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We Are Robin
We Are Robin, Volume 1: The Vigilante Business
A modern spin on the original teen superhero!
In a Gotham City ravaged by the Joker, Batman alone is not enough to keep the peace—and just one Robin isn’t nearly enough to back him up. Now, teenagers who want to make a difference are coming together in droves and adopting the “R.” They’re not a gang. They’re not sidekicks.
They are Robin.
When Duke Thomas is recruited by the mysterious Nest to join teens from all different backgrounds and walks of life in the Robins, he hopes that they can help him find his missing parents. Instead, they find something much more nefarious—an underground conspiracy that threatens to bring down Gotham.
Now it’s up to these untrained teen vigilantes to save the city from a mysterious evil force. But being Robin is dangerous. Robins die. Will these new heroes face the same fate?
Collecting: We Are Robin #1-6, DC Comics Sneak Peek: We Are Robin #1.
In a Gotham City ravaged by the Joker, Batman alone is not enough to keep the peace—and just one Robin isn’t nearly enough to back him up. Now, teenagers who want to make a difference are coming together in droves and adopting the “R.” They’re not a gang. They’re not sidekicks.
They are Robin.
When Duke Thomas is recruited by the mysterious Nest to join teens from all different backgrounds and walks of life in the Robins, he hopes that they can help him find his missing parents. Instead, they find something much more nefarious—an underground conspiracy that threatens to bring down Gotham.
Now it’s up to these untrained teen vigilantes to save the city from a mysterious evil force. But being Robin is dangerous. Robins die. Will these new heroes face the same fate?
Collecting: We Are Robin #1-6, DC Comics Sneak Peek: We Are Robin #1.
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2016
20 people are currently reading
1046 people want to read
About the author
Lee Bermejo
280 books189 followersLee Bermejo is a professional illustrator and comic book artist. He has done work for Marvel and DC Comics, Men's Health, Max Mara, Top Cow productions, Wizard Entertainment, and a crappy film called Ultraviolet (hey,whaddayagonnado). Talking about himself in the third person makes him feel more important than he really is. Anyway, enough about the blogger, let's talk art!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
November 10, 2022
(B) 73% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Rationalities, personalities, plot and speech all poorly penned: all in all, just plodding brawls, too shallow, in the end.
Notes: Rationalities, personalities, plot and speech all poorly penned: all in all, just plodding brawls, too shallow, in the end.
October 27, 2016
2.5 stars
You know what's been missing in DC comics?
Robins.
I mean, there just haven't been enough over the years!
Let's see...Dick, Jason, Tim, & Damian. Oh, and then Stephanie Brown for about 3 seconds. Plus, Miller's Carrie Kelley, and the Earth 2's Helena Wayne.
Am I missing anyone, guys?
So, yeah. We needed more Robins.
And that's exactly what Lee Bermejo gives us in Volume One.
I've honestly read worse stuff, but this isn't something that I'm going to go out of my way to ever grab again. And if its target audience is teenagers, then (at least in my house) it was a flop. My 16 year old said it was too boring to finish, and then asked me if I had the Punisher comic that he asked for from the library. So.
I didn't think it was too boring, but it didn't grab me by the feelings and shake my world, either. Maybe because this is the first volume, and maybe because it's till finding its legs?
Not sure.
Anyway.
Remember that kid from Endgame? The one Batman rescued in that fake Crime Alley reenactment?
Well, his name is Duke, and he's sort of the main character. Or at least he's the main voice in this, because he's the new recruit. There are evidently a ton of these Robins, but Duke meets (and somewhat befriends) a core group of about 6 or so. I honestly don't remember the exact number, and I certainly don't remember all of their names. Different backgrounds, different races, and different reasons for wanting to fight crime.
I actually liked Duke and some of the other kids. Sadly, they weren't likable enough for me to overlook the shoddy premise, or lack of any sort of explanation of their mad fighting skilz.
Seriously, who trained them? I know lots of teenage kids, and none of them would be able to walk away from a fight against an adult assassin. <--that happens, I swear!
If you're going to read this, then be prepared to suspend disbelief quite a bit more than you would with a regular comic. Especially the parts where NO ADULT EVER checks on the kid to see if they're in their room. EVER.
Shhh! Kids are stealthy...
Ok, for real? Teens are sneaky little bastards, so admittedly some of these kids would be able to get away with it at first, but it would be dependent on a complete lack of any parental involvement for them to continue to get away with it in the long run. And maybe I'm just farting rainbows, but I think it's unlikely that all of them have idiot guardians.
Issue #4 is a cute (but odd) crossover with Barbara Gordon. She shows up to help one of the Robins who (for some reason) fantasizes daily that she is having conversations with Batgirl.
I don't...????
Whatever makes you happy, I guess.
You know what made me happy?
All of the kick-ass covers!
They were all fantastic, but this one was my absolute favorite.
In the end? I'm not sure if the characters have enough likability to overcome all the nonsense. There was way too much gimmicky texting and way too few explanations for their ninja skills. I'll personally think twice before grabbing the next one.
You know what's been missing in DC comics?
Robins.
I mean, there just haven't been enough over the years!
