From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives!

What if one of the darkest hours in Batman’s crime-fighting career never happened?

In 1988, the pop culture world was rocked when comics readers were given the opportunity todecide the outcome of one of the medium’s most controversial quandaries: Should the Boy Wonder die? While history has taught us one answer to that question, a second answer is now told--What if Robin lived?

Jason Todd, the second teenager to wear the mask of Robin, survived a brutal beating at the hands of maniacal Joker, but his wounds run deeper than flesh. The already volatile Jason is haunted by what happened to him and is unwilling to confront his demons, so Bruce Wayne brings in a psychiatrist to talk to him. Can Jason recover from his ordeal? Is the Batman ultimately to blame? And then there is the question on everyone’s mind: who killed the Joker?

Writer J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League International) and artist Rick Leonardi (Nightwing) spin the story of what would have happened if the fans had chosen differently. From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives! collects the entire four-issue miniseries along with Batman #426, #427, and #429 and the faux-simile issue Batman #428: Robin Lives! that lead up to this momentous elseworld.

J.M. DeMatteis was a music critic but gave it up for becoming an award-winning writer best known for his personal works such as Moonshadow and BROOKLYN DREAMS. He began writing for DC in the late 1970s and rose to prominence with characters such as the JUSTICE LEAGUE revamp of the 1980s, a franchise that earned him an Eisner Award in 2004 for Best Humor Publication. He has written every major character at DC and Marvel, using that experience for a successful foray into animation writing including episodes of Justice League Unlimited and Batman: the Brave and the Bold.

Jim Starlin is the acclaimed author of classic graphic novels including, for DC Comics, COSMIC ODYSSEY and BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY, as well as the 1982 Marvel graphic novel The Death of Captain Marvel. His other works include the space operas Warlock and Dreadstar.