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Tim Drake: Robin (Single Issues)
Tim Drake: Robin (2022-) #1
Step aside, Damian—the world’s favorite Robin has got this! That’s right, after years away, Tim Drake is taking center stage in a brand-spanking-new Robin series of his very own!
A mystery over a year in the making takes shape, as a new villain who’s been hounding Tim from afar decides to take things up close and personal, putting Bernard and everyone else Tim cares about in peril as things go from bad to worse for the world’s oldest and canonically tallest Robin [no, I will not be fact-checking that]. All that and Tim finally carves out a corner of Gotham City just for himself, and sets up shop in his very own…murder shack boat? Fan-favorite writer Meghan Fitzmartin teams up with beloved Harley Quinn artist Riley Rossmo to define the next chapter in Tim’s life.
And as if that wasn’t enough, break out your skateboards and motorcycles cuz we’ve assembled a murderer’s row of artists to draw the 1990s’ One True Robin™ in his various looks from over the years!
A mystery over a year in the making takes shape, as a new villain who’s been hounding Tim from afar decides to take things up close and personal, putting Bernard and everyone else Tim cares about in peril as things go from bad to worse for the world’s oldest and canonically tallest Robin [no, I will not be fact-checking that]. All that and Tim finally carves out a corner of Gotham City just for himself, and sets up shop in his very own…murder shack boat? Fan-favorite writer Meghan Fitzmartin teams up with beloved Harley Quinn artist Riley Rossmo to define the next chapter in Tim’s life.
And as if that wasn’t enough, break out your skateboards and motorcycles cuz we’ve assembled a murderer’s row of artists to draw the 1990s’ One True Robin™ in his various looks from over the years!
32 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2022
8 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 27, 2022
This book was meh for me. Not a lot happened but I definitely love the art style 🎨
September 28, 2022
I did not like this AT ALL, and I actually enjoyed the Tim Drake stories from Urban Legends for the most part. Dialogue reads juvenile and the art is aggressively out of place (and honestly lousy if you ask me).
September 28, 2022
I didn’t like the art at all and the story felt so weak
December 27, 2022
Ouch this is pretty bad. Some fun ideas mixed with some truly terrible dialogue at points and wonky art. This series, like Batgirls, just doesn't do characters I normally love the justice they deserve.
November 12, 2022
Ugh, I had no idea Rossmo was on art otherwise I'd have probably skipped this series as a whole.
+ The best thing about this issue was the Jorge Jimenez variant cover.
+ The best thing about this issue was the Jorge Jimenez variant cover.
September 28, 2022
Wow this is bad. Art, writing and handling of the "legacy" Everything is bad.
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October 18, 2025love tim drake and benard
September 27, 2022
Excellent!
Robin in any form needs his own series but this is triple fantastic. It has elements of the first detective story and Robin has a boyfriend! It all works so well here. Also love how his new boat house is introduced to us—reminds me of the past eras of great Batman comics. This is great!
Robin in any form needs his own series but this is triple fantastic. It has elements of the first detective story and Robin has a boyfriend! It all works so well here. Also love how his new boat house is introduced to us—reminds me of the past eras of great Batman comics. This is great!
October 12, 2022
I am curious about this storyline and its connection to classic horror fiction, but the artwork left me cold, cold, cold.
October 17, 2022
Fun story and it's unfortunate that they put Rossmo on book that's gonna get so much attention from newer readers because while I really thought it worked, his style is definitely an acquired taste.
August 9, 2023
artstyle niezbyt przypadł mi do gustu co szczerze troche utrudniło mi czytanie :/
September 27, 2022
Jeez Tim Wayne!
For the record Richard Wayne is the tallest Meghan!
Damien Wayne is the smallest.
The artwork is outstanding and the writing is great.
For the record Richard Wayne is the tallest Meghan!
Damien Wayne is the smallest.
The artwork is outstanding and the writing is great.
September 28, 2022
I think its a pretty solid start to the series its really cute so far and i am loving the art style. And i love how Bernard is becoming an actual main character now and their is really cute
October 1, 2022
For all the controversy around this book, you'd think it was the worst comic ever made.