Let's see...Dick, Jason, Tim, & Damian. Oh, and then Stephanie Brown for about 3 seconds. Plus, Miller's Carrie Kelley, and the Earth 2's Helena Wayne.
Am I missing anyone, guys?
So, yeah. We needed more Robins.
And that's exactly what Lee Bermejo gives us in Volume One.
I've honestly read worse stuff, but this isn't something that I'm going to go out of my way to ever grab again. And if its target audience is teenagers, then (at least in my house) it was a flop. My 16 year old said it was too boring to finish, and then asked me if I had the Punisher comic that he asked for from the library. So.
I didn't think it was too boring, but it didn't grab me by the feelings and shake my world, either. Maybe because this is the first volume, and maybe because it's till finding its legs?
Not sure.
Anyway.
Remember that kid from Endgame? The one Batman rescued in that fake Crime Alley reenactment?
Well, his name is Duke, and he's sort of the main character. Or at least he's the main voice in this, because he's the new recruit. There are evidently a ton of these Robins, but Duke meets (and somewhat befriends) a core group of about 6 or so. I honestly don't remember the exact number, and I certainly don't remember all of their names. Different backgrounds, different races, and different reasons for wanting to fight crime.
I actually liked Duke and some of the other kids. Sadly, they weren't likable enough for me to overlook the shoddy premise, or lack of any sort of explanation of their mad fighting skilz.
Seriously, who trained them? I know lots of teenage kids, and none of them would be able to walk away from a fight against an adult assassin. <--that happens, I swear!
If you're going to read this, then be prepared to suspend disbelief quite a bit more than you would with a regular comic. Especially the parts where NO ADULT EVER checks on the kid to see if they're in their room. EVER.
Shhh! Kids are stealthy...
Ok, for real? Teens are sneaky little bastards, so admittedly some of these kids would be able to get away with it at first, but it would be dependent on a complete lack of any parental involvement for them to continue to get away with it in the long run. And maybe I'm just farting rainbows, but I think it's unlikely that all of them have idiot guardians.
Issue #4 is a cute (but odd) crossover with Barbara Gordon. She shows up to help one of the Robins who (for some reason) fantasizes daily that she is having conversations with Batgirl.
I don't...????
Whatever makes you happy, I guess.
You know what made me happy?
All of the kick-ass covers!
They were all fantastic, but this one was my absolute favorite.
In the end? I'm not sure if the characters have enough likability to overcome all the nonsense. There was way too much gimmicky texting and way too few explanations for their ninja skills. I'll personally think twice before grabbing the next one.
July 27, 2016
Gotham City, that crime-ridden cesspool of a town, is already the vigilante capital of the DC universe, what with Batman and the Bats family and friends running around trying to corral super-villains, and wannabe psychopathic, homicidal losers.
So whose idea was it to start a kiddie crime unit based on Robin and call themselves the, uh, Robins?
A member of the Bats family and friends, that’s who.
So, if teens from all walks of life, no matter what their sex, race, social status, creed, religion, national origin, party affiliation or hair style, get a little bored with the Interwebz, they can enroll in the school of punching deadbeats silly.
Jinkies! Even on paper this sounds like a crappy idea. In their attempt to distance themselves from The New 52, is DC trying to appeal to bored, disaffected youth?
The kids are pulled in several different directions, with a creepy left-over dude from the Court of Owls storyline trying to recruit them as well.
“No worries. We have a great dental plan.”
So whose idea was this fiasco?
Bottom line: DC’s attempt to meld Batman and Scooby Doo and texting falls flat, except for one issue in the middle of this volume in which a different artist pumps a little life (and humor) into this book.
It’s what could have been… *sigh*
Two and a half stars rounded down.
So whose idea was it to start a kiddie crime unit based on Robin and call themselves the, uh, Robins?
A member of the Bats family and friends, that’s who.
So, if teens from all walks of life, no matter what their sex, race, social status, creed, religion, national origin, party affiliation or hair style, get a little bored with the Interwebz, they can enroll in the school of punching deadbeats silly.
Jinkies! Even on paper this sounds like a crappy idea. In their attempt to distance themselves from The New 52, is DC trying to appeal to bored, disaffected youth?
The kids are pulled in several different directions, with a creepy left-over dude from the Court of Owls storyline trying to recruit them as well.
“No worries. We have a great dental plan.”
So whose idea was this fiasco?
Bottom line: DC’s attempt to meld Batman and Scooby Doo and texting falls flat, except for one issue in the middle of this volume in which a different artist pumps a little life (and humor) into this book.
It’s what could have been… *sigh*
Two and a half stars rounded down.
August 2, 2016
There’s a scene in Batman: Endgame where Batman saves a kid from a Joker zombie mob - who knew THAT was the impetus behind this We Are Robin series?! Unsurprisingly, the flimsiest of premises makes for a pretty crap book.
Some teenagers decide to call themselves Robin and run around the city doing vigilante stuff. There’s a Talon (from the Court of Owls storyline) with a giant sickle who’s created this underground group of homeless worshippers… for reasons… and that’s it. Rubbish!
