Robins: Being Robin

Robins #1-6

by Tim Seeley, Babs Tarr (Cover Art), Marcus To (Cover Art)

The five heroes to have donned the Robin cape and mask find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne come together to discuss the big thing that binds them: Was being Robin, and Batman’s sidekick, the best choice they could’ve made? But before they can get to the heart of the matter, they’re ambushed by an unknown assailant with a bone to pick with them. She claims to have been the first Robin, and she’s out to prove Batman should’ve never trained any of them. Collects Robins #1-6, the Winner of DC’s Round Robin 2021 tournament, as chosen by you, the readers!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comics Manga

141 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2022

About the author

Tim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a bit disappointed in this book. I am not a fan of the artwork, and I really especially believe the beach boy version of the cover of the Robins. Nightwing looks like a failed surfer.

The Robins have met up to discuss whether they think being Robin was good or bad for them. However them might just be playing someone else's game. They don't even know the rule, where as they are already in checkmate. The Robins must not only face how they are but who they could be and what they think of Batman.

I think it was a good idea for a story, but it it was made overly complicated, and I hated the artwork. I am not even interested in seeing the bills again. The only thing that made me give the book 2 stars instead of one is because it should be how smart Red Robin/Tim Drake is. Book finishes with a character sketch book.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/31/23: In Robins: Being Robin, the premise is theoretically that all the previous Robins (Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, Damian) meet up and discuss whether being Robin was a good or bad thing. There is, however, a secret sixth Robin pulling the strings, the one that Bruce failed before all the rest of them came along.

First of all, I find the addition of a new sixth Robin unnecessary (especially when Duke is completely absent in this comic). Additionally, this Robin is supposed to symbolize Bruce’s early failure. But Bruce Wayne, canonically, has failed his kids often enough that we don’t have to introduce a new kid for him to have failed in the past. I definitely think there is stuff to explore about whether being Robin is a good or bad thing (and personally think it falls into a gray area). But the entire discussion is undercut by the fact that Tim isn’t actually Tim the entire time!!! He’s been kidnapped and impersonated so anything he says isn’t actually canon which is So Stupid.

At one point, relatively early on, Tim says “sometimes, it’s pretty amazing what bored, lonely kids will lose themselves in.” For a while, I was convinced this was the thesis of the book and thought it was a really interesting exploration of why they all became Robin. But, as mentioned before, everything Tim says isn’t actually Tim. They also undercut the most emotionally impactful part of the book with this. I genuinely don’t understand why DC wants to pretend so bad that Tim has never killed anyone. He’s blown up so many LOA bases?

It turns out that the thesis of the comic was more in line with “we aren’t just there to catch Batman before he falls. He catches us.” That’s a neat moral that would definitely suit a Batman story — but it doesn’t fit this one at all.

Some other things I disliked: This story really leaned into the "Jason would've turned out a criminal had he not been Robin/adopted by Bruce." He was a starving 12-year-old, it's not like he was stealing for the fun of it. Dick at one point says "I'm not sure if Robin was my idea or Batman's" when his entire origin is breaking out of juvie to try and kill Zucco until Bruce agreed to let him help. I also think Damian's "born to be Robin" thing is getting a bit old.

There were admittedly a couple nice character moments but, overall, this whole story was both extremely convoluted and wholly unnecessary.

I hesitate to give below a three star rating to anything that isn’t actively problematic. But this was just… bad. I’ll give it a 2.5/5, and that’s me being generous.


3/30/23: this was... not good. review will come once i've collected my thoughts.

[Heather - Just Geeking By · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series had a great story, and it was fantastic to see Stephanie included in a Bat Family comic along with the boys, but the artwork was terrible and that let it down so much. What was with Nightwing's hair?! At one point he was shouting orders at the team and his mouth was so wide it looked like he was going to go full horror movie and swallow his own head!