Is it a truly great comic? No, but it's not totally awful either. I would call it average at best.
The main sticking point for people seems to be Riley Rossmo's art. He has a style that is different from typical superhero art, and IMHO his art is an acquired taste at best. I recently read an older series he did back in 2018 and thought the art worked really well there.
Does it work perfectly here? IMHO, no. For starters, why are so many characters drawn with pencil necks like Shaggy from Scooby Doo? Frankly it looks bizarre and so do the concave face shapes. Compare this to the Tim Drake Pride Special, where some of the artists drew Tim with more normal looking proportions. I realize Rossmo's interpretation is a stylistic choice, but I don't particularly care for it. I also don't think portraying LGBT characters as waif-ish figures with wacky aesthetics is good representation.
The writing is passable, but not anything profound. It seems to be using plot points from old detective stories as a basis to craft a new story. While this type of thing could be interesting, it's going to be difficult to pull off IMHO. I would have much rather Fitzmartin created a brand new detective story without these elements. To be fair, high quality detective stories are difficult to write and few comic book authors are capable of doing them these days.
Tim's relationship with Bernard is typical shallow comic book puppy love fodder. I realize mainstream comics aren't always good at portraying romantic relationships, but this one is particularly unsatisfying for me.
While I am not outright offended by the art and depiction of Tim, it feels like a swing and a miss for the corporate, watered-down version of LGBT representation. It's 2022 and we should expect better. Part of the job of an editor is to realize what each team members' strengths and weaknesses are. A creator's fit for a book should be considered closely before giving the green light on a project. I'm not sure that was done with any diligence here.
If I am being completely honest, my favorite part of the book was Loughridge's coloring work, which uses dark, blue-green tones with a lot of skill. That helps offset Rossmo's art a bit for me.
Between the promo blurbs and the previews, I think DC has been pretty up front about what this book is all about, at least in the few weeks before release. However, I think the hype and longer build up around this series, beginning with the Pride Special was a mistake. The fact that Tim has not had a dedicated series in many years also created some weighty expectations around this book. Those kinds of expectations are never a good thing because many fans are going to be disappointed in one way or another.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a suggestion for DC. This book is done at this point and the decision to publish it has already been made. It may not be the Tim Drake book that a lot of people wanted but that doesn't mean DC can't publish something else in addition to this book. If you want to make a more mature, impactful Tim Drake book, let's see a Black Label series and make the characters in their early 20s.
Put a creative team on the book that knows how to portray LGBT superheroes. Make the mystery complex, gritty, and real. Show us how smart Tim is and portray his crime-solving abilities in a more nuanced manner. If he's in a real relationship with Bernard - show us that instead of comic book cliche puppy love.
Now what I am proposing isn't the book that DC ever advertised, so I'm not criticizing Tim Drake: Robin just for that. I would just like to see some higher standards for this character.
Notes:
If you've never seen the documentary The Celluloid Closet, go watch it. It's about the history of LGBT representation in film and came out in 1996. Sadly, 26 years later a lot of the issues raised in the film are still relevant today. The mainstream film industry certainly hasn't progressed all that much in its portrayal of LGBT characters IMHO.
Comic books, especially mainstream ones, are in the same exact boat. The big 2 basically suck at portraying LGBT characters whereas the indies usually fare a bit better. Whomever is managing this project at DC needs to go do some indie comic research.
"Shipping Wars" are incredibly lame and represent the worst, most toxic aspects of fandom.
Some people are referencing Yaoi/BL manga in their reviews of this book. My understanding is that stuff is a lot more explicit than this book and the characters are typically drawn to look attractive. It's a red herring IMHO.
One more thing: attacking creators personally and threatening them online is very infantile and cowardly behavior. I do not support that in any way.
Is it a truly great comic? No, but it's not totally awful either. I would call it average at best.
The main sticking point for people seems to be Riley Rossmo's art. He has a style that is different from typical superhero art, and IMHO his art is an acquired taste at best. I recently read an older series he did back in 2018 and thought the art worked really well there.
