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Robin (1991, 1993-2009) #4

Robin, Vol. 4: Turning Point

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Collected for the first time in years are the early adventures of Tim Drake, a.k.a. Robin!

In these classic tales from Chuck Dixon, considered one of the greatest scribes in the Boy Wonder's history, Bruce Wayne returns as Batman and Dick Grayson comes to town and things go south with Ariana, Tim's girlfriend.

Collects ROBIN #0, #6-13 and SHOWCASE '94 #5-6

264 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2017

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About the author

Chuck Dixon

2,960 books1,033 followers
Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.

His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.

In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.

His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.

He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .

While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.

In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.

On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."

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5 stars
37 (20%)
4 stars
69 (38%)
3 stars
61 (34%)
2 stars
10 (5%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Chad.
10.4k reviews1,060 followers
December 15, 2019
As a collection, this doesn't work the best. The entire book outside the opening story is plagued by crossovers, either across the Batman titles or DC as a whole. The first issue is the only Robin issue not collected previously. And that's actually a crossover with Showcase '94. Robin and Huntress team up to take out a wanna be mobster. Then we have:
Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2: Knightquest - Robin #7
Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3: KnightsEnd - Robin #8-9
Batman: Zero Hour - Robin #10, 0
Batman: Prodigal - Robin #11-13

None of the stories are bad. It's just frustrating and confusing to only get part of multiple stories. You get constant build up without any resolution.

Tom Grummett and Phil Jimenez handle most of the art. Grummett's art style is made for stories featuring teenagers. It's a great fit. Jimenez's art isn't bad, but it's not as refined as he later becomes. The half issue by John Cleary is overly cartoony and just plain terrible.
Profile Image for J.
1,562 reviews37 followers
May 23, 2018
More early adventures of Tim Drake as Robin. Guest appearances by Huntress and Nightwing, and deals with the aftermath of the Jean-Paul Valley turn at Batman. Dixon always seems to have a good handle on the Bat family. Art is so-so, kinda garish, but there is some early Phil Jimenez in this book, inked by Bruce Patterson and Romeo Tanghal.
5,870 reviews146 followers
March 31, 2020
Robin: Turning Point picks up where the previous volume left off, collecting Robin #6–13, the Zero Month crossover issue (Robin #0), and material from Showcase '94 #5–6. The trade paperback covers mainly interconnected story-arcs and events that covered many books, which makes for a rather confusing trade paperback, because many of the issues are mid-way into a story arc or at the end.

"Benedictions" is a three-issue story (Robin #6 and Showcase '94 #5–6), that has Robin teaming up with the Huntress to take down Daniel DePaolo as the Deathangel as they team-up with each other to solve their respective cases as they are seemingly connected.

"Two Birds, One Stone" is a one-issue story that is also a tie-in to the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (Robin #10), which has Tim Drake as Robin teaming up with time-displaced Dick Grayson as Robin to solve a case and take down the thief – Chet "Weasel" Grimes. This issue has points the direction of Tim Drake’s Robin – a cerebral detective.

"Brothers in Arms" is a one-issue story that was a part of Zero Month event (Robin #0), which has Tim Drake as Robin and Dick Grayson as Nightwing teaming up to take down Two-Face. It is a retrospective story as how both of them became Robin and why Two-Face is such a foe to Dick Grayson. In the end, Dick Grayson takes the mantle of Batman for the first time.

The remaining issues are segments of story arcs that involved more than one series that wasn't provided in this trade paperback: Knightquest (Robin #7), KnightsEnd (Robin #8–9), and Prodigal (Robin #11–13).

Chuck Dixon penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well, despite the fact that the entire trade paperback is a story segment of larger story arc that encompasses more than one series or an event tie-in. With the exception with the storylines listed above, the rest of the storyline for the several of stories were not included for good reason. Despite the reasoning, it still made the flow of the text rather confusing if one didn’t know what happened prior of after said issue.

Phil Jimenez (Robin #6, 11–13, and Showcase '94 #5–6), Tom Grummett (Robin #o, 7–10), and John Cleary (Robin #13) penciled the trade paperback. For the most part, their penciling style complements each other rather well, yet still distinct, which makes the flow of the trade paperback somewhat smooth – artistically speaking.

