Robins #1

Robins

by Tim Seeley (Writer), Baldemar Rivas (Penciller, Inker, Cover Artist), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist)

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 together: 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. Winner of DC’s Round Robin tournament, as chosen by you, the readers!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Fiction, Comics Manga

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 14, 2021

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

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characterization is giving 2009 BIG TIME and that’s a bummer. I wish writers didn’t act like Damian Wayne hasn’t learned and grown since his introduction because I was really looking forward to this book.

Anyway, it’s still nice to see all the old Robins working together but I wish another writer had written it…

[Emma Anais Doyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

not the characterization of my boys that any fan would hope for BUT I will continue this series anyway 😭 Also not a huge fan of the art…everything is subjective. I kind of feel like this is slightly spoof-y or something? ANYWAY

[Gwyneth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had my reservations about this project when it won the round robin. I was hoping to be proven wrong, but I was sadly not. The characters are all reduced caricatures, some in ways that don't make sense to their identity (a character who dropped out of high school, as who is, at the oldest, 19, talking about how they fear they peaked there, for instance), some in ways that are severe reductions and regression. The characters also seemed needlessly harsh to one another, and the original villains they faced whilst Robin, according to this story- well, they weren't.
The sting was also made worse by the fact that there were more unique options available, and that we've recently had several good bat family themed issues of runs (in the case of Robin (2021) and Nightwing (2021)), and a cute, out of continuity beginner's content (Wayne Family Adventures).
I did like the little addition of Damian as somebody who has a sweet tooth, but I struggled to find anything else in this issue which either sparked joy, or made sense for the characters.

[Dusty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This issue is for new readers that need a "rough and dirty" overview of who these heroes are. For a person, like myself, who have read several runs of each of these Robins individually it is a waste of time and dumb. They actually have them sitting around a table like a AA meeting introducing their histories to one another. Seriously? These people are family. Its bad, really bad. Its for newbies or kids.

[Beni · Rating 3 out of 5]

why dose Dick have a man bun? the meeting kinda reminded me of a self help group but I want to see were this is going. They at lest have a interesting dynamic when together so this should be fun I hope.

[Marsh Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great idea to have all of the Robins in one place and one adventure, but it gets off to a slow start.

[Annemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to learn more about all the Robin's so I thought I would pick this up. I have mixed feelings about this.

Before this series, I have read the current Robin series following Damien, The first few Issues of the 2016 red hood and the outlaws series, and the some issues of Nightwing (And all of Batgirl in which he occasionally pops up). So I knew Damien, Jason and Dick, but not Tim and very little of Stephanie (I've only seen her in the current batgirl series, but I dropped it after like 3 issues). Having them "introduce themselves" could have been useful for me, but instead the information was too brief to give me much of an idea, and in the setting felt very out of place.

The plot looks like it could turn out either pretty interesting or really shallow. I didn't really like the cult scenes, as they felt rushed and undeveloped. I guess they play a part in the bigger plot, so hopefully we'll get some development. I hope the bigger plot will turn out great, because it definitely has potential. The first part of this comic being in rhyme was cool, until they decided to just make the last sentence of it not rhyme for no reason, which annoyed me more than it should.

The characters were dull. They had very little individuality in this issue, and I don't feel like this issue give any idea of who the characters are, except for a few stereotypes surrounding Jason (extremely violent) and Damien (self-centred/cocky). There wasn't much to any of them, which is a pity since most of them are very interesting characters (at least the ones I know) so it feels like a lot of wasted potential.

The art wasn't my favourite either. I felt like they all looked slightly off. I know I should be used to the art changes changing so much of what the characters look like but I still haven't. What's with Dick's hair? Why does everyone look annoyed all the time? Why are all their faces so freaking similar? It's not working for me.

I still have hopes for this series, so I will continue it for now, and it being only 6 issues means there's a big chance I will eventually finish it even if I end up disliking it, but I really hope it will get better, because it definitely has potential.

[The Wintermute System · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I'm clearing through some of my comics this month, including rereading issues as I prepare for new issues to come out and to post my reviews on here with a fresh view of them. Rereading them is giving me great pleasure, even when I've read them fairly recently; I'm in a stressful situation and this is easier than reading newer, or longer, stuff right now...

I also want to get through some unread issues, before I can binge some favorite series (looks like Murderbot Diaries/Murderbot, Temeraire and then Halcyone Space, and that one is last right now because if I catch up/start at the same time, I can read the first two series with friends.)

To be brutally honest, I don't really want to write this review: this is a series I've been looking forward to, and the variant covers are super hot. (At least for the first two issues.) I've enjoyed Tim Seeley's work, particularly on Hack/Slash. But I think he got some characterization wrong, especially Jason Todd, and I'm not happy about that. Having read the next issue already - and yes, I will reread it next - I'm not convinced I'm super happy with the plot of the secret that Batman is keeping.

So, yeah, I wish this were just a little better. If it doesn't get better, I'll continue rating it three stars: not terrible, not as good as I'd hoped. That being said, it's got Jason in it, I'll keep subscribing and reading it anyway.

