Some of the Batman graphic novels I've been combing through seem timeless, either the art style, or the story structure, or the writing, or the characters leap through the pages and hook me in.

A few of them, like Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, are very much stuck when they were written and don't compel me as much to keep going. I never stuck to this art style, everything seems like campy 60s cheese, everybody has the same hair color; when Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne are all in the same room, I had to double check who was talking. I did like the idea of Batman needing a Robin and Tim Drake is a cool character, but all the Teen Titans stuff was over my head. ( )

A great story about why Batman needs a Robin, following the death of Jason Todd. Here's our first look at Tim Drake as he makes the case for a new Robin! ( )

Very dated, but a nice introduction to how Tim Drake became a very creepy looking Robin. ( )

This one collects the stories dealing with the aftermath of Jason's death. I really liked it, and it was good to read the story rather than reading about it. I like Tim. And Dick. And Bruce. Well, you know. ( )

This is the collected version of the introduction arc of Timothy Drake, the third (and current) Robin, following shortly after the death of Jason Todd, Robin-2, in "A Death in the Family".

This was much better than I expected it to be. I read "A Death in the Family" and found it, at best, to be blah; at worst, to be outright bad. Plus, '90s superhero comics.

But Aparo's Batman art is, as always, excellent, and the story's actually quite well-plotted and well-written. Bruce, Dick, and Tim all shine through in some solid character work, and the minor characters are well done; the crime-fighting bits of the story are well matched with the emotional arc without ever overshadowing it. ( )