Jason Todd: Robin, Arkham Knight, Red Hood Appreciation 2018

[Zaresh]

Personally, I feel what makes the Prince of Gotham title so fitting is because it's the only literature reference among the dozens of heavy handed ones done in Rebirth that's perfect for the character and storyline.

Add in that the original Death in the Family's Shelia Haywood was implied to be a back alley abortionist, and current Jason's mom was a teenager who'd considered abortion and you get the second arc phrase "An orphan or an abortion."

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's The Cider House Rules. The abandoned and orphaned children in the home are all referred to by their caretakers as the princes and princesses of Maine, the kings and queens of New England. Overall, it's an excellent comparison story for Jason, as the main character keeps coming back to the home he was raised in, resists the morals and beliefs of his adopted father, runs off with a boy and girl his age to create a triad relationship that he's eventually eliminated from, and finally embraces his destiny as the rightful heir and successor of his adopted father's legacy and responsibilities.

The books great, oddly, the movie is better. Overall Lobdell has done the best job with his book list, [U]Of Mice and Men[\U] and [U]Flowers for Algernon[\U] were expertly done as well, and I like that he improved upon the original endings.

Oh, I had no idea (I saw the movie, years ago, now that I think about it). That's pretty cool.

[Sergard]

Failed to get this done in time for Christmas arggggh. Anyway, jumping on the multiple Jasons train. Gonna be a set of three but the other two will take a while so here's the first one for you guys. And hey, this is already my 9th drawing for Jason!

It's a beautiful composition. Always nice to see some Father Todd love. (And nine drawings for Jason are already nine more than I have.)
I'm looking forward to the other two pieces. Multiple Jasons fanarts are great.

[G-Potion]

OOOH nice, always love seeing Father Todd and is it Arkham Jason or Titans Jason?
Or a different Jason altogether?

Arkham (Knight) Jason is in the other pic, doing what you probably expect him to do. This one is catatonic Jason waking up at the sight of someone at the door. You can't see him nor the door but you can see a bit of shadow. At some point i wanted to make a gif out of this to play with some animated elements like the opening door but I was too beat, this took way more time than I expected. I still really want to do it though. Maybe in a few days.

[G-Potion]

Great work, @G-Pots
(I was going to post some cool ASCII, but the board breaks it :/)

Aww not cool board. I really wanted to see what it looked like. :/

[Sergard]

Personally, I feel what makes the Prince of Gotham title so fitting is because it's the only literature reference among the dozens of heavy handed ones done in Rebirth that's perfect for the character and storyline.

Add in that the original Death in the Family's Shelia Haywood was implied to be a back alley abortionist, and current Jason's mom was a teenager who'd considered abortion and you get the second arc phrase "An orphan or an abortion."

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's The Cider House Rules. The abandoned and orphaned children in the home are all referred to by their caretakers as the princes and princesses of Maine, the kings and queens of New England. Overall, it's an excellent comparison story for Jason, as the main character keeps coming back to the home he was raised in, resists the morals and beliefs of his adopted father, runs off with a boy and girl his age to create a triad relationship that he's eventually eliminated from, and finally embraces his destiny as the rightful heir and successor of his adopted father's legacy and responsibilities.

The books great, oddly, the movie is better. Overall Lobdell has done the best job with his book list, Of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon were expertly done as well, and I like that he improved upon the original endings.

Could you maybe give more examples for literature references in Rebirth? (We are talking here about all Rebirth titles, not only RHatO, right?)
Concerning RHatO, I only knew about The Scarlet Letter, because Lobdell mentioned it in an interview.
And Ma Gunn having a change of heart because of her grandson felt a little bit like her having a Little Lord Fauntleroy-moment. But that could be coincidence.

I read the plots of the three mentioned titles on wiki (Why can't the referenced literature be books like Jane Austen's novels, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Daddy Long Legs, Moby Dick or The Sea-Wolf? Although, maybe not Moby Dick.). I see some similarities although the referenced literature is way darker than what is happening in RHatO. And I'm glad it's not the other way around.

[G-Potion]

It's a beautiful composition. Always nice to see some Father Todd love. (And nine drawings for Jason are already nine more than I have.)
I'm looking forward to the other two pieces. Multiple Jasons fanarts are great.