Does it work perfectly here? IMHO, no. For starters, why are so many characters drawn with pencil necks like Shaggy from Scooby Doo? Frankly it looks bizarre and so do the concave face shapes. Compare this to the Tim Drake Pride Special, where some of the artists drew Tim with more normal looking proportions. I realize Rossmo's interpretation is a stylistic choice, but I don't particularly care for it. I also don't think portraying LGBT characters as waif-ish figures with wacky aesthetics is good representation.
The writing is passable, but not anything profound. It seems to be using plot points from old detective stories as a basis to craft a new story. While this type of thing could be interesting, it's going to be difficult to pull off IMHO. I would have much rather Fitzmartin created a brand new detective story without these elements. To be fair, high quality detective stories are difficult to write and few comic book authors are capable of doing them these days.
Tim's relationship with Bernard is typical shallow comic book puppy love fodder. I realize mainstream comics aren't always good at portraying romantic relationships, but this one is particularly unsatisfying for me.
While I am not outright offended by the art and depiction of Tim, it feels like a swing and a miss for the corporate, watered-down version of LGBT representation. It's 2022 and we should expect better. Part of the job of an editor is to realize what each team members' strengths and weaknesses are. A creator's fit for a book should be considered closely before giving the green light on a project. I'm not sure that was done with any diligence here.
If I am being completely honest, my favorite part of the book was Loughridge's coloring work, which uses dark, blue-green tones with a lot of skill. That helps offset Rossmo's art a bit for me.
Between the promo blurbs and the previews, I think DC has been pretty up front about what this book is all about, at least in the few weeks before release. However, I think the hype and longer build up around this series, beginning with the Pride Special was a mistake. The fact that Tim has not had a dedicated series in many years also created some weighty expectations around this book. Those kinds of expectations are never a good thing because many fans are going to be disappointed in one way or another.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a suggestion for DC. This book is done at this point and the decision to publish it has already been made. It may not be the Tim Drake book that a lot of people wanted but that doesn't mean DC can't publish something else in addition to this book. If you want to make a more mature, impactful Tim Drake book, let's see a Black Label series and make the characters in their early 20s.
Put a creative team on the book that knows how to portray LGBT superheroes. Make the mystery complex, gritty, and real. Show us how smart Tim is and portray his crime-solving abilities in a more nuanced manner. If he's in a real relationship with Bernard - show us that instead of comic book cliche puppy love.
Now what I am proposing isn't the book that DC ever advertised, so I'm not criticizing Tim Drake: Robin just for that. I would just like to see some higher standards for this character.
Notes:
If you've never seen the documentary The Celluloid Closet, go watch it. It's about the history of LGBT representation in film and came out in 1996. Sadly, 26 years later a lot of the issues raised in the film are still relevant today. The mainstream film industry certainly hasn't progressed all that much in its portrayal of LGBT characters IMHO.
Comic books, especially mainstream ones, are in the same exact boat. The big 2 basically suck at portraying LGBT characters whereas the indies usually fare a bit better. Whomever is managing this project at DC needs to go do some indie comic research.
"Shipping Wars" are incredibly lame and represent the worst, most toxic aspects of fandom.
Some people are referencing Yaoi/BL manga in their reviews of this book. My understanding is that stuff is a lot more explicit than this book and the characters are typically drawn to look attractive. It's a red herring IMHO.
One more thing: attacking creators personally and threatening them online is very infantile and cowardly behavior. I do not support that in any way.
October 6, 2022
Holy Macaroni, Batman! What have they done to Tim Drake? I'm amazed this got past the editor(s).
I'm not bothered about the recent decision to write Tim as bisexual or gay, whatever, so long as it isn't the focus of the story. What amazed me about this issue was just how clunky and downright bizarrely it's written. It was like reading a completely different character or a completely out of character Tim Drake. Tim's voice is nothing like the existing character's voice. His actions are not the actions of a superhero who would do everything possible to save his friends. At one point he is standing back watching his friends getting attacked and beaten by a giant invisible(?)--no idea because it isn't made clear--orangutan. Why? Because he's thinking through the case out loud. While they're screaming at him to help them. That's just one example. There are many more.
