In case you don't already know what happens....contains spoilers
Let's face it, "A Death in the Family" isn't one of the most popular books written about the Caped Crusader. Nor has Jason Todd (or what they decided to do with him after his death) really been considered a cornerstone to the Batman family. In this four part volume (which celebrated it's 20th birthday last year) we follow Robin on a cross-country journey to find his real mother. Jason meets up with several women, none of whom are her. When he finally meets up with his real mother, the story starts to really pick up. Before the last issue in this volume hit the stands, DC allowed their readers to decide the fate of the Boy Wonder by setting up two different (900) numbers: one for Robin lives and the other for his death. Needless to say the readers, in a close tally, voted for his death. I review this story now and give it such high marks because, at the time, I have never seen anything like it; you have to remember, this came out before the internet. The story is great too. Not only do we get to witness the death of Robin, but we also get to see the Joker as Iran's new Ambassador to the U.N. (which is pretty funny) and Superman showing up to prevent Batman from "causing any trouble" with him [Joker] since he has diplomatic immunity. This is a great and timeless read.