Thanks @Sergard! Father Todd was always going to be chosen because someone has to comfort these crybabies. Out of them you have like, two, who can do that. That said, I'm going a bit different direction with the other two drawings. But Knight is still crying it's almost a meme at this point I can't pass it up.

[Sergard]

I found some nice fanarts with Jason and Damian from April 2018. I hope they haven't been posted yet.




(source)

[Sergard]

More Jason and Damian:



(source)



(source)

[Arctic Cyclist]

Could you maybe give more examples for literature references in Rebirth? (We are talking here about all Rebirth titles, not only RHatO, right?)
Concerning RHatO, I only knew about The Scarlet Letter, because Lobdell mentioned it in an interview.
And Ma Gunn having a change of heart because of her grandson felt a little bit like her having a Little Lord Fauntleroy-moment. But that could be coincidence.

I read the plots of the three mentioned titles on wiki (Why can't the referenced literature be books like Jane Austen's novels, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Daddy Long Legs, Moby Dick or The Sea-Wolf? Although, maybe not Moby Dick.). I see some similarities although the referenced literature is way darker than what is happening in RHatO. And I'm glad it's not the other way around.

Lobdell fixing the endings of those books is one of the best parts of Red Hood. Especially Algernon. That story is as bad as Where the Red Fern Grows for getting people to start bawling. My parents took me to a high school performance, and I had no idea why the usurers felt the need to hand out Kleenex. I'm glad the Bizzaro arc fixed how that story ended, despite it still being brutal.

King's Batman. Dear god, King's Batman. It isn't even subtle. Although, in all fairness, no one has caught any of the subtle things in King's Batman like the entire break Catwoman out of jail and romance/engagement was part of Bane's master plan. So subtle probably isn't the way to go for his readers.

Percy's aborted run on Nightwing was steeped in William S Gibson, in particular Neuromancer. I think there were some Phillip K Dick and Harrison nods in there too. Seely's Nightwing had a couple besides Robin Hood, but I can't quite place my finger on them. His run also tied back to the new 52/pre 52 Dick and Damian as Percival and Galahad/the Hero Twins of Maya mythology/and the Arwan and I think Bran of Welsh mythology. The Hero Twins is a key part of Metal and the Resistance, as it relies heavily on the myth of the two brothers forced to enter a labyrinth and fight various bat monsters and gods in order to rescue and free their father. What's interesting about that and their link to Arthurian mythology (which is incredibly heavy handed with Damian, and how Morrison and others justified keeping the unnecessary rape retcon beyond racist misogyny) is that both sets end up ascending to heaven after the ends of their quests, which ties into the nod to Enter the Dragon, as in most Asian mythologies, dragons carry the most worthy up to heaven body and soul.

The dragon issue of Nightwing also ties back to Tomasi's B&R and Robin: SOB as Asian dragons have strong affinities for pearls, which were major themes in both of Damian's books, in particular as symbols of family and redemption. It's also referencing the Christian mythology and bible quotes about pearls of great price. Percy's Teen Titans started out with Damian referencing Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and ended with Peter Pan. Ironically, the ending with Peter Pan completely changed my feelings on his run and made me appreciate and enjoy it because that book, much like the other constantly referenced and connected to Damian book, Pinocchio is dark. By doing so he also acknowledges a Margret Atwood essay on the relationship between Batman and Robin (I can pull the quote if you want) to Ariel and Puck from Shakespeare. In a nice, neat, and nifty move he even ties in Robin: SOB and Lobdell's take on Jason and Talia's relationship to A Midsummer Night's Dream as Damian is the only Robin who actually acts like Puck aka Robin Goodfellow and Peter Pan. The other Robins and Batkids are all, as you pointed out DC should finally acknowledge, Anne Shirley.

Which, while not pertaining to this thread, is why I hate the idea of Bruce dating or married because he's Marilla Cuthbert, and Marilla doesn't need a man to rectify her existence, her adopted child is more than enough. The same with Bruce. He doesn't need a woman to rectify him and make him happy, even King has dropped that his boys are more than enough to make him happy. Stop trying to marry off my male Marilla, DC. Let him be happy with his gender flipped Anne Shirleys (and Damian).

