It's Frank Miller, writing Batman. What's not to like? Well, first of all, this is definetly more in the vein of DKSA not DKR or Year One. Batman is a cackling rage monster who probably kills dozens of people. We never see him killing anyone directly, but he lights people on fire and crashes cop cars and so on.
Wonder Woman is man hating hyper feminist, who inexplicably still wears her stilleto heels. Hal Jordan is a moron. This is Frank Miller's special version of DC where everyone is angry and violent, or enormously stupid.
Although the story is ostensibly about Batman and Robin, we get an entire issue devoted to Black Canary, who goes around beating up random people and taking their money. The only person who isn't on the verge of a psychotic breakdown is Batgirl, who makes a small appearance only.
All Star Joker is a date rapist/serial killer with a yakuza style tatoo on his entire back. That kinda works, as I like the Joker being different in every story. The Batman works if you are ok with a Batman that makes Dick Grayson eat rats and gets petulant when people keep telling him the Batmobile is a "queer" name for his car.
The Jim Lee art is standard Jim Lee. The first thing we see is some super gratitous panels of Vicki Vale in her underwear for no apparent reason. I can't decide what amount of this whole comic is self parody. We've got scantily clad babes, repeated little staccato lines (Dick Grayson. Age Twelve) and gleeful ultra violence.
What I can say is that it clearly accomplishes what it sets out to do: it's insane, excessive and over the top in every way. Supposedly this is meant to take place in the same world as Miller's other works, which makes no sense as the Batman of Year One and DKR is a fundementally different person that the Batman in All Star and DKSA. DKSA Batman can work as an aged Batman who is losing it, but putting this chronologically between Year One and DKR makes no sense.
In DKSA Dick becomes a serial killer, which sort of makes sense with his portrayal here. What doesn't make sense is DKR Batman's refusal to kill the Joker, but his over the top violence against corrupt cops and random street thugs in All Star. This whole Insane Batman thing could almost work as a modern spin on Golden Age Batman, who wasn't afraid to gun down bad guys in his very early appearances. Or maybe as an Ultimate Batman.
Rating: I have no idea, honestly. It is what it is. ???? out of ????
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