Who are these kids? How did they meet? Why do they think being a vigilante is easy? These are just ordinary kids! How are they not getting their butts handed to them every single time they set foot into Gotham’s shadows?! I suppose in a city where the likes of Jason Todd and Tim Drake saw Batman & Robin and thought, “Me too!”, there were bound to be a few more wannabes who thought the same way. But still, these kids are not convincing heroes in the least and this setup is garbage.
The story is nonsense, the characters are poorly written and the formation of this Robin group is anyone’s guess – I suppose DC just wanted another Bat-title! Disappointingly, Alfred got dragged into this travesty too. Jorge Corona’s art isn’t anything special and the one issue James Harvey drew was painful to look at, the art was so busy.
We Are Morons is a terrible series. Lee Bermejo continues to prove he’s a fine artist (the covers are great) but he isn’t anywhere as good when it comes to writing.
Some teenagers decide to call themselves Robin and run around the city doing vigilante stuff. There’s a Talon (from the Court of Owls storyline) with a giant sickle who’s created this underground group of homeless worshippers… for reasons… and that’s it. Rubbish!
Who are these kids? How did they meet? Why do they think being a vigilante is easy? These are just ordinary kids! How are they not getting their butts handed to them every single time they set foot into Gotham’s shadows?! I suppose in a city where the likes of Jason Todd and Tim Drake saw Batman & Robin and thought, “Me too!”, there were bound to be a few more wannabes who thought the same way. But still, these kids are not convincing heroes in the least and this setup is garbage.
The story is nonsense, the characters are poorly written and the formation of this Robin group is anyone’s guess – I suppose DC just wanted another Bat-title! Disappointingly, Alfred got dragged into this travesty too. Jorge Corona’s art isn’t anything special and the one issue James Harvey drew was painful to look at, the art was so busy.
We Are Morons is a terrible series. Lee Bermejo continues to prove he’s a fine artist (the covers are great) but he isn’t anywhere as good when it comes to writing.
July 16, 2022
The story was OK. The characters were very one-dimensional and I wasn't really given anyone to root for. The story should have focused more on Duke since we know him from Batman Eternal. And then brought in the other "Robins" fleshing out their characters. I didn't care for Jorge Corona's art. It's very static and cartoony. The best part of the book are the Lee Bermejo covers.
Received an advance copy from DC and NetGalley.
Received an advance copy from DC and NetGalley.
March 10, 2018
You can find my review on our blog by clicking here.
Lee Bermejo? You might be wondering who on earth that is, right? He’s the man who wrote, illustrated and inked the famous Batman: Noël. He’s the one who did the artwork for the notable piece, Joker by Brian Azzarello. He’s also the guy behind the art of Before Watchmen: Rorschach. When I first saw posters for this new series, I actually had no clue what it was about or who was writing it. I grabbed the 1st issue out of pure instinct and thought I might as well try it because the cover was pretty darn sexy. And now, after going through the first 6 issues (which constitutes the first volume, The Vigilante Business), I can tell you that I don’t regret the calling. The ideas behind it, the diverse styles of art, and the unique direction it was taking sold me.
We Are Robin is the story of a bunch of juvenile teenagers with an interest in Batman and vigilantism. This volume explores their motives and introduces them to a new identity that they all chose to wear. That’s right. Robin. With a stunning artwork that seems to often have a sunset color palette and sharp designs to characters, this new series promises to bring the street out of the darkness and drown it in kick-ass teenage vigilantism. For a comic series that doesn’t focus on Batman, but draws from his universe, We Are Robin is definitely a brilliant idea in progress, a story that Batfans should check out.
It’s inspiring to see that the “R” insignia managed to become a symbol for all teenagers to don. However, it doesn’t take away the etiquette that their actions will always hold. Vigilantism. We Are Robin doesn’t forget to acknowledge it and makes sure to showcase as many upsides as downsides to a group a teenagers taking justice into their own hands. Throughout the story, this new gang receives text messages from The Nest, their faceless boss, and readers only find out later on who that is (if you think you know, think again). This element of suspense is quite intriguing since it showcases this blind justice that the teenagers are following. Driven by this desire to meet and work for Batman, their only route to satisfy such a craving is to build a blind trust to The Nest.
When the story has a group of teenagers at the wheel, it’s surely inevitable to see some stereotypes develop for each character. However, Lee Barmejo makes sure to destroy this repetitive angle to such a direction of storytelling. His characters all have their own personalities and showcases them with distinct dialogues. As the story unfolds, every member manages to present an interesting background. Issue #4 even gives a special attention to Riko Sheridan and her own personal obsession over Batgirl. This very issue was fascinating in so many ways. The artwork was very old school (really awesome, if you ask me), and gave way to a great tribute to an iconic character from Batman’s universe. Although there’s a general focus on Duke Thomas, our afro-american protagonist, the first six issues succeeds to balance out the point of views by giving enough time to shine for every character.
With adversity, this gang of Robin’s quickly learn to grow closer instead of straying away from one another. Coming from various backgrounds, this new identity of Robin helps them build trust and friendship as if it was them against the rest of the world. Lee Bermejo didn’t hesitate in taking certain steps in order to make this new family happen. To top it off, the arrival of a certain new villain into their lives later into the series helps accentuate their need to believe in each other and strive for the greater good. We Are Robin is a promising series with great ideas to hold its foundation firm and strong. It is an entity of its own, and the finale of The Vigilante Business seems to point out to some even greater ideas on gangs and the numerous dilemmas that they bring to light.If anything, more character development and a continuation in the direction its taking for the story could make this series absolutely amazing.