The Detective Comics issue that flew over everyone's heads with Bruce racing to prevent Deacon Blackfire from possessing his grandson's body was a direct callback to The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, which itself, along with his appearance in 2011's Birds of Prey, and Death and the Maidens are all a nod to Octavia Butler's Wildseed books. That and he's Oberon to Damian's Puck, really quite literally when you realize that Damian's Year of Blood challenges and time limits match up with Puck's lines.

I'm sure there's more in Tec, but I can't stand Tynion's writing and haven't managed to get into anyone else. I think he did sort of acknowledge Fu Manchu, but Denny O'Neil's official stance on that is still "No! I didn't intend to plagiarize the Fu Manchu and Bond books," which c'mon man, I've read all the public domain Fu Machus, seen all the Bond movies and read most of Fleming's books, and the Ra's and Talia stories. I was super confused as a little kid to learn that James Bond wasn't in the Batman world because Talia absolutely was. (Caroline Munro was the unofficial model for Talia. And that's something both Adams and O'Neil indirectly acknowledge because a) it's obvious, and b) they both admit to having serious crushes on her. As do we all.)

There's more, but the only other thing I can place is Damian in Metal and Robin: SOB making a nod to A Wizard of Earthsea by embracing his darkest selves, acknowledging them, and thereby destroying them.

I'm glad you caught The Scarlet Letter and Little Lord Fauntleroy. I missed those the first time, but now see them.

[oasis1313]

In Nightwing #51 (I think it was that issue), there was a sign that read, "Melville Street", which I felt was probably a nod to "Moby Dick" and Bludhaven's past as a whaling town.

[Arctic Cyclist]

In Nightwing #51 (I think it was that issue), there was a sign that read, "Melville Street", which I felt was probably a nod to "Moby Dick" and Bludhaven's past as a whaling town.

Oh! Nice catch. The arc that just finished in Red Hood references The Stepford Wives and something else, I'm not sure what. Probably several things, but the robot at the end definitely is a nod to the highly underrated remake.

[oasis1313]

Oh! Nice catch. The arc that just finished in Red Hood references The Stepford Wives and something else, I'm not sure what. Probably several things, but the robot at the end definitely is a nod to the highly underrated remake.

Ha ha--Tim Dreck is the Stepford Robin. Which explains a LOT. Tynion referenced a lot of heavy literature like "Horton Hears a Who," which was probably very challenging. I really appreciate your hard work in the paragraphs above!

[Arctic Cyclist]

Super Sons had Damian being assigned to read A Winter's Tale which I know no one read because there's no way any middle school could get away with teaching it. It works really well for a metaphor for Gotham, Batman, and any Robin, particularly Jason and Damian, but that baby's a banned book for a reason. I'm vehemently opposed to banning books and all for letting kids read what they want (I read Clan of the Cave Bears and it's sequels in class in 6th grade, Myra Breckenridge in seventh, although not at school as one teacher saw it and said take it home or I take it away) but even I would have concerns about sections of that book. Mainly how the instructor intended to address the incest, which the movie cheerfully agrees is a couple hundred pages of unnecessary.

I like to think that the entire Rebirth Jason having to go undercover is because of Damian's comment in Deathstroke #5 about watching Oprah and drinking beer with League of Assassin members is about Jason. They're the two Robins who are consistently and constantly shown as voracious readers who happily read anything and everything, it would be perfectly in character for Jason to decide to bond with Damian through Oprah's book club. And by discussing and sampling beer because my favorite part of Jason and Talia's friendships across universes and timelines is the two of them like to hang out with tea or booze and discuss their lives and books. I hate how their epic bromance keeps getting erased or downplayed because of what Winnick admits he should have never have written. I can see Alfred's catching them being the reason for Jason's sudden exile and undercover assignment. It's basically Bruce's version of grounding his adult children.

It's also a reference to The Squid and the Whale.

[G-Potion]

https://mobile.twitter.com/thatpetewoods

Red Hood 31.

[Zaresh]

https://mobile.twitter.com/thatpetewoods

Red Hood 31.

That one at the right is Tim as Red Robin I think. Definitely some kind of flashback. I'm going to guess that we are about to get confirmed some more bits from Jason's story in the New 52 (how he was captured by Joker. Please, please, don't be the Joker conspiracy stuff).