Tim Drake: Robin #9 – Meghan Fitzmartin, Writer; Nikola Cizmesija, Artist; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this short-lived series sends Tim Drake down the rabbit hole to discover exactly what happened to Batwoman. The older vigilante crashed onto Tim’s boat, covered with blood and missing a chunk of time in her memory. While they were trying to trace her movement—and who the blood belonged to—Batwoman was attacked by a disturbed man who claimed she was a child-killer and held her hostage. While they’re able to fend him off, this only makes Batwoman more unstable. When Tim detects a connection to the chaos demons they’ve been fighting, he decides to see what Bernard knows about this. Bernard doesn’t know Tim is Robin, of course, so this leads to a hilariously awkward conversation. At least, hilariously awkward until Bernard starts breaking down from the trauma he experienced at the hands of the pain cult—and Batwoman reacts… badly.
I’ll give this book credit for one thing—it’s actually doing a decent job of showing how the trauma of living through some bizarre superhero stuff would affect a civilian. Bernard’s breakdown is compellingly dark, but Batwoman’s reaction makes her look more unstable than anything, and I was totally on Tim’s side when he decided she needed to be removed from the situation by force. Things are naturally going downhill between the two heroes, leaving Tim to investigate on his own. After some more strange secret identity antics, Tim investigates a new lead—and discovers something genuinely disturbing in the cliffhanger. The visuals here are pretty great, but this feels oddly static in terms of plot for a penultimate issue. The cancellation of this series really came out of nowhere, even more so than with Batgirls, and I don’t think this final arc feels like it’s actually wrapping anything up.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
