Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Robin, the Boy Wonder

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

Detective Comics 38 cover art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson

The published cover by Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson.

Detective Comics 38 Robin Origin Story

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

Batman 213 DC Comics House Ad

Scan of the house ad which ran in b&w and colour in various DC issues.

Comic book colouring by Scott Dutton

Original colour scheme re-created.

Comic book colouring by Scott Dutton

New colour version.


Batman No. 213

Batman 213 Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

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.

Batman 213 Cover Art by Bill Draut and Vince Colletta

The cover as published. Art by Bill Draut & Vince Colletta.

The inside front cover as published.

Comic book art restoration by Scott Dutton

Trade dress stripped out and the missing art bits drawn in.

Comic book colouring by Scott Dutton

Re-created original colour scheme and trade dress applied.

New colour scheme, and the newer Batman logo added.

Comic book colouring by Scott Dutton

Inside front cover re-typeset and colour added.

Comic

Inside front cover with colour and the newer Batman logo added.

Comic book colouring by Scott Dutton


Secret Origins No. 7

A reprint of the 1938 origin from 1974 collected by E Nelson Bridwell, the writer of the 1969 origin story.

Secret Origins 7 cover art by Nick Cardy

As published.

Secret Origins 7 cover art by Nick Cardy

Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Comic book colouring by Scott Dutton

New colour version.

Comic book design by Scott Dutton

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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