All in all, Robin: Turning Point is a somewhat good continuation to what would hopefully be an equally wonderful series.
Profile Image for Brent.
1,058 reviews19 followers
July 15, 2025
Great stories as usual from this group of creators, but most of this volume are stories from other crossovers, and events and are better served when presented as such.
Profile Image for Jess.
489 reviews2 followers
July 7, 2022
On it's own, the stories in the book are good. Well. apart from the fact five of the issues in the book which are all part of a crossover where you ONLY get the parts that are in Robin. Which is sort of a a problem with the this whole book.

Almost every story in it is part of a crossover. It doesn't really stand on it's own two feet.

The first story is a crossovers over with the Huntress storyline from DC Showcase. Which is a cool, if somewhat cliched, noir story.
The next story is the ending of Knightquest. Followed by two issues that tie into Knightsend. Followed by an otherwise REALLY good Zero Hour tie in. And then a Zero Month issue. Ending with the three issues of Prodigal.

Considering that Knightquest and Knightsend have trades, DC eventually released all the 90s Huntress stories in trade, and a special omnibus with not just Zero Hour but most of the tie ins, if you took ever issue of the book that wasn't reprinted in another trade out of it you'd have... well... you wouldn't have a collection. Which is why I'm glad Robin became a more or less self contained Batbook as it went along.
Profile Image for Ruth.
124 reviews
July 27, 2023
Woof. This was a mess.

At some point I had to stop being invested in the stories because there was always a "continue in..." blurb saying that I'd have to go to a completely different comic to finish the arc. I know Robin is supposed to be the support, but when it's his own run, it really shouldn't be that way. It took me a long while to even want to finish reading this, but I persisted.

Issue 13 was interesting with Dick and Bruce. I like to see their dynamic and their frustration about the cowl. Jean Paul was a HUGE mistake. Also what was issue 10 about?! Good to know the fanfic trope of the batboys appearing out of time and then disappearing in a flash of light was inspired by comics, lol.

Tim should've gotten some kind of reprimand for beating up those bullies in... issue 11? Maybe 12? The ones from the movie theater. But it's nice to see his morals slip and slide like they usually do (*cough* *cough* the issue where Tim thinks about killing Cluemaster to save himself). He's a complicated character. It's one of the reasons why I love him so much, and why I decided to read his entire comics run as my first foray into batman comics. Stupid? Probs. Oh well, this is the hill I decided to die on.
Profile Image for Nate.
1,975 reviews17 followers
Read
January 10, 2020
The 90’s was The Time of the Batman Crossover™. From Knightfall on, it was one crossover after another, with every title swallowed into Eventland™. This book is living proof. Of the 11 issues here, only three stand on their own independent of major crossovers. And even those three constitute a crossover of sorts, coming from both Robin and Showcase 94. This is an extremely messy collection, then, and one I don’t recommend unless you’ve already read Knightfall, Prodigal, and Zero Hour. Hell, if you’ve read those, you can skip this book entirely. The writing and art aren’t bad at all, but this collection makes zero sense because it has only pieces of the larger stories. If there’s one through-line in this book, it’s Dick and Tim’s relationship. We saw some of it in the previous Robin collection, and there are more good scenes with them here (including the Zero Hour issue where young Dick Grayson pops into the future) But really, you should read Prodigal to get the full sense of it.
Profile Image for Simon.
204 reviews4 followers
April 17, 2019
This is a hard collection to review, the stories included are pretty good but the overall collection is just such a mess.
Most of the issues collected are parts of longer, Batman/Gotham centric tales and as such what you are reading is just bits of an overall story. Why I would want to buy a collection that has so many parts of the story missing I don't know, though I guess it worked as I didn't know this before I got it!

To be fair in the Knightfall/Knightsend whatever storyline it doesn't really impact that much, though you don't get to read how everything turns out. The Prodigal storyline is a just pointless. So much of the story is missing, integral parts of the story to, that it is like reading a book with a bunch of chapters torn out every 50 pages or so.

