Tim Drake: Robin, Red Robin, Appreciation 2022

[Rufio]

Rook is my preferred alternative name - it's both a bird and a chess piece.

I like Rook. I would like DC to do that for Tim and not heck it up.

I agree and I'd keep the Red Robin cowl.

I second this.

[James Cameron]

Red Robin is a bad name and this is a bland look. Tim deserves better.

While I'm not a fan of the Red Robin name either, I thought the book was wonderful, because at that time I was partially convinced Tim was on his way to being shitcanned as a character entirely. Morrison didn't seem to care about him at all and Damian was clearly his preferred Robin, so I was grateful that Tim still had a solo book that continued from his previous one.

[scary harpy]

Rook is my preferred alternative name - it's both a bird and a chess piece.

I agree and I'd keep the Red Robin cowl.

I like Rook. I would like DC to do that for Tim and not heck it up.



I second this.

Rook is a good name.

Tim needs to lose all previous costumes...he really needs his own colors.

That's easier said than done. Teal, maybe?

[NOCTPHOENIX]

While I'm not a fan of the Red Robin name either, I thought the book was wonderful, because at that time I was partially convinced Tim was on his way to being shitcanned as a character entirely. Morrison didn't seem to care about him at all and Damian was clearly his preferred Robin, so I was grateful that Tim still had a solo book that continued from his previous one.

I recently re-read the Red Robin Run and it was so good. I loved it.

[OBrianTallent]

I love the Rook for Tim as well, I even came up with a hastily designed costume for the idea...however, The Rook is a comic that was last published by Dark Horse in 2016, so I would say unfortunately that's not a name we will get for Tim.

[James Cameron]

I love the Rook for Tim as well, I even came up with a hastily designed costume for the idea...however, The Rook is a comic that was last published by Dark Horse in 2016, so I would say unfortunately that's not a name we will get for Tim.

hm....Red Rook?

[scary harpy]

I love the Rook for Tim as well, I even came up with a hastily designed costume for the idea...however, The Rook is a comic that was last published by Dark Horse in 2016, so I would say unfortunately that's not a name we will get for Tim.

That Rook was not a superhero. Why would this be a problem?

hm....Red Rook?

um..no.

No Red Rooks, No Night Rooks, No Rook Wings, No Rook Hoods.

Tim needs his own name and colors.

[Matt Rat]

Zdarsky on Tim's love life

Your previous work in Jughead and Sex Criminals covered the breadth of the sexuality spectrum, providing a multitude of perspectives on queer identities. Over the past year, Tim Drake has been exploring his own sexual identity, opening up to dating boys for the first time. How much of that Tim Drake will we see in your Batman?

It’ll really be reflected in his confidence, which comes with knowing yourself. And for Bruce, it’ll be a signpost for him that the various Bat-Family members deserve happiness beyond “the mission.” Our story doesn’t really slow down enough for Tim to go on dates with Bernard, but it’s felt in the title for sure!

https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2022/0...tmans-shoulder

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Zdarsky on Tim's love life



https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2022/0...tmans-shoulder

Really don't like how it keeps being emphasized how Bernard makes Tim happy which implies Stephanie didn't when that was not at all the case in Rebirth and YJ.The lack of a meaningful reason/exploration for the breakup further makes this seems seem eh. I know it's a recent development but the relationship has barely started and is barely shown so all constant hyping it up feels tacked on.

[witchboy]

Tim's personal life does need some tlc from the writers, so I'm disappointed Zdarksy doesn't seem to be putting some much needed focus on that. Bernard needs development, the relationship needs development, and somebody at some point, preferably sooner rather than later, needs to work out exactly why Tim and Steph broke up.
If Tim is bi, it seems like liking boys shouldn't make him break up with Steph. If he is gay, then at least the break up makes sense. That's what I would prefer, as it is what seems to have happened, and DC has more bi characters than gay men.
It's a completely different title, but Zdarksy was a lot of fun on the Jughead title and did really well with handling Jughead's asexuality.
I'm not encouraged to hear there's no time for dating but we're supposed to feel the development by Tim's confidence. I guess we'll see how it plays out.