Yours truly,
Lashaan
Lashaan & Trang | Bloggers and Book Reviewers
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
___________________________________
I jumped onto this series without thinking twice cause the general idea was quite original. The first issue definitely managed to captivate me and pronounced itself as a strong entity. I enjoyed the issues as they always brought something new to the table, especially issue #4 with the dramatic change in artwork, the change in narration, the unique direction in storytelling and the appearance of Batgirl! Honestly, this series has great potential and the first six issues manages to keep the suspense going as to who's the mysterious boss behind the growing "organization". I still feel that the characters, each of them, could use more spotlight issues just to get readers to connect with them more. Looking forward to a surge in the series, especially volume 3; cause Robin War... is... Well, see you on my review of it! ;)
P.S. A full review to come.
Yours truly,
Lashaan
Lashaan & Trang | Bloggers and Book Reviewers
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
Lee Bermejo? You might be wondering who on earth that is, right? He’s the man who wrote, illustrated and inked the famous Batman: Noël. He’s the one who did the artwork for the notable piece, Joker by Brian Azzarello. He’s also the guy behind the art of Before Watchmen: Rorschach. When I first saw posters for this new series, I actually had no clue what it was about or who was writing it. I grabbed the 1st issue out of pure instinct and thought I might as well try it because the cover was pretty darn sexy. And now, after going through the first 6 issues (which constitutes the first volume, The Vigilante Business), I can tell you that I don’t regret the calling. The ideas behind it, the diverse styles of art, and the unique direction it was taking sold me.
We Are Robin is the story of a bunch of juvenile teenagers with an interest in Batman and vigilantism. This volume explores their motives and introduces them to a new identity that they all chose to wear. That’s right. Robin. With a stunning artwork that seems to often have a sunset color palette and sharp designs to characters, this new series promises to bring the street out of the darkness and drown it in kick-ass teenage vigilantism. For a comic series that doesn’t focus on Batman, but draws from his universe, We Are Robin is definitely a brilliant idea in progress, a story that Batfans should check out.
It’s inspiring to see that the “R” insignia managed to become a symbol for all teenagers to don. However, it doesn’t take away the etiquette that their actions will always hold. Vigilantism. We Are Robin doesn’t forget to acknowledge it and makes sure to showcase as many upsides as downsides to a group a teenagers taking justice into their own hands. Throughout the story, this new gang receives text messages from The Nest, their faceless boss, and readers only find out later on who that is (if you think you know, think again). This element of suspense is quite intriguing since it showcases this blind justice that the teenagers are following. Driven by this desire to meet and work for Batman, their only route to satisfy such a craving is to build a blind trust to The Nest.
When the story has a group of teenagers at the wheel, it’s surely inevitable to see some stereotypes develop for each character. However, Lee Barmejo makes sure to destroy this repetitive angle to such a direction of storytelling. His characters all have their own personalities and showcases them with distinct dialogues. As the story unfolds, every member manages to present an interesting background. Issue #4 even gives a special attention to Riko Sheridan and her own personal obsession over Batgirl. This very issue was fascinating in so many ways. The artwork was very old school (really awesome, if you ask me), and gave way to a great tribute to an iconic character from Batman’s universe. Although there’s a general focus on Duke Thomas, our afro-american protagonist, the first six issues succeeds to balance out the point of views by giving enough time to shine for every character.
With adversity, this gang of Robin’s quickly learn to grow closer instead of straying away from one another. Coming from various backgrounds, this new identity of Robin helps them build trust and friendship as if it was them against the rest of the world. Lee Bermejo didn’t hesitate in taking certain steps in order to make this new family happen. To top it off, the arrival of a certain new villain into their lives later into the series helps accentuate their need to believe in each other and strive for the greater good. We Are Robin is a promising series with great ideas to hold its foundation firm and strong. It is an entity of its own, and the finale of The Vigilante Business seems to point out to some even greater ideas on gangs and the numerous dilemmas that they bring to light.If anything, more character development and a continuation in the direction its taking for the story could make this series absolutely amazing.
Yours truly,
Lashaan
Lashaan & Trang | Bloggers and Book Reviewers
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
___________________________________
I jumped onto this series without thinking twice cause the general idea was quite original. The first issue definitely managed to captivate me and pronounced itself as a strong entity. I enjoyed the issues as they always brought something new to the table, especially issue #4 with the dramatic change in artwork, the change in narration, the unique direction in storytelling and the appearance of Batgirl! Honestly, this series has great potential and the first six issues manages to keep the suspense going as to who's the mysterious boss behind the growing "organization". I still feel that the characters, each of them, could use more spotlight issues just to get readers to connect with them more. Looking forward to a surge in the series, especially volume 3; cause Robin War... is... Well, see you on my review of it! ;)
P.S. A full review to come.
