Robin is tracking a murderer, but there’s suddenly people standing in his way! And all of them are ALSO ROBIN? Your Major Spoilers review of Tim Drake: Robin #3 from DC Comics awaits!
TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #3
Writer: Meghan Fitzmartin
Artist: Riley Rossmo
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Editor: Arianna Turturro
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 22, 2022
Previously in Tim Drake: Robin: After a mysterious murder takes place in broad library, Tim, Detective Williams, and Darcy are led to three suspects… except they aren’t real? Meanwhile, Tim’s been so busy on this case, he’s forgotten the case of the boyfriend. Where’s Bernard?
ROBIN VS. ROBINS
We open in the heat of battle, as Robin finds himself under attack by his own family, including ex-girlfriend Stephanie and his younger brother Damian. Or, at least, strange, melting simulacra of them, which he explains is probably a “Clayface thing.” Using his knowledge of his fellow Robins, Tim targets their weaknesses, taking down all four combatants in moments. As the police arrive to take the people inside the Robin envelopes, he realizes that one is missing, but is interrupted by Tim Drake’s boyfriend Bernard. An awkward sequence follows in which Bernard leads Robin back to his own home, apparently unaware that his boyfriend and the hero of the marina are one and the same, but by the time he sets off for class, Tim is ready to put together the clues… and the real villain is ready to fight back!
AGGRESSIVELY BIZARRE ART
There are quite a few problems with the presentation of this issue that bothers me. There’s no context for Bernard or the fact that Robin is on his own houseboat for the first-time reader, and the lack of context matters. That said, it’s the art that is most off-putting for me. There’s a caption that indicates that “Jason Todd” is apparently meant to look like his Clayface facade is dripping, but the images make Tim look just as weird and misshapen. A moment that I think is meant to convey Tim’s happiness that Bernard calls him his boyfriend ends up looking like a horrifying Cheshire cat, with only his gleaming teeth showing in a sinister pool of shadow. Without a baseline for the character designs, it’s nearly impossible to tell fake Damian from fake Dick from fake Jason, and the last page reveal may actually NOT be who I think it is. I don’t want to disparage the style, as Rossmo’s work has been successful in Proof and other stories, but here it simply doesn’t work.
BOTTOM LINE: DISAPPOINTING
Tim Drake: Robin #3 falls prey to a number of issues, including a plot that is less a solo issue than a random chunk of the middle of a story, an almost complete lack of context for the events depicted, and art that feels very unsuited to the material, earning 1.5 out of 5 stars overall. I’d be interested in seeing the entire miniseries once it’s collected, to see if the story reads smoothly, but I won’t be seeking out the individual issues.
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TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #3
The fact that the Clayface monsters are nearly indistinguishable from the regular characters makes this issue incredibly difficult to look at, and important story moments are buried due to lack of context.
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Writing2
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Art2
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Coloring5
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.
3 Comments
Okay, who exactly is this made for, because I am a massive Tim Drake fanboy & I’m bi and I can tell you it’s certainly not made for me, and if it’s not made for me then who is it made for? It’s be one thing if this was a brand new character, but this is a character with over 30 years of history, with a clearly defined personality and character traits. Would love if this book incorporated those character traits instead of this Tumblr fanfic version.
Alright, positives first, this is probably the best issue Fitzmartin has written so far, but there’s still a lot wrong with it. This story is actually kind of interesting, and it felt like a natural progression instead of random events happening. And the art is much better this time around. And I am curious to see who the bad guy is, we meet this Colonel guy, so right now I’m leaning towards The General as the main bad.
I think I figured out the Riley Rossmo situation. Rossmo’s art isn’t that bad, his backgrounds and the way the characters move across the page are actually quite dynamic and engaging. But, the character designs are what bring it down. If they can tweak the way the characters look, then there would be improvement.
While it is cool to see Tim take down these faux-Robins, it is brought down by the over abundance of narration. I don’t think there was a single panel in this comic that didn’t have any dialogue in it. Comics are a visual medium, let the art do the talking, Show Don’t Tell. Also Tim seemed to show more remorse beating up Damian or Jason than he did Stephanie……deep breath….anyways.
The humor here, just does not land. There is a moment where they do “the high ground” meme and it just feels like “how do you do fellow kids.”
Now talk about Bernard. I kept confusing him for a her, because quite frankly Bernard looks like a lesbian. He looks more and more feminine with every issue, even, are we sure Tim is dating a guy? It just feels like Fitzmartin’s gay fantasy. Also they are implying that Bernard’s family doesn’t approve of him coming out…groan really, you’re doing this cliché? It’s a good thing to tackle, important even to show how families are not always supportive, but it’s just so overdone. Can’t we just have it be Bernard is also experimenting discovering something about himself, but instead it feels like that “I like men now” moment from the Simpson’s movie.
Now let’s talk about how Tim follows Bernard to his boat. Tim is trying to avoid Bernard in order to keep his identity in tact, but as soon as Bernard says the word boyfriend, Tim instantly perks up, forgets everything, and follows Bernard like a little puppy dog………no, No, No, No, NO, NO, NO!!!!!!! Tim has always, ALWAYS prioritized keeping his identity a secret from those he loved, yes he hated having to lie to his loved one, but he understood his responsibilities and took every measure to keep it safe, whether it was from Ariana, Stephanie, or his own Father. WHY ARE THEY MAKING TIM A SIMP FOR THIS MANIC PIXIE FEMBOY?!?!?!?! This just reeks of Straight girl’s Yaoi Tumblr fanfic.
Start writing Tim instead of this Gay Fantasy Lookalike, give Bernard a f@#king personality, and show us why the hell Tim wants to date him already!!!! I’m still growing more convinced that Bernard is the villain, because how else was Bernard able to sneak up on Tim the way he did. That prospect is frankly what I’m looking the most forward to.
TL:DR Plot is okay, too much narration boxes, art is better but still needs work, Characterization AWFUL
This is too bad. I thought the first two issues actually did well as a story that highlighted what makes Tim a unique Robin. And this issue put too much emphasis on the differences with the other Robins rather then letting him shine on his own
This is too bad. I thought the first two issues actually did well as a story that highlighted what makes Tim a unique Robin. And this issue put too much emphasis on the differences with the other Robins rather then letting him shine on his own