[Clay Bartel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this book is getting slammed by a number of harsh reviews... unjustly.

The issue starts with the Robins breaking up an anarchist cult.

We then find them at home, no ac, sweating in the heat and Dick suggests they discuss how they came to be Batman's sidekicks.

One reviewer claimed Damian was portrayed correctly as he's matured from the rich brat, but this book is part of the Infinite Frontier era and so characters are necessarily in traditional continuity, and Damien's strongest characteristic has always been he's highly skilled know-it-all rich entitled brat, we can't have all the Robins be well adjusted.

Another complaint was Stephanie claimed she'd peaked in highschool even though she was a drop out and only 19... that this essentially made no sense is groundless... people can think they peak at any age regardless of how old they are.

Ultimately after the Robins end their sharing moment a stranger bursts in the door and the plot is revealed.

The Robins secret identities are in question and the villian is a joker esk "bird inspired" villain.

How fitting for the Robins.

I was torn between a 4 or 5 but the potential for this series justified the 5 stars and the final image of the villian gave me a strong Death Metal vibe.

This series is in my pull list! Check it out.

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

The very start hooked my attention, but the tone shifts immediately after that. I just adjusted to accept whatever the adventure was going to be since I didn't know much about the project going in (that Babs Tarr cover 🤤). I do agree that this seems like a primer or an issue 0 to set the stage for new readers, and not really necessary for longtime readers/fans with exception to the opening and end. I think the relationships and quips are fairly representative of the established group, although the writing for Damian is probably the closest to catching the character's voice over the others. The end is intriguing. Definitely want to know which Robin was bumped out of the nest. My issue is the art. At times it's manga-esque, which is cool, but out of uniform, they all have issues. Dick doesn't look like Dick. And the manbun...just, no. Tim & Jason have the right frames, but their faces are rather bland. Damian's size and hair make him obvious, but aren't his eyes green? Stephanie is a generic blond and missing that bubbly spark in her eyes. She's a more dynamic character when interacting with Babs and Cass. We don't see the girls and boys in a group like this often, so I was looking forward to setting how she fits into the boys' group. Will see how it goes. It's in my pulls.

[toastykeptin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that all of those who played the role of Robin are here. But the way they were gathered feels awkward to me ngl. Dick invited everyone to have some sort of reflection about what Robin meant to them 😭 I mean it's cool! But the transition towards that was just not for me. Never knew I'd have a secondhand embarrassment from that but here we are.

Hey, so long as everyone is here I ain't gonna complain. Cannot wait to read more of this

[jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. It’s more of an introduction to The Robins for people new to the Batman universe. While I am still pretty new to Batman/Robins the characterization felt a little bit off in comparison to previous comics I have read in high school.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s alright, not amazing so far and it didn’t really grab me too much. I’ll probably read the next issue and if that doesn’t hook me I’ll probably just skip this run. I was looking forward to this a ton and I’m kinda disappointed if I’m being honest.

[Renan Fontes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a promising start. I don't like the art and I can't say I'm seeing any actual chemistry between the cast. Everyone feels like simplified renditions of themselves to make this palatable for new readers, which doesn't exactly help either.

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

(for the whole series)

i really just can’t think of anything nice to say about this series. i love these characters and robins by tim seeley pays them dirt. the art is …less than pleasant to look at, each character’s development is ignored, pretty much everything about this series just annoys me

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

going to use this issue to rate the entire series until it's published together.

there were a Lot of weird characterisation choices particularly with jason and i don't even want to talk about how they drew dick but. i think overall the story was good and there were complete gems of dialogue

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu achei esse começo meio aleatório demais, mas não vou reclamar porque parece que enfim resolveram dar o conteúdo batfamily que eu venho pedindo a anos

[OinkFish Pigs · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

this wasn’t great but a robins team-up run is the best thing to ever happen to me thanks

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

rounded down from 4.5. I thought that it was pretty fun and I'm just kinda a fan of anytime when the robins get to hang out. I'm looking forward to the rest of this run.

[Elisabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

From the dialogue to the art, this series leaves a lot to be desired

[lana · Rating 1 out of 5]

i felt like i was reading a teen titans go-ified story abt the robins (derogatory) tbh but dick looked sooooo sexy w his manbun<3

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this comic! I mean, Robins getting together to talk about the problematic upbringing?

Hell. Yes.

Unfortunately the ending was very bat-family oriented, which hurt my soul a bit.

[Katey (Kaje) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 solely for good Jason content (the story was a little lacking)

[Bridgette · Rating 2 out of 5]

the story was ok,I guess
not a fan of the art

[Vik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this could be fun with all the robins together

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't hate it, didn't love it

[nia · Rating 3 out of 5]

dick is giving geto suguru i fear 😭

[Gege · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es bueno pero meh

[Layli Chee · Rating 3 out of 5]

no idea what was the thought process behind this but i liked seeing all of them together, felt like a group therapy session ngl.