I've been enjoying reading these Robin collections but now I am seriously debating whether or not to buy the next one. If it is like this, a mish mash of parts of a bigger story then there is no point at all.
Profile Image for IncredibleOctopi.
30 reviews10 followers
May 3, 2022
3.75 stars

A solid read.

The art was good for most of the volume, but it got a little wonky (in my opinion. Eye of the beholder and all that) in the last issue.

The story was compelling, the characters well-written, and the pacing well done. I also got a kick out of Tim's comments. And that scene when he beats up the bullies? Very satisfying.

We also got to see the relationship between Tim and his father, Bruce, and Dick explored. It's only a matter of time until something reaches a head between Tim and his dad. Next volume, I assume?

I think my favorite parts were the Robin & Huntress team up, the cops rooting for Robin, and, of course, the bully scene.
I'd really like to see more of Huntress in the future. Maybe as a mentor of some sort? But that might corrupt Tim, and the clear line between the two's morals is what makes their dynamic so interesting. I guess I just want to see Tim hang out with a morally grey friend.
Profile Image for ShaniGrim.
153 reviews
August 13, 2025
Tim Drake re-read: Part 5/?

This is a weird one. While overall pretty fun to read- it's completely entangled in a mess of larger events from the time. The book features mostly parts of stories. You won't get the beginning of a story, or you won't get the end, and sometimes you won't get both. I find it a bit of a bizarre choice to collect the book like that, but oh well. If you're willing to not worry about it and just go with the flow, this is a fine book.

My favorite part in this book isn't even Tim related. The conversation between Dick and Bruce at the end of the book is sooooo important for their relationship in my opinion. They're a mess but they love each other deeply. How wonderful. I'm unwell about them.

621 reviews2 followers
September 17, 2017
The content in this issue is strong as ever - Chuck Dixon and Tom Grummett are joined by Phil Jimenez, who pencils stories about Huntress and Two-Face.

The bad news is that this collection is an editorial nightmare. It meanders through no fewer than three crossovers - Knightfall, Zero Hour, and Prodigal - but only collects the Robin issues! No sense of plot, overarching story, or even the next part of a cliffhanger ending. The collection itself should probably be rated lower than four stars, but I'm a sucker for Batman content.
Profile Image for Tim.
123 reviews
May 25, 2022
It's largely fine. It's a good starting point - or turning point, if you will - for Robin as a solo hero. It covers most of the end of the Knightfall Saga, so if you read that massive run (like I did), there are a lot of issues duplicated in this book. It's a good look into Tim Drake coming into his own, and I enjoyed the Tim tries to balance being a high school student and having a high school girlfriend with being a caped hero bits. Ultimately, there's nothing in here that stands out as super important to either Tim Drake or the overall Bat Family, but it's still an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for catLin.
171 reviews6 followers
August 15, 2019
What can I say
It's a 90s superhero comic book. You can tell. By the fashion presented, by the storytelling. I still quite liked it but that's because I'm biased. I mean it focuses on Tim Drake-Robin. And he IS the best Robin. And you can see that in here. And I honestly don't know what else to say about it.
Profile Image for Nicolas.
3,138 reviews14 followers
July 30, 2019
This was a mixed bag with all the various partial tie-in issues. Worth the price of admission for issues 0 and 10 though. Both are great stories that explore the differences between Tim Drake and Dick Grayson.
Profile Image for ziad.
120 reviews
July 19, 2021
today is Tim’s birthday so happy birthday Tim drake aka the best Robin!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Scott Williams.
809 reviews15 followers
March 5, 2022
This would have been stronger if they’d kept all the storylines intact. It bounces around a bit and leaves gaps. Still, it highlights the key Robin moments.
Profile Image for Hagen Jones.
33 reviews
April 5, 2022
Overall, this is a fun read. When Chuck Dixon takes back over, you can really feel the difference and there’s so much more energy and emotion to the characters. However, this one is noticeably just a selection of little moments that were part of larger crossover arcs. This one’s a bit choppy as a result, but still fun
Profile Image for Al Berry.
710 reviews7 followers
August 4, 2025
Too disjointed, this book contains several issues interspersed through the knightfall saga and so you are missing a good deal about the story just reading this, a poor release.
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