Tim Drake: Robin #4 Preview

[Konja7]

Bernard is STILL a nothing character from the panels I've seen and his relationship with Tim still is nothing beyond "being two boys and cute"

Honestly, I really suspect Fitzmartin doesn't care about Bernard. She likes his romance with Tim, but she doesn't seem to care about Bernard as a character.

Bernard is always an afterthough in Fitzamartin stories. I always remember her story in Tim Drake Pride Special where Bernard only appears in the last page.

[Frontier]

Honestly, I really suspect Fitzmartin doesn't care about Bernard. She likes his romance with Tim, but she doesn't seem to care about Bernard as a character.

Bernard is always an afterthough in Fitzamartin stories. I always remember her story in Tim Drake Pride Special where Bernard only appears in the last page.

Bernard feels like he's there more for a story purpose than as an actual character at this point, and to exist just so adaptions can throw him in there to make Tim come off more diverse.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

Honestly, I really suspect Fitzmartin doesn't care about Bernard. She likes his romance with Tim, but she doesn't seem to care about Bernard as a character.

Bernard is always an afterthough in Fitzamartin stories. I always remember her story in Tim Drake Pride Special where Bernard only appears in the last page.

I mean given how she is still teasing Timkon, I think so to and is using him as a placeholder and hoping DC will let her pull the trigger (they won't).

She claims to "love him and that he was a character dear to her heart" but she doesn't write him anything like how he was before or could be said to be an organic growth from how he was before. Lik h he could be mature and still have some traits he had in the past like his snarkiness or social butterfly thing or whatever but now he literally is just "nice cute BF".

It feels like she thinks as long as her audience see's "Tim with a cute boy" they will be fine and accept whatever she writes (and twitter/tumblr seem to do so)

[Aahz]

There are aspects of Fitzmartin's story that I could appreciate, even with what we will call flawed writing. I love the idea of Tim living in the harbor on a boat, although it could make for some interesting opportunities for him leaving or arriving in costume. Having flipped through the book, it does look like she is attempting to build the world around him and fill it out with a cast, although it also looks like she killed off a bunch of that cast pretty early on.

Don't know, I feel like the marina feels more like something where Dick or maybe Jason would live, but not really like something that fits Tim.

[Digifiend]

Even if you completely ignore the quality, this art style simply doesn't belong into a main stream DC Superhero Comic.

It's definitely more suited to other genres, not superheroes. Also, the font used for the credits text is one of the fonts used by Britain's kids humour anthology comic, Beano. A Robin comic shouldn't be reminding me of Dennis & Gnasher!

[ChangingStation]

I think the problem with the Marina is that there's no real characters on it. The way Fitzmartin writes them makes them feel incredibly interchangeable and the closest to an actual character is the landlord, James who while teased in issue 1, only showed up as a character in this issue. It's pretty much why I'm not invested in this subplot of the Marina being closed down.

As for the art, it somehow feels so busy with the way it's drawn and the way the panelling is handled that I find it undercuts any emotion.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

I keep wondering why Steph keeps being mentioned/included in this series despite it being clear the author HATES TimSteph and Steph herself.

[Konja7]

I keep wondering why Steph keeps being mentioned/included in this series despite it being clear the author HATES TimSteph and Steph herself.

I don't think the author hates Stephanie.

I know many of Fitzmartin's decisions about TimSteph irk you, but the way she writes Stephanie is OK. The only really horrible was Stephanie meeting Bernard, but that's likely a result of Fizmartin trying to show Stephanie supporting of LGBT.

[Frontier]

I don't think the author hates Stephanie.

I know many of Fitzmartin's decisions about TimSteph irk you, but the way she writes Stephanie is OK. The only really horrible was Stephanie meeting Bernard, but that's likely a result of Fizmartin trying to show Stephanie supporting of LGBT.

I don't think she hates Steph either. She hasn't used her well, but I think that's more from the circumstances and her current narrative focus than outright hate.

[godisawesome]

I don't think she hates Steph either. She hasn't used her well, but I think that's more from the circumstances and her current narrative focus than outright hate.

It’s sort of the calculated, logical storytelling choice a writer would feel “forced” to make if their mission parameters were to take a largely non-entity character from an unheralded run, reformat their personality a bit, then utilize them to make the popular star of a book officially bisexual, alongside a handicap of having the lover interest you dug up from obscurity also still be a very basic civilian character, rather than another escapist character.

Bernard, conceptually, does not have the advantages of a long established fanbase for both himself and the pairing he's a part of, and would not be interesting enough for a comic book without his relationship to Tim; therefore, it’s not so much a feeling of insecurity compared to Steph or any of the rest of Tim’s old LIs and friends, it’s an actual insecurity.

He doesn’t even have the advantage that Eiko had “revealing” Selina’s bisexuality - at least she was both the daughter of a yakuza boss and also wore the Catwoman suit herself.

[witchboy]

A good love interest needs to be a good character in their own right. I can't see anybody making that argument in support of Bernard. If he's going to stick around I'll certainly give him a chance. I'm all down for bi Tim, but it can still be done better.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

I don't think the author hates Stephanie.

I know many of Fitzmartin's decisions about TimSteph irk you, but the way she writes Stephanie is OK. The only really horrible was Stephanie meeting Bernard, but that's likely a result of Fizmartin trying to show Stephanie supporting of LGBT.

I mean she keeps trying to undermine his relationship with Stephanie. She is writing Tim like this is the first time he is in love and has him say being with Bernard is better than his past relationships and says this is the first time he is able to define himself outside of Batman and the Batfamily when Stephanie already did that. It was a major point in Rebirth. Not to mention the DC YJ jab at Timsteph and the lowkey shade that Steph only likes Tim for his costume and Tim doesn't even defend her.

The Bernard meeting was her just using Steph the most known love interest to prop up Bernard (the new one that was JUST introduced) and was demeaning. Tim is a jerk to her but after one apology she fangirls over his new BF who she doesn't know at all and met without being asked first (jerk move Tim)? It really felt like Steph had no respect. If she wanted to show Steph was fine and supportive a simple "nice to meet you would be fine".

Even her attempts to show Steph is still important to Tim are the bare minimum as she shows Tim cares about Steph more than an acquaintance but other than that she's just another member of the Batfam (which he cares about in general)/hero he is friends with but nothing special.

[Frontier]

A good love interest needs to be a good character in their own right. I can't see anybody making that argument in support of Bernard. If he's going to stick around I'll certainly give him a chance. I'm all down for bi Tim, but it can still be done better.

I think what makes it stand out more that the guy (as he currently is) has barely been around and yet he's now used as Tim's go-to love interest in media adaptions.

But that's probably on WB for really wanting to bank on him as the gay Robin.

[Serving Size]

Art looks like tumblr stuff and Bernard feels like a non-character placeholder.

Steph should ghost Tim and not be apart of this at all.

[Konja7]

I mean she keeps trying to undermine his relationship with Stephanie. She is writing Tim like this is the first time he is in love and has him say being with Bernard is better than his past relationships and says this is the first time he is able to define himself outside of Batman and the Batfamily when Stephanie already did that. It was a major point in Rebirth. Not to mention the DC YJ jab at Timsteph and the lowkey shade that Steph only likes Tim for his costume and Tim doesn't even defend her.

What you mention is more about TimSteph. I don't deny that she has no problem in downplaying this relationship to uplift TimBer. However, this does not mean that she hates Stephanie.

I don't think Fitzmarting tried to throw shade Stephanie in DC YJ. Fake Cassandra comment about "Spoiler loving to get back together if Tim is Batman" was just a continuation of previous arguments in the book ("Stephanie being Tim's true love" or "Tim's fate is to be Batman"). We know these arguments were the attempt of Fitzmartin to criticize the fandom.

As I say, Fitzmartin doesn't know how to be subtle. If she wanted to throw shade to Stephanie, she will likely make a Fake Stephanie to say homophobic things (instead she let this to Fake Batman).

The Bernard meeting was her just using Steph the most known love interest to prop up Bernard (the new one that was JUST introduced) and was demeaning. Tim is a jerk to her but after one apology she fangirls over his new BF who she doesn't know at all and met without being asked first (jerk move Tim)? It really felt like Steph had no respect. If she wanted to show Steph was fine and supportive a simple "nice to meet you would be fine".

Again. Fitzmartin doesn't know how to be subtle. She just wanted to show that Stephanie was pretty supporting of Tim.