Yours truly,
Lashaan
Lashaan & Trang | Bloggers and Book Reviewers
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
September 9, 2016
Bullet Review:
So you cannot NOT blame this book for lacking in diversity (well maybe LGBT, but it's still early on and, like you would expect for a book like this, people aren't gabbing about their sex lives). Out of the team of6 5 there are 2 women, 1 Asian, 1 Puerto Rican, 1 black, and 1 Italian-American.
I'm rounding up to 3 stars because it's way more interesting than the book I am listening to on audio. Nonetheless, I must be (as per usual) missing about 8 billion other issues and backstory to explain 1) who all these kids are, 2) why someone thought it a smart idea to put 16 year olds in the line of fire, and 3) why Gotham even needs so-called Robins in the first place.
So you cannot NOT blame this book for lacking in diversity (well maybe LGBT, but it's still early on and, like you would expect for a book like this, people aren't gabbing about their sex lives). Out of the team of
I'm rounding up to 3 stars because it's way more interesting than the book I am listening to on audio. Nonetheless, I must be (as per usual) missing about 8 billion other issues and backstory to explain 1) who all these kids are, 2) why someone thought it a smart idea to put 16 year olds in the line of fire, and 3) why Gotham even needs so-called Robins in the first place.
June 21, 2017
There's terrible comics. When the dialog is so awful you can't read it. There's stupid comics. Where the plot is so dumb there's no questioning it. Then there's this...a pointless comic with a pointless plot with a pointless cast of characters doing pointless things. So to sum it up it's very much pointless. Too bad to because was interested in the concept.
What I liked: The idea of it.
What I didn't like: Everything else. Art was okay at best. The characters all sounded the same and none were likeable. The ending was TERRIBLE. The fights were as boring as could be. The whole idea was truly pointless and you can see why it's canceled so quick.
Skip this one completely. Not worth your time and money. I rather read All Star Batman by crazy frank miller than this. SKIP!!!!
What I liked: The idea of it.
What I didn't like: Everything else. Art was okay at best. The characters all sounded the same and none were likeable. The ending was TERRIBLE. The fights were as boring as could be. The whole idea was truly pointless and you can see why it's canceled so quick.
Skip this one completely. Not worth your time and money. I rather read All Star Batman by crazy frank miller than this. SKIP!!!!
September 23, 2021
A good miniseries integrating with slash leading up to the nine-part 2015 Robin War event.
Very modern storytelling. A movement across Gotham by talented teens inspired by Batman's sidekick, We Are Robin is getting secret backing from someone -- and dire attention from a particular criminal element.
Very modern storytelling. A movement across Gotham by talented teens inspired by Batman's sidekick, We Are Robin is getting secret backing from someone -- and dire attention from a particular criminal element.
August 30, 2016
Considering no familiar characters are here except for one, whom I won't give away, this was pretty fun. My only complaint would be all the texting or whatever you call it, messages, between all the Robins, which is how they communicate. I mean, I text and email, I'm not that old. But the proliferation on every page sort of hits you over the head with the idea that this is extremely modern. And the text speak, ack, really gets to me. So if you can live with some OMGs and LOLs and borderline annoying/weird commentary that hints of Frank Miller, there's plenty of meat and good ol' vigilante justice.
August 26, 2025
Felt like a 1.5 star, completely skippable volume. Definitely not going to continue this. I think I’m finally ready to move on from New 52. I love being over a decade behind on my favorite comic publishing company…
June 14, 2019
This was pretty enjoyable! I liked it the most during Duke and Riko's stories. I really like Duke's narrative - he sounds like a real teenager and he's got such a realistic personality. My first introduction to him was in All Star Batman and I've been attached to him ever since. It's a pretty unique way to start his story as one of the Batfam.
Riko is a character I don't think shows up a lot outside of this story and Robin War? and that's a bummer because I like her style.
Anyway, I didn't care that much for the expositional aspects of the book. Unfortunately, that was quite a bit of the volume.
Riko is a character I don't think shows up a lot outside of this story and Robin War? and that's a bummer because I like her style.
Anyway, I didn't care that much for the expositional aspects of the book. Unfortunately, that was quite a bit of the volume.
May 7, 2016
The idea of a social movement of Robin-vigilantes is intriguing ... but Bermejo never really takes advantage of it. The idea that there are other Robins than our core six is only addressed once, and it's more confusing than anything, because it's not clear if they're part of the story or not. And the whole social movement ... doesn't really move.
Beyond that the story is about characterization, and it unfortunately falls short here. I dunno if it's muddy artwork, muddy storytelling, or both, but I never have a good impression of who most of these people are.
So, though I enjoy the concept and the characters (and how this fits into the Batman mythos), the book never really gels, and I'm not sure I see reason to read any more.
Beyond that the story is about characterization, and it unfortunately falls short here. I dunno if it's muddy artwork, muddy storytelling, or both, but I never have a good impression of who most of these people are.
So, though I enjoy the concept and the characters (and how this fits into the Batman mythos), the book never really gels, and I'm not sure I see reason to read any more.
April 7, 2016
We Are Robin is a apart of The DCYou imprint. While I didn't love this, It wasn't bad. They definitely went for a younger audience with this, and a more diverse audience as well. I sound like an old man but the tweet dialogue was a bit overused.. But that's more of just a small thing. Solid storytelling, the artwork at times was chaotic, but mostly well done.