Riley Rossmo's art has been getting a lot of the criticism and while I'm not a fan of it in here, the writing is the main problem. Meghan Fitzmartin has written this like a deluded adolescent piece of fan fiction. The plot does not make any sense. She tries to explain the plot as it goes but it's all over the place. Try showing and not telling everything. And if you are going to telegraph everything, at least make it make some kind of sense. Remember COMICS are a VISUAL medium. This is not a comic book. I don't know what it is.
As Morpheus said to Neo, "You have to see it for yourself!"
I'm not bothered about the recent decision to write Tim as bisexual or gay, whatever, so long as it isn't the focus of the story. What amazed me about this issue was just how clunky and downright bizarrely it's written. It was like reading a completely different character or a completely out of character Tim Drake. Tim's voice is nothing like the existing character's voice. His actions are not the actions of a superhero who would do everything possible to save his friends. At one point he is standing back watching his friends getting attacked and beaten by a giant invisible(?)--no idea because it isn't made clear--orangutan. Why? Because he's thinking through the case out loud. While they're screaming at him to help them. That's just one example. There are many more.
Riley Rossmo's art has been getting a lot of the criticism and while I'm not a fan of it in here, the writing is the main problem. Meghan Fitzmartin has written this like a deluded adolescent piece of fan fiction. The plot does not make any sense. She tries to explain the plot as it goes but it's all over the place. Try showing and not telling everything. And if you are going to telegraph everything, at least make it make some kind of sense. Remember COMICS are a VISUAL medium. This is not a comic book. I don't know what it is.
As Morpheus said to Neo, "You have to see it for yourself!"
June 17, 2023
El estilo visual es MUY particular, no es que esto afecte tanto mi valoración de este número. Porque el mayor escollo ha sido una premisa que grita "MEH" por todos sus costados. Vale, no tengo el bagaje de esa amenaza presentada en a saber qué otra cabecera... Pero valorándolo como punto de entrada para una nueva etapa propia para este personaje, no hay por dónde agarrarse. Puedo abordar un aspecto de la vida personal actual de Tim a la vez. Pero en estas páginas se ha encapsulado demasiada información que no ayuda a mantener el interés con el mayor enfoque costumbrista. El cual parece querer seguirle el juego a la actual serie de Batgirls, pero sin acercarse a esa chispa genuina. No sé si tendrá una remontada estelar a partir del próximo número. Pero prefiero dejarlo recorrer camino y ya enterarme de si merece la pena.
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November 8, 2022Good story, terrible art
If the story didnt get my attention I would have tried to return it. Possibly the worst drawn comic Ive ever read. Bought 1 and 2 together, so Im stuck with that too. Unless they change artists Im out at that. Which sucks because I was excited for this as Tim is one of my all time fave characters and my Robin. Seriously, Tim looks stupid, his face is somewhere between a butt and a foot. I couldt even tell what was voing on in the last two panels of the fight, sucks so bad!!! I only gave it a 3 be ause fhe story was okay, and honestly i miss a.monthly Tim Drake comic, its been years and he deserves his own title agian. He also dezervez so much better than this, especially someone that can draw.
If the story didnt get my attention I would have tried to return it. Possibly the worst drawn comic Ive ever read. Bought 1 and 2 together, so Im stuck with that too. Unless they change artists Im out at that. Which sucks because I was excited for this as Tim is one of my all time fave characters and my Robin. Seriously, Tim looks stupid, his face is somewhere between a butt and a foot. I couldt even tell what was voing on in the last two panels of the fight, sucks so bad!!! I only gave it a 3 be ause fhe story was okay, and honestly i miss a.monthly Tim Drake comic, its been years and he deserves his own title agian. He also dezervez so much better than this, especially someone that can draw.
April 6, 2023
It's awesome to see Tim Drake getting his own Robin book again, particularly with a focus on his relationship with Bernard. The introductory story sees him working with interesting supporting characters to solve a murder and stop a rampaging gorilla made of light. While it's great to see Tim using his detective skills to save the day, the story feels more suited for a one-off special rather than being an interesting start to a new run. Also, I am not a fan of the art style, particularly with how characters are drawn. Maybe the story will grow interesting, and the art will grow on me, but it doesn't wholly work for me currently.
