ICv2: Mark Waid and Chris Samnee team up for “Batman and Robin: Year One”

Author Mark Waid and artist Chris Samnee collaborate on Batman and Robin: Year One, a 12-part series documenting the early days of the crime-fighting duo. At the start of the series, Bruce Wayne has just adopted the orphaned Dick Grayson, and the two are still adjusting to their new situation when a new crime boss appears in Gotham City. The first issue will be released on October 16, 2024, with a main cover by Samnee and variants by Mikel Janín, Matteo Scalera, Karl Kerschl (1:25) and Lee Weeks (1:50).

“Although Batman and Robin are the stars of this story and get most of the panel time, this is fundamentally not a Batman/Robin story, but a Bruce/Dick story,” Waid said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “It takes place just a month or two after Bruce adopts Dick, and Bruce slowly realizes that he no idea how to be a father to a child of that age. He has no role model – his own father was long dead when he was Dick’s age. Nothing he has ever done has prepared him for this, and Alfred – wise as he is – doesn’t have much experience in this either.”

“Dick is everything Bruce is not – impetuous, flamboyant, reckless,” Samnee added. “But he’s also precise; he can nail a landing. He takes orders when they make sense to him, but he’s happy to improvise and test his role within the dynamic duo. The first few pages you’ll see show how they’ll act and react when they’re out patrolling Gotham City together.”

Click “Gallery” below to view covers and interior illustrations!