I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher. .
I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley.com and the publisher. .
July 5, 2017
Better than expected. It was nice to see the youth of Gotham City take up the Robin mantle when needed. Some of the characters were a bit cliched, but overall they were distinct enough to be interesting. Solid art and colors.
January 27, 2021
Batman is gone. Gotham City is reeling from yet another insane Joker attack. The youths of the city are tired of sitting back. Now, they're taking back the streets. Don't call they sidekicks though - they are Robin!
This book tries to do a lot all at once, and doesn't really manage to do any of it particularly well. There's a whole cast to introduce, most of whom are brand new (aside from Duke Thomas, who was still mostly a blank slate at this point). Then there's the mystery of The Nest, a bombing plot, a shadowy villain, and some Court Of Owls stuff thrown in for good measure as well. For six issues, there's perhaps too much going on.
As a result, everything feels like it's pulled in different directions. Duke's quest to find his parents falls apart after one issue, none of the new Robins get much development beyond a few pages, and while the Nest mystery is actually pretty clever, the villain of the piece feels more like Robin War set-up than an actual threat themselves. There's also an attempt to look at the effect of losing a fellow hero on the people left behind, but this again comes up on maybe a few pages before being lost in the shuffle.
Plus the ideas that a) Batgirl would be okay with loads of kids running around unsupervised and b) four teenagers and a motorbike could take on a Talon, are frankly laughable. I love suspending my disbelief as much as the next guy, but there are limits even I'll reach eventually.
The art doesn't really help much either - the majority of the heavy lifting is by Jorge Corona (with breakdowns by Rob Haynes). His lines are solid, but his panels are too busy with people and things going on, to the point where I had to turn my book upside down to work out what was going on in one panel (it was a sword hilt and not a face, which was why I was getting confused). Everyone's a little distended as well, like Humberto Ramos but without actually committing to the style. It's fine, but it does make things feel really difficult to read at times.
We Are Robin has many good ideas, but it struggles to execute them in a fashion that doesn't just feel like a tick-box exercise. It introduces and drops plot points as needed, and the artwork muddies the water even further. I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually did.
This book tries to do a lot all at once, and doesn't really manage to do any of it particularly well. There's a whole cast to introduce, most of whom are brand new (aside from Duke Thomas, who was still mostly a blank slate at this point). Then there's the mystery of The Nest, a bombing plot, a shadowy villain, and some Court Of Owls stuff thrown in for good measure as well. For six issues, there's perhaps too much going on.
As a result, everything feels like it's pulled in different directions. Duke's quest to find his parents falls apart after one issue, none of the new Robins get much development beyond a few pages, and while the Nest mystery is actually pretty clever, the villain of the piece feels more like Robin War set-up than an actual threat themselves. There's also an attempt to look at the effect of losing a fellow hero on the people left behind, but this again comes up on maybe a few pages before being lost in the shuffle.
Plus the ideas that a) Batgirl would be okay with loads of kids running around unsupervised and b) four teenagers and a motorbike could take on a Talon, are frankly laughable. I love suspending my disbelief as much as the next guy, but there are limits even I'll reach eventually.
The art doesn't really help much either - the majority of the heavy lifting is by Jorge Corona (with breakdowns by Rob Haynes). His lines are solid, but his panels are too busy with people and things going on, to the point where I had to turn my book upside down to work out what was going on in one panel (it was a sword hilt and not a face, which was why I was getting confused). Everyone's a little distended as well, like Humberto Ramos but without actually committing to the style. It's fine, but it does make things feel really difficult to read at times.
We Are Robin has many good ideas, but it struggles to execute them in a fashion that doesn't just feel like a tick-box exercise. It introduces and drops plot points as needed, and the artwork muddies the water even further. I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually did.
July 29, 2022
Boring and I don't care about any of the characters, which is a shame- I was hoping for more given that this is somewhat of a Signal origin story
May 9, 2017
A mess of a book in writing, logic and character work.
World: The art has style and personality, but it also lacks detail, especially when you have 6 main characters and others. The art was messy. The world building was choppy and just like the writing inconsistent and full of logic holes. It's a mess.
Story: The story was choppy, paced wrong and framed weirdly. The idea is interesting but there was not enough time to develop the point of the series and the characters were not developed enough so making this story without much heart. Even a character demise was hollow and wrung hollow. I wills say that Robin fighting a Talon was a good idea in concept, but it was executed poorly cause the writing was poor and we don't know why the fight even happens and the sides and their ideals. Messy.
Characters: Alfred would not do this, never would he do this and this is the biggest logic and character problem for the series and makes this series illogical. Add to that we don't get any real sense of the Robins cause the writing is slap dashed and done poorly. I don't care about the characters and it's a shame after 6 issues I still don't care about them.
Poorly written, poorly thought out, poor quality series.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art has style and personality, but it also lacks detail, especially when you have 6 main characters and others. The art was messy. The world building was choppy and just like the writing inconsistent and full of logic holes. It's a mess.
