Debuting in 1940, Dick “Robin” Grayson changed Batman from a vengeful, lone creature of the night into a parent with a young ward. At the time, comic book publishers added junior versions of the main characters in an effort for kids to have someone to relate to that was closer to their age, not realising the obvious – kids wanted to be the adult hero, not the sidekick.
Still, Robin’s popularity has never faded while others have come, gone and come back again. And it’s in that spirit that we present two versions of his origin. The original from 1940, and a recoloured version of the 1969 update. Plus a couple of interesting pieces of historical interest, and a special bonus for making it all the way to the bottom of the post.
Detective Comics No. 38
The published cover by Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson.
Written by Bill Finger. Art by Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson. Taken from one of the many reprints of the story.
Batman No. 213 – House Ad
Scan of the house ad which ran in b&w and colour in various DC issues.
Original colour scheme re-created.
New colour version.
Batman No. 213
Original art scans from Heritage Auctions. The four missing pages were scanned from a Showcase b&w volume and have a heavier ink line as a result.
The cover as published. Art by Bill Draut & Vince Colletta.
The inside front cover as published.
Trade dress stripped out and the missing art bits drawn in.
Re-created original colour scheme and trade dress applied.
New colour scheme, and the newer Batman logo added.
Inside front cover re-typeset and colour added.
Inside front cover with colour and the newer Batman logo added.
Secret Origins No. 7
A reprint of the 1938 origin from 1974 collected by E Nelson Bridwell, the writer of the 1969 origin story.
As published.
Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.
New colour version.
A repackaging of Bridwell’s editorial notes on Robin. The illustration is from an issue of The Amazing World of DC Comics.
Your Bonus from Scrolling to the Bottom of the Page – Download the Comic
For those who enjoy digital comics, we have a CBZ that will work with any comic reading software. Just want the images? Change the extension to ZIP and unpack as you normally would.
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