Tim Drake: Robin #10 – Meghan Fitzmartin, Writer; Nikola Cizmesija, Artist; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This series is ending prematurely, after an even shorter run than Batgirls. This is odd to say the least—the series launched with a ton of hype last summer, coming off Tim’s much-hyped coming out. But despite setting up an interesting new status quo and supporting cast for Tim, it spent the entire time dealing with a single storyline involving the mysterious Chaos Monsters that Tim has been chasing as long as Fitzmartin has been writing him. As the issue starts, Tim has gone missing, and Bernard is on the lookout. While it’s not clear if Bernard has figured out Tim’s secret yet, he’s definitely getting close—and there’s a hilarious segment where one of Tim’s friends from the Marina tries to clue Bernard in that Tim may be cheating on him—with Robin. Of course, that’s not where Tim actually is. Tim is deep underground, separated from Batwoman, in a mysterious labyrinth ruled by a powerful cult.
Fitzmartin does a good job of tying together plots from the entire series as well as the prelude series and backups she wrote for Tim, bringing things back to the very first story. She also calls back to some earlier stories of Tim’s—referencing his father for the first time in a long time, although it doesn’t get into the… complex relationship they had. Jack tends to be idealized by writers in a way he wasn’t when he was still alive. Tim gets close to a dramatic sacrifice to save Batwoman, but he’s bailed out—by a full collection of his friends, allies, and family in an excellent splash page. Overall, this series gets some things very right—the emotions in this series are genuine, and it leaves Tim in a very good place. However, it also definitely feels rushed towards the end, with only a few pages to wrap things up after the main plot. Tim definitely deserved a longer run, just like the Batgirls.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