[Andi Sink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fanfic-y with its characterizations, a bit sentimental, disproportionate amount of exposition for a six-issue limited run, shitty art style and the plot is pretty convoluted, but I still think there’s some good stuff here! Glad to see chronically-middle-child Tim get all the agency. Ironically Batman still gets most of the the interesting bits, especially towards the end. I hear people’s complains about all the lore bs, but as in most comics I feel like the plot is just a vehicle for character moments, and at the end of the day I liked most of the character moments.

Light 3

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is what happens when creators aren't allowed to develop characters beyond their basic traits. Did you know Nightwing is the oldest? Did you know Jason DIED? Did you know Tim computer? Did you know Spoiler has a DAD? Did you know Damian is a spoiled brat? Did you know Bruce is a beleaguered absent father?
Wayne Family Adventures type fanon ruined the Robins.

[ziad · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was so excited for this book when it was announced but wanted to wait until it was fully released to read it, however i kept seeing ppl share panels and talk about it on social media and just saw how bad it was i finally read it and can safely say i’m disappointed

[Matthew Marsili · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️ This comic definitely isn’t the best. Do I regret buying it? Maybe a little. But their are still some good scenes like when all the robins were taking but the villain was just awful. So overall I don’t strongly recommend it but if you see it for a good price might as well pick it up.

[Madison Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can we please have more comics of all the robins together? I love them so much.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Robins foi uma minissérie da DC Comics que ganhou a votação popular de projetos da editora que deveriam ser publicados no ano de 2022. Era um dos poucos projetos que envolviam a batfamília, a classe de títulos que a DC Comics mais publica e vende. Uma ideia seja interessante - reunir todos os rapazes e moças que já foram Robins um dia contra um inimigo ciumento e em comum, que proporá desafios envolvendo o início da carreira desses jovens, com informações roubadas dos arquivos do Homem-Morcego. Contudo, ao meu ver foi bastante mal executada. A começar pelos desenhos, mangalizados e que parecem terem sido feitos às pressas. Eu que não entendo tanto de arte de quadrinhos percebi problemas de anatomia, de proporção e de perspectiva. Costumava achar Tim Seeley um bom roteirista, mas depois que andei lendo alguns outros trabalhos dele, me decepcionei bastante. E com este daqui também. Com tanto título legal que poderia ter sido publicado nessa iniciativa da DC Comics, escolheram o mais chover no molhado possível, que foi este aqui. Meh.

[Liz.Loki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was meh but I love to see all the Robins working together so idc THOSE ARE MY FAVS

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a fan of Anime style art in this. The story was somewhat interesting with the Robin zero.

[Krishtian Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

trash. didnt even finish it

[Mc Ne il · Rating 2 out of 5]

Damian has no hair because nightwing took it all

[maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

the robins are my favorite part of the batman mythos, so i was excited to dive into this…eek

there is some fantastic writing in this, really digging into the basic characteristics of robin and where we see differences between the five. also, i liked the batman/robin aspect of this as well

but, the art was not great and the story itself lost and confused me at some points. issue #5 was a standout for me, i loved seeing the alternate realities for the robins. racecar driver jason todd will be on my brain for a while, trust.

[Louis Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Robins together so this was a fun read for me.

Some great character moments for Jason. Bruce is at his broodiest best.

Would have loved for Spoiler to get more action. Tim was hard done by here, honestly.

What was with Nightwing’s hair? An homage to the animated series, perhaps? Didn’t work for me. But the rest of the art was great.

Solid read. Could have been better.