Story: The story was choppy, paced wrong and framed weirdly. The idea is interesting but there was not enough time to develop the point of the series and the characters were not developed enough so making this story without much heart. Even a character demise was hollow and wrung hollow. I wills say that Robin fighting a Talon was a good idea in concept, but it was executed poorly cause the writing was poor and we don't know why the fight even happens and the sides and their ideals. Messy.
Characters: Alfred would not do this, never would he do this and this is the biggest logic and character problem for the series and makes this series illogical. Add to that we don't get any real sense of the Robins cause the writing is slap dashed and done poorly. I don't care about the characters and it's a shame after 6 issues I still don't care about them.
Poorly written, poorly thought out, poor quality series.
Onward to the next book!
November 7, 2016
I'm struggling with my rating for this one, but I'm going to settle on a 2.5. I liked the art, but I found the characterization to be lacking and I don't feel like this has anything new to say about vigilantes or youth activism.
I'm going to give the 2nd volume a shot - hopefully we'll get to actually know these characters more because as of right now, I'm not terribly invested in them.
I'm going to give the 2nd volume a shot - hopefully we'll get to actually know these characters more because as of right now, I'm not terribly invested in them.
March 5, 2017
Painful to read between the text-message style and the 'edgy' names that bring the story to a halt every time one pops up because they make the brain scream TYPO TYPO TYPO.
March 7, 2018
Didn’t love this and considering it actually took me over a year to finish it I probably should rate it lower, but I didn’t hate it. The art was all over the place, sometimes good, sometimes unbearably “artistic.” I don’t like all the extra Robins and don’t know what should happen to them to restore balance to the Batfamily. I only need one Robin, but I can accept the three that came after him as well. I can’t really remember the first half of the book since it’s been so long, but the characters became clearer to me in the second half when they weren’t just being distinguished by chat user IDs. Maybe there was some earlier books I should have read that introduced this movement more. I don’t particularly care about these Robins though. They give me kind of an X-Men feel, one of the random groups of teens they’d put together to be canon fodder for a while in an attempt to attract younger readers or whatever it is comic execs are thinking when they do stuff like dump a bunch of new characters on readers. I’m not a fan of Alfred as Professor X, but I feel like I need more background on what’s led him to these actions. I feel like he’s acting out of character because all the bat people are dead or missing or amnesiac or whatever was going on when this was published.
July 5, 2022
English/Spanish review:
Mmmmñeh.
I quitted halfway through this. I got really bored. For some reason the author forgot to...write this? I thought I was lost but nope. It was the writing: The core group was just a bunch of kids with different races,gender and blah blah but zero background.
There's even a kid dying but I did not give an f since I had no idea who he was,his background just appears right after his death. Why would I care? There's zero appeal to their characters.
Aand for some reason the kids are experts fighting but,who trained em? Will the author explain why any of this happens or is it just cos I can add this story?
I get this is supposed to target kids but...ñeh,there's nothing outstanding here or interesting to make me grab another issue.
Español:
Mmmmñeh.
Renuncié a la mitad de esto. Me aburrí mucho. Por alguna razón,el autor se olvidó de...¿escribir? Pensé que estaba perdido pero no. Fue la escritura: el grupo central era solo un grupo de pibitos de diferentes razas,géneros y bla, bla, pero cero historia.
Hasta hay un pibe que se muere, pero no me importaba porque no tenía idea de quién era, su trasfondo aparecen justo después de su muerte. ¿Por qué me importaría? No hay ningún atractivo en estos personajes.
Y por alguna razón los niños son expertos peleando pero ¿quién los entrenó? ¿El autor explica algo en todo el libro o es todo porque puedo?
Entiendo que se supone que esto está dirigido a los niños,pero... ñeh,no hay nada sobresaliente o interesante que me haga querer seguir.
Mmmmñeh.
I quitted halfway through this. I got really bored. For some reason the author forgot to...write this? I thought I was lost but nope. It was the writing: The core group was just a bunch of kids with different races,gender and blah blah but zero background.
There's even a kid dying but I did not give an f since I had no idea who he was,his background just appears right after his death. Why would I care? There's zero appeal to their characters.
Aand for some reason the kids are experts fighting but,who trained em? Will the author explain why any of this happens or is it just cos I can add this story?
I get this is supposed to target kids but...ñeh,there's nothing outstanding here or interesting to make me grab another issue.
Español:
Mmmmñeh.
Renuncié a la mitad de esto. Me aburrí mucho. Por alguna razón,el autor se olvidó de...¿escribir? Pensé que estaba perdido pero no. Fue la escritura: el grupo central era solo un grupo de pibitos de diferentes razas,géneros y bla, bla, pero cero historia.
Hasta hay un pibe que se muere, pero no me importaba porque no tenía idea de quién era, su trasfondo aparecen justo después de su muerte. ¿Por qué me importaría? No hay ningún atractivo en estos personajes.
Y por alguna razón los niños son expertos peleando pero ¿quién los entrenó? ¿El autor explica algo en todo el libro o es todo porque puedo?
Entiendo que se supone que esto está dirigido a los niños,pero... ñeh,no hay nada sobresaliente o interesante que me haga querer seguir.
