. Which means Batman can't touch him. Superman tries to keep him in line.
Truly bad, though it gets a star for the emotion showed by Batman, this should be skipped by comic fans.

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY is a decent story that follows the events that lead to the death of the 2nd Robin, Jason Tood; his death; and the immediate aftershocks. The story isn't too bad, but does contain a few plot holes which are overlooked by the very strong ending. For the most part the art is average, though there are a few scenes that stick in one's mind long after the book has been put down.The comic became one of the most famous Batman comics of all time for three reasons. One, readers decided the fate of story. Two, a major character was killed off; something that was quite rare in the DC universe up to that point. Finally, the death of Jason Todd effects Batman even to the present day; he has become haunted by his death almost as much as he has been haunted by the death of his parents.As a side note, this comic first appeared in the middle 1980's when tensions between the U.S. and Lebanon were still quite hostile (they still had some American hostages) and that tension forms the background of the comic.

To begin with, let's give massive kudos to DC Comics for having the guts to tell this story. It sent Batman down a path even more guilt-ridden than his previous one and eventually led to the creation of a real balancing force in Tim Drake, the current (and best) Robin. Although the gimmick of allowing readers to call in and vote for letting Jason Todd live or killing him off seems sort of callow, it did gain this story serious attention, attention that it deserved. However (and perhaps this is the DVD fan in me) I feel sort of a pang of guilt that we've never seen the alternate ending for this story, the one where Jason survived. DC had both endings ready to go to the printer, just waiting for the response to come in... is there any reason we couldn't have included that alternate chapter in this collection? Heck, even if they stuck an "Elseworlds" label on that chapter, it would be fine with me. Something to consider, DC, the next time this book goes to print.

A Death in the Family (the Batman TPB) resonates more in the history of the character of Batman than it does as a stand alone graphic novel. Jason Todd's Robin was a small blip and is most interesting and important for this series of four issues which chronicle his very bloody death. It certainly is not the best writing by Jim Starlin but the appearance by Superman later helps and the idea of the Joker becoming the ambassador of Iran is so ridiculous it almost works. Jim Aparo puts in adequate drawings, down a notch from his best work in the early Brave and Bold, and still seeming a little downtown Neal Adamish. These issues still have power in their killing of Robin, years later still a shocking scene.

There are so many Batman comics out there nowadays that sometimes it's hard to pick out the good ones in the overflow that is offered. Let me be of a little help here and say that THIS one is one of those books you WANT to pick up. Why is it that nice ? Well, it's a story in which everybody (by now) knows what is gonna happen, still it takes you by surprise WHEN it actually happens and it is never boring or predictable. You don't see it coming. But "the big event" is certainly not the only reason why this story is good. It's also a very well written story where you get to know more about Jason Todd and what follows after Jason himself gets to know things he didn't know before. The storytelling through the art is great here and definately adds to the already good writing. Certainly one of the better Batman TPB's to pick up.

Forget about the setup, this is an important story in the Batman mythos, the death of Robin II. Written with two possible endings in mind, the story affects continuity for years to come in the comic book.

Well, there certainly isn't anything blantantly WRONG with this story. In fact, the end of it is fairly spectacular. Its the set up that bothers me.

While I find it interesting that Robin wants to find his mother, I don't see why 90% of the story needs to be about Iranian terrorists and not Robin. While we should be getting a last look into Robin's soul, we instead see a bunch of guys with cloths over their heads shooting at him. Joker's elaborate "scheme" seems pointless and stupid, even for the Joker. Worst of all his plan is waaay too convenient for the purposes of the story.

But as I said, the ending was well done. By the end of the story I knew what fate I would have chosen for Robin (kill the twerp!) but it was still sad to see him go. So if you, like me, truly need to see the death of Robin, then go ahead and pick this up. For what you pay for it, it is definently worth it.

What would Batman do if something were to happen to Robin?Well,finally,we have an answer.This is a must-buy for any comics fan.This is a completely new way of doing a comic!I loved it.It's got something to it that others don't,maybe Batman's silent grief,maybe the Joker's ultimate revenge or maybe the power of the story.If you see it,buy it.

The Joker killed Robin...maybe not Robin I,who was too old to be a Boy Wonder-but Robin II,who was too headstrong to be a truly efeective Boy Wonder. I wouldn't have had it done that way-but the genuine death of a lead character(so rare in comic books)adds more realism to the world of super heroes.

IT IS GOOD, I THINK IT IS A VERY INTERESING STORY. IT HAS ALOT OF ACTION,BUT ITS ALSO KINDA SAD.

What a masterpeiece as the joker I'm taking on the most dangerously adventure ever. Robin's looking for his mother and falls in the nest well you have to buy it to hear the rest well let's just say Robin flew his last coupe hahahahahahahahahahahhahah Well see you Around HAhahahaha

This story not only traces back Batman's nemesis with the Joker, but also the death of Jason Todd and his relationship with Superman. Lots of characters, including Lady Shiva. Buy it!

While this story's fate was determined by Bat-fans, it is still a great book, featuring wondrous art by Jim Aparo, and the adventuresome writing by Jim Starlin. A shocking story which made the Batman into a different man, severing his ties with the concept of Robin, as well as his pseudo-friendship with Superman.

this book captures the true essence of the batman. it is an excellent tale of good vs evil and sometimes the end results can be surprising. wonderful cameos of various other dc chartacters such as shiva and superman. a must have for all comic book fans or anyone who likes batman.