[Konja7]

Tim's personal life does need some tlc from the writers, so I'm disappointed Zdarksy doesn't seem to be putting some much needed focus on that. Bernard needs development, the relationship needs development, and somebody at some point, preferably sooner rather than later, needs to work out exactly why Tim and Steph broke up.
If Tim is bi, it seems like liking boys shouldn't make him break up with Steph. If he is gay, then at least the break up makes sense. That's what I would prefer, as it is what seems to have happened, and DC has more bi characters than gay men.
It's a completely different title, but Zdarksy was a lot of fun on the Jughead title and did really well with handling Jughead's asexuality.
I'm not encouraged to hear there's no time for dating but we're supposed to feel the development by Tim's confidence. I guess we'll see how it plays out.

I'm pretty sure they will say Tim is bi, since they don't want to erase the importance of his relationship with Stephanie.

As you say, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Tim needs to break up with Stephanie if he is bi. However, that's just a product of how sudden the decision to change Tim's sexuality was.

I guess they will explain the break up as Tim needing to discover and explore a new part of himself (his attraction to boys).


PS: DC don't really have many bi men either.

[Frontier]

Zdarsky on Tim's love life



https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2022/0...tmans-shoulder

I don't really buy the idea that Tim was having confidence issues because he hadn't embraced or explored his sexuality or that Tim specifically is suddenly a sign that the Batfamily deserves to be happy beyond "the mission" since we get that practically every run now.

But I guess we're still in the phase of pushing this Bernard relationship as far as it can go.

[godisawesome]

I actually liked the design of the Batman Unlimited version of the cowl, where his hair flows out a small hole at the back, like Stephanie and Barabara’s Batgirl cowls.
Attachment 121029

I once redid a Marcus To cover with a slight tweak in design, keeping most of the look, but throwing in some touches and replacing the gold with silver; I wanted to embrace the fact it’s more of a Pokémon-style evolution of the Robin identity rather than a total transition out of it.

Here’s that redesign I made that I was talking about:
4FAEF81A-DA8D-4A59-A918-FEDCD6AE104B.jpg

[witchboy]

I'm pretty sure they will say Tim is bi, since they don't want to erase the importance of his relationship with Stephanie.

As you say, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Tim needs to break up with Stephanie if he is bi. However, that's just a product of how sudden the decision to change Tim's sexuality was.

I guess they will explain the break up as Tim needing to discover and explore a new part of himself (his attraction to boys).


PS: DC don't really have many bi men either.

I guess it depends on you define many I guess. There's Jon Kent who's very high profile now, Constantine, Ghost Maker, Catman. Tim if he's bi.
The only regularly appearing gay man I can think of is Jackson Hyde.
This is all a great improvement over how things used to be. I'd say that bi women and lesbians probably are nearly double.
Tim I think works better being gay, not the least is how the relationship with Steph has ended. I could see them transitioning to friends better if he were gay. If he were bi and still dumped her, I think she could understandably take that harder. I do suspect they'll hedge their bets and say he's bi. I think at least part of that is some readers won't understand that a gay person can date the opposite sex before coming out and still actually be gay.

[Frontier]

I guess it depends on you define many I guess. There's Jon Kent who's very high profile now, Constantine, Ghost Maker, Catman. Tim if he's bi.
The only regularly appearing gay man I can think of is Jackson Hyde.
This is all a great improvement over how things used to be. I'd say that bi women and lesbians probably are nearly double.
Tim I think works better being gay, not the least is how the relationship with Steph has ended. I could see them transitioning to friends better if he were gay. If he were bi and still dumped her, I think she could understandably take that harder. I do suspect they'll hedge their bets and say he's bi. I think at least part of that is some readers won't understand that a gay person can date the opposite sex before coming out and still actually be gay.

I think the problem is they've spotlighted and developed Tim and Steph's relationship and commitment for each other too much for it to be believable that he's full gay or even to the point where he would need to break up with her to explore his sexuality. The material just doesn't build up to it that way, unless committing to Tim being LGBTQ+ means continually throwing his relationship with Steph under the bus because he wasn't really sexually attracted to her or has instead moved onto a character that seems functionally like a male equivalent to her.