January 15, 2020
I'm not a huge DC/Marvel comic book fan (despite loving the shows/movies) so I never go into these types of things with incredibly high hopes. However, I did find myself enjoying this first volume in the series. It's nice to see a young and diverse group of teens working together; plus I absolutely loved all the different Robin outfits. If I was still a teenager I'd probably have given this 4stars, but as an adult, it's nice to read something that would have motivated me when I was younger.
December 22, 2023
This wasn’t a bad book, but I got bored with it —mainly because I found it hard to connect to the characters. I will say, though, that I think I would have enjoyed Robin War more if I had read this one first.
April 10, 2017
Rather predictable
July 25, 2017
I liked this more than some of the other reviewers. It seems this series might be laying the ground work ( or borrowing the premise ) from Frank Miller's Robin from the Dark Knight.
March 16, 2022
In this first graphic novel, all the characters have attempted to overcome adversity in some way. There's also surrealism.
July 30, 2020
This was a pretty good series. It's only 2 volumes and volume 2 looks really interesting.
November 5, 2023
não sei, a ideia não é de todo ruim, tipo despertar a ideia de um coletivo em jovens que desejam proteger Gotham e se inspiram no Batman é interessante, mas as histórias não foram tão legais. E o "mentor" desses robins set o Alfred é meio contraditório, pois o mesmo não apoia as ações de vigilantismo do Batman.
March 19, 2016
This review was previously published as part of Saturday Scribblings over at If These Books Could Talk
I suppose, when there’s no Batman, there’s no Robin right? Wrong. Teens across Gotham are donning the red, green and giant ‘R’ to collectively right the wrongs of the city. Even though they have the best of intentions, things soon start to go horribly wrong for them when the death of a team member not only shakes them, but makes them question why they are fighting. With no real leader, apart from a mysterious contact called ‘The Nest’, they drift from fight to fight, eventually falling out and splitting into separate factions. It takes a violent encounter to make them realise they need each other if they’re to survive.
Even though ‘The Vigilante Business’ comprises of 6 issues of the We Are Robin title (and a sneak peak at Convergence: New Teen Titans) it still feels like there’s an awful lot crammed into a very small space. Initially a team of six, the Robins are a varied mix of races and genders, but we really only get beneath the skin of a few by the end of volume 1. Duke Thomas* gets the privilege of having the most background, as is typical of any new recruit to a team, as we see him farmed out to another foster family while he secretly hunts for his parents, missing since the events of ‘Endgame’. Isabella (Codename: Robina) has a deeply intense back-story that erupts into violence within her family. A more light-hearted story is given to Riko (R-iko) a Batgirl fangirl with a split personality, who takes on all-comers.
The action is fast-paced and the plotting tight, but it does get a bit frantic on occasion, leaving this reader having to double check previous pages. Lack of depth is obvious here, and as I said previously, this is down to too an uneven character balance. With an equal number of team members to issues, ‘The Vigilante Business’ could have been more even as far as characterisation is concerned, especially with a completely new set of characters.
The graphic style is often eye-poppingly bright and powerful, with the action scenes getting the bigger panels and most attention. Line work is sharp, and the use of narrative captions and alternate coloured speech bubbles for the text convos is a great way of splitting the action between so many characters. Panel placement is a bit frantic, but the use of greens and blues instead of a heavy over-reliance on black makes up for it.
(* Also appears in Batman Vol 8 ‘Superheavy’)
I suppose, when there’s no Batman, there’s no Robin right? Wrong. Teens across Gotham are donning the red, green and giant ‘R’ to collectively right the wrongs of the city. Even though they have the best of intentions, things soon start to go horribly wrong for them when the death of a team member not only shakes them, but makes them question why they are fighting. With no real leader, apart from a mysterious contact called ‘The Nest’, they drift from fight to fight, eventually falling out and splitting into separate factions. It takes a violent encounter to make them realise they need each other if they’re to survive.
Even though ‘The Vigilante Business’ comprises of 6 issues of the We Are Robin title (and a sneak peak at Convergence: New Teen Titans) it still feels like there’s an awful lot crammed into a very small space. Initially a team of six, the Robins are a varied mix of races and genders, but we really only get beneath the skin of a few by the end of volume 1. Duke Thomas* gets the privilege of having the most background, as is typical of any new recruit to a team, as we see him farmed out to another foster family while he secretly hunts for his parents, missing since the events of ‘Endgame’. Isabella (Codename: Robina) has a deeply intense back-story that erupts into violence within her family. A more light-hearted story is given to Riko (R-iko) a Batgirl fangirl with a split personality, who takes on all-comers.
The action is fast-paced and the plotting tight, but it does get a bit frantic on occasion, leaving this reader having to double check previous pages. Lack of depth is obvious here, and as I said previously, this is down to too an uneven character balance. With an equal number of team members to issues, ‘The Vigilante Business’ could have been more even as far as characterisation is concerned, especially with a completely new set of characters.
The graphic style is often eye-poppingly bright and powerful, with the action scenes getting the bigger panels and most attention. Line work is sharp, and the use of narrative captions and alternate coloured speech bubbles for the text convos is a great way of splitting the action between so many characters. Panel placement is a bit frantic, but the use of greens and blues instead of a heavy over-reliance on black makes up for it.
(* Also appears in Batman Vol 8 ‘Superheavy’)
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