June 9, 2023
I’m sorry but the art just puts me off i can’t even focus on the storyline that much because the art puts me off THAT much but i do love him and bernard and im excited for Tim’s arc with this whole thing of him going solo to figure things out without Batman and co so hopefully he gets some well deserved character development (or even the possibility of *gasp* tim being 18)
Also I’m sorry i love damian but the absolute bashing of him in the intro for this is so funny oh my god 😭
and because I love tim i will read all of this and deal with this art style but will I stop complaining about it? never
Also I’m sorry i love damian but the absolute bashing of him in the intro for this is so funny oh my god 😭
and because I love tim i will read all of this and deal with this art style but will I stop complaining about it? never
December 17, 2022
My first Tim Drake book, and to be honest, I'm unimpressed. The representation felt shoehorned in, the characters had pretty much 0 personality (which might not be as jarring if you already know these people, but like I said, this is my first Tim focused series, so I don't) and the story is pretty standard too.
The art style is not my cup of tea, and the colours used for the dead bodies threw me off, because they looked poisoned or something yet everyone was saying it was probably an accident. I might give it a few more issues to see if it picks up, but so far, not impressed.
The art style is not my cup of tea, and the colours used for the dead bodies threw me off, because they looked poisoned or something yet everyone was saying it was probably an accident. I might give it a few more issues to see if it picks up, but so far, not impressed.
October 5, 2022
How disappointing. I love Tim Drake. I don't read DC very often anymore, so I was pleased to see a miniseries about my favorite Robin starting up. Seemed like a good jumping off point for someone who only dips their toe into DC once every month or two. (I used to read DC as religiously as I read Marvel, but I abandoned it with Flashpoint and the New 52.)
However, this artwork is so awful, I'm incapable of giving the story a higher rating. The story was rushed, character motivations don't really make sense (Why would even Robin let this "Sparrow" girl tag along to a crime scene, let alone an actual police detective?) Did Tim get stuck with a newbie character to play the part of his friend and confidante on purpose? The writers may have thought that a new character could act as a surrogate for the audience, asking ridiculous questions that would be obvious to a longtime fan.
However, this artwork is so awful, I'm incapable of giving the story a higher rating. The story was rushed, character motivations don't really make sense (Why would even Robin let this "Sparrow" girl tag along to a crime scene, let alone an actual police detective?) Did Tim get stuck with a newbie character to play the part of his friend and confidante on purpose? The writers may have thought that a new character could act as a surrogate for the audience, asking ridiculous questions that would be obvious to a longtime fan.
August 3, 2023
Basically Tim's journey to figuring out who he is, what he wants and what he needs (after all 10 issues). Artstyle kept changing which was a bit confusing at times, the storytelling overall was kinda eh but I like the emotional discovery within the comic... Decent comic overall, it was worth the read but not mind blowing.
March 29, 2024
I understand that not everyone loved the art, but to be honest i found it cute, whimsical and a refreshing vibe that feels like a throwback to the old 50’s superhero series. Not quite “caped crusaders” but more like “Hornet”, love-life and detective life balancing at its finest. It is good and i liked it. But i get why it is not everyone’s cup of tea
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October 30, 2022Finally got around to reading issues 1 and 2 of this and uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
I don't know. It has some fun moments; I enjoy the concept of the murder mystery plot, but I don't think Fitzmartin understands Tim as a character and the art is really not my cup of tea.
I don't know. It has some fun moments; I enjoy the concept of the murder mystery plot, but I don't think Fitzmartin understands Tim as a character and the art is really not my cup of tea.
Read
November 28, 2022The story is cute and I love Tim and Bernard, and like Tim's new sidekick too. But the art style is gonna take some getting used to, it's so.. I don't wanna say ugly, but. Why is his hair drawn like that
November 7, 2022
4.5
LETS GOOOOO
LETS GOOOOO
November 16, 2022
Fun start! I was nervous about the art but it has a lot of charm and I grew to like it.
November 23, 2022
the artstyle isn’t my cup of tea but the story is interesting so far, also timbern <3
December 25, 2022
I just can't with the art. It's not my style at all. The dialog too is terrible. This is not Tim Drake at all.
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January 1, 2023idk how i feel about this yet. but hear me out it's not that bad
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews