90s Tim Drake Robin Series

[godisawesome]

Yeah, it was more earned confidence than outright arrogance with Red Robin Tim. He had moments of arrogance, but they were not played for laughs.

[DisneyBoy]

I've picked up Hero Reborn and Flying Solo and will enjoy giving them a read...

Edit:

So, I've read Flying Solo and while I liked the art and the pacing and Dixon's take on teenaged Tim...I found it really annoying how many plots were already in motion. Paul Valley/Knightquest, Jack Drake being AWOL and the character histories of Cluemaster and Spoiler weren't explained so a new reader could follow what was going on. It was just assumed we'd be up to date on all on that stuff. Annoying. How new was Steph to the DCU at that point? Her father? What about girlfriend Arianna?

I was perplexed by how much focus Stereotypical Sheriff got in that first arc. Is he a major recurring character?

Otherwise I enjoyed it, though, and will look for the other issues that were recommended. There was some real drama to Tim getting buried in concrete. An exciting twist.


It is interesting to see how much and how little has changed by the time Red Robin was published. I picked up the 2nd arc trade - "Collision" - and Tim is once again in the middle of another "Where's Bruce" event. Can't his adventures ever NOT tie-in with a Batman storyline? Marcus To's art is great but some of the fun personality from the Dixon run is missing. I like Lucius Fox's daughter as Tim's girlfriend, but has Vicky Vale been de-aged since she was romping with Bruce in Detective Comics when Tim first became Robin? She looks barely 20 suddenly....and Damian annoys the heck out of me. And his costume is ugly.

Oh comics...

[The Lucky One]

So, I've read Flying Solo and while I liked the art and the pacing and Dixon's take on teenaged Tim...I found it really annoying how many plots were already in motion. Paul Valley/Knightquest, Jack Drake being AWOL and the character histories of Cluemaster and Spoiler weren't explained so a new reader could follow what was going on. It was just assumed we'd be up to date on all on that stuff. Annoying. How new was Steph to the DCU at that point? Her father? What about girlfriend Arianna?

Jack Drake was kidnapped during Knightfall along with Dr. Shondra Kinsolving; Bruce's attempts to rescue them formed the basis of "Knightquest: The Search." Arianna first appeared in the third Robin miniseries, "Cry of the Huntress," which will likely be reprinted in the next volume of the new TPBs. Cluemaster appeared a couple times in the '60s and '70s, then became part of the Injustice League/Justice League Antarctica in the '80s. And Steph was very new to the DCU at that point, having appeared in only one prior story, 'Tec #647-49.

********************

In case anyone was wondering, here's how the old, out-of-print Robin TPBs compare to the new line:

"Robin: A Hero Reborn" collects Batman #455-57, "Identity Crisis," where Tim earned the Robin costume, followed by Robin #1-5 (the first miniseries).
"Robin: Tragedy & Triumph" first jumps back before "Identity Crisis" to collect 'Tec #618-21, "Rite of Passage," the Obeah Man storyline where Tim's mom dies (non-costumed Tim also takes out non-costumed Anarky); then jumps forward to collect Robin II: The Joker's Wild #1-4. (Basically, these stories bookend the contents of A Hero Reborn, the previous volume.)
"Robin: Flying Solo" collects Robin #1-5 (the ongoing series), including Spoiler's second storyline (after 'Tec #647-49).

In contrast, my understanding is that the new volume, "Robin: Reborn" fixes the order, putting "Rite of Passage" first, then "Identity Crisis," then the first Robin miniseries. There's also a preorder listing on Amazon for "Robin: Triumphant," which presumably will collect Robin II: The Joker's Wild and Robin III: Cry of the Huntress #1-6 (previously uncollected). Maybe it'll also start collecting Tim's solo series, or save that for the third volume.

[DisneyBoy]

Thanks for laying that all out - I didn't even know they were making more TPBs.

Cluemaster's orange costume really did him no favors.

[phantom1592]

I've picked up Hero Reborn and Flying Solo and will enjoy giving them a read...

Edit:

So, I've read Flying Solo and while I liked the art and the pacing and Dixon's take on teenaged Tim...I found it really annoying how many plots were already in motion. Paul Valley/Knightquest, Jack Drake being AWOL and the character histories of Cluemaster and Spoiler weren't explained so a new reader could follow what was going on. It was just assumed we'd be up to date on all on that stuff. Annoying. How new was Steph to the DCU at that point? Her father? What about girlfriend Arianna?
Oh comics...

I'm a little surprised at how little that bothered me now that I think about it... I was actually reading Knightfall at the time, so that first page wasn't any kind of shock to me... but I had very little exposure to Tim at that point. Maybe Robin II vs Joker. Part of Robin III? Seeing Robin at school with friends didn't seem THAT jarring to me... I guess I was used to picking up series halfway in and just rolling with new to me characters.. Spoiler was daughter of old batman villain... Gotcha. I'm good. Which on a separate note,... is KINDA what Tim himself was doing. He was the third Robin, so Batman had a lot history that he had to catch up on himself

I hadn't even realized that the girl in the solo series was the one he rescued in Robin III... I should have caught that... >.<

Still even in the age before internet, I never really felt 'lost'... I always thought books back then were pretty open to new readers.

[DisneyBoy]

Well, there are narration boxes throughout the first few issues that mention how Jack Drake is still missing and AzBats is crazy, etc. I just find that a lame way to go about telling stories. You should be seeing the important things unfold, not having to be spoon-fed extra details about what's happening in other books to follow. Or in this case, wondering why certain things aren't being put into context much (like Spoiler's whole ID).

I just think if you're going to spoon-feed readers something, it should be a flashback to someone's origin in case they are new. And especially if the comic series is brand-new. Spoiler could have used a half-page recap. And I wouldn't have minded something about Tim and his Dad. It's impossible to understand if they're really all that close or not because Dixon is writing is new story.

[phantom1592]

Well, there are narration boxes throughout the first few issues that mention how Jack Drake is still missing and AzBats is crazy, etc. I just find that a lame way to go about telling stories. You should be seeing the important things unfold, not having to be spoon-fed extra details about what's happening in other books to follow. Or in this case, wondering why certain things aren't being put into context much (like Spoiler's whole ID).

I just think if you're going to spoon-feed readers something, it should be a flashback to someone's origin in case they are new. And especially if the comic series is brand-new. Spoiler could have used a half-page recap. And I wouldn't have minded something about Tim and his Dad. It's impossible to understand if they're really all that close or not because Dixon is writing is new story.

I disagree. Honestly I prefer the Spoon-fed method. I like to pick up a book and know what is going on. If something is referenced before hand, having the * footnote box telling you where to look for that reference was nice. Now days, writers are more... stuck up? pretentious? There is a feeling that if you don't understand everything that you they were trying to accomplish with the story and all the references that they had in mind... then there is something wrong with YOU and not them. I've seen a lot of situations where someone complains about not understanding something and people just jump on them and say 'check Wikipedia' or 'ask on the forums!' For the price of comics, there shouldn't be a lot of independent research just to know what is going on.

I think something like Final Crisis could have used a LOT of 'what the heck' boxes going on through there... I remember a 'silent' issue of Daredevil where there was no dialogue at all... and there were a bunch of bounty hunters going after DD... All in street clothes and completely new looks. Eventually they released a 'script' that explained that it included both Shotgun and Boomerang and as a LONG time reader of the series, I would have gotten a LOT of enjoyment knowing they were in there... But without a verbal cue or a visual clue... they turned into mook 1 and mook 2 and was a pretty blah book.

Comics are a collaboration between the writer, the artist, the editor and the reader... and only one of those four are not sitting in a booth at lunch with the other three as they hash out cool ideas and what they're trying to convey.

Narration boxes are a great tool

[DisneyBoy]

When used sparingly. Considering how big of a supporting character Spoiler went on to become in the book I would like to think that at least by the end of the first year - issue 12 - that Dixon would have recapped her origins in some way.