[Peyton · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

disappointing. i picked this one up without looking into it because the robins are my favourite characters, but it fell flat overall for me. there were some great character moments, so i'll round this up to a 3, but it had so much wasted potential. it definitely would have benefited from focusing more on the characters and a less complicated plot. also the art was pretty off-putting at times (except for dick grayson's bun, i won't forget you)

[Jessica Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

Loved the premise and wished the run better explored why all the Robins became Robin. The run started strong but overall is mediocre. I don't like the introduction of a secret sixth Robin who came before Dick. It was unnecessary and instead of focusing on Batman failing with her, the series easily could've focused on how he failed each of the Robins. There were some good character moments, especially with Jason. Wish the characters relationship with wach other and Batman was more of a focus. A lot of the plots were flimsy

[Colin Vigneault · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun one. Here’s what your favorite Robin says about you
Dick Grayson: Beige Flag
Jason Todd: You are edgy and misguided but hey you do you
Tim Drake: Green flag, human puppy
Stephanie Brown: too good for this world
Damian Wayne: you’re a bad person, you’re tacky and I hate you

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A lot of in-fighting and conjecture. Clearly these are not right for me.

[Geethika Atluri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like it had so much potential
I did like that it showed Red Robin's smarts
But somehow it didn't work
Overall 2.5 ⭐
more than okay, but can't say I liked it

[Beckiezra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t actually read all this, just browsed the pages and the bits I read just didn’t pull me in or make me want to keep reading and then the library took it back. The art style wasn’t bad, it looked pretty dynamic actually, but I don’t like Nightwing with long hair and that was enough to turn me off reading as well.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because I quite enjoyed the writing but the art was mostly “meh” for me. I love portrayals of Dick with long hair but it looked off in this run.

[Neoouwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️
🫦🫦

[fiza! · Rating 2 out of 5]

how did they forget my goat duke but sneak in the og’est of robins. felt more like fanfic than a comic :(

[Milena Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really sweet. “Found family” is (and always will be) one of my favorite tropes.

[Jojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oké dit is geen goede comic, maar ik vond het verrassend leuk om te lezen. Nightwing met manbun is wel echt lelijk

[Tay · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay so i definitely liked the art style, and the different covers of the robin’s included throughout the comic! overall the story was really interesting and i enjoyed learning abt the robins in a different way- i still think dick and jason will be my forever favs

[sha · Rating 2 out of 5]

as a robin girlie, this is sadly not it.

it was very in your face about everything and the topics worth discussing (was being robin a good thing? did batman fail us? we were just kids in costumes) ended up not really being touched on. especially now that there are more nuanced comics that provide the robins layered personalities, this falls really flat and only shoves them further into their little caricatures.

also i love a manbun but did dick really need one?

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really hoping for more out of this DC Round Robin winner simply because I usually love anything and everything to do with the Batkids and a whole story based around them should have been a home run with me. Alas, it feels rushed and borderline disjointed. I'm still rating it a bit high simply because I love seeing them all interact as Robins as themselves and we get lots of that here, but I'll still complain about the lost opportunity with so much potential wasted. I mean, the idea behind the big bad is extremely interesting and it ties all the Robins to a greater threat and to the reasons they became and remain a Robin. There are also some great moments that show how different the relationships between all of them are and how they still work hard to live up to the mantle of Robin as Batman's sidekick despite voicing a desire for the opposite. It would have just benefitted from more pages to fully explore all the little threads that appear instead of shoving them into a jumbled rush at the end.
The art is iffy, with it being almost impossible to distinguish which Batkid we're looking at if it's not the very obviously blonde and female Stephanie. And don't even get me started on Dick's manbun.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember when the round robin tournament was happening, I remember how excited I was, how cool it was, I remember voting for this book. Now I’ve read it… it’s not very good. The base concept is fun, a book with the five Robins teaming up. But the writer really didn’t get any of their voices right consistently. The plot of “the first Robin” just wasn’t very good. They did a lot of like revisionist history around the Robins and their relationship with Batman. They also added in characters from everyone’s past but there was almost no weight to them, most of them had no prior appearances and as such no real history with the Robins so it didn’t work as intended. The art was alright, but the characters all looked a little weird, and I don’t know why Tim was wearing his 90s Robin costume and going by Red Robin. There were definitely a lot of continuity errors, I can look those over to an extent but this was a little much for me. I hope this years round robin winner “Superboy: Man of Tomorrow” is better.