Welcome to Random Robin, where I flip a coin, open a longbox, and pick a random issue of Tim Drake’s Robin solo series and other notable issues. Here’s what I’m reading this time:
Superman/Batman
Issue #62
First-time reading: Yes
While Batman and Superman are known for their solo adventures, their team ups over the years have proven so natural and popular that they’ve been dubbed the World’s Finest. Even if their personalities don’t always align and they use different tactics to fight crime, they complement each other so well that it only makes sense that they’d go on adventures together.
So popular is the Superman/Batman team that their first meeting has been reimagined countless times over the years, because readers want to know just what drove these opposite forces to work together.
While I’m by no means an expert on the subject, I think it’s safe to say that the first team up between Robin and Supergirl is a little more fluid and open to interpretation. Part of that may be because Robin was already there, tagging along in the early World’s Finest stories, and another could be because there have been a number of Robins and only one Supergirl.
More or less, that is. We… we don’t need to do a deep dive into Supergirl’s different incarnations.
Needless to say, Superman/Batman #62 takes the opportunity to detail the first team up between the Tim Drake Robin and Supergirl, and it is very much okay. Not much more.
I really like both of these characters, so this should have been a slam dunk, but I think the main problem is that the way writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson present the material is very basic and by the numbers. That itself isn’t always a bad thing, but we’ve read “two heroesare forced to work together, one is gruff toward the other, and their ideologies and methods clash before they learn to be a team” countless times before. Generally speaking, that’s exactly how this issue plays out.
There’s a fun framing device, where Tim and Linda meet up for a casual lunch. It’s a fun idea, and their light banter is cute, but it quickly becomes clear that this is all set up for expository purposes. “Well, you’ve come a long way since we first worked together. You remember?” Tim asks, and Linda replies “remember? How could I forget?”
It’s an easy setup, with predictable dialogue and a well-worn narrative device. Again, it’s not bad storytelling, just easy storytelling. Their lunch and conversation are for the benefit of us, the reader, when this story could have easily just been the flashback bits without a framing device. That might have helped, too, because even though more pages are devoted to the flashback, it still feels kind of rushed.
Basically, when the pair first met, it was so Robin could teach Supergirl a few crimefighting techniques while Batman and Superman answered to some Justice League business. Due to an issue at Arkham Asylum, Robin heads off with the intent of leaving Supergirl behind, but she insists on coming along since she could be of help.
Considering she can fly and has super strength and laser eyes and stuff, I see her point.
With the Arkham inmates rioting, we get to go on a tour of the Asylum and see several of Batman’s rogues, and let me tell you that the tone is all over the place in this sequence. The very first thing we see is the Joker hacking dead bodies to bits, which is gruesomely illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque and David Baron. It’s really gross and disturbing, which is certainly fitting… until Robin starts spouting some one-liners a few pages later.
As we all know, I am all about lightheartedness and camp and a cheesy quip or three. At least, when it fits the material. Going from Joker mutilating and desecrating corpses to the equally disturbing scene of the Mad Hatter throwing a tea party on top of a bound hostage works together, but Robin asking Hatter if he’d rather give up a name or lose his teeth doesn’t. It’s a little too macho cornball for the more disturbing content, and the whiplash pacing keeps it from working. Bookending the journey in Arkhan with another gruesome scene– this one with Victor Zsasz– doesn’t help either, as Robin uncharacteristically goes too far with Zsasz to the point that Supergirl has to stop him from killing the criminal. It’s meant to parallel Supergirl’s earlier interaction with Joker, which I get, it’s just really on the nose and doesn’t carry any weight.
I know it seems like I’m dogging on this, but I didn’t hate it by any means. It’s a quick read, and seeing Robin wail on Zsasz in the climax is cool if you take out the context. The art is generally serviceable, with Albuquerque’s line work and Baron’s colors standing out a lot more in the note disturbing scenes. The way Supergirl stares in shock at the Joker, and the sunken cheeks and glassy eyes of Zsasz are things of genuine horror. On the other end of the tonal spectrum, The always terrific Rob Leigh’s lettering and sound effects are terrific, with my personal favorite being the SKRNNCH used when Supergirl olds Clayface’s mouth in on itself. Beautiful, and super gross.
As far as Batfamily and Superfamily team ups go, I like Worlds Finest 3 and Batgirl #14 a lot more, but this is still perfectly acceptable fare.
Fun Facts
- We’ve got us some ads for some online slash card game called FreeRealms, Above the Influence, Life Savers Gummies with new “island fruit” flavors, a Mattel collector website, “two of the year’s best action thrillers” were apparently Knowing and Push, soon to hit DVD and Blu-Ray, and Splat hair
colorpaint. - There’s a single house ad for the much beloved Wednesday Comics, and a sneak peek at Doom Patrol #1 from the late Keith Giffen, Matthew Clark, Livesay, Pat Brosseau, and Guy Major.
- Instead of an editorial rundown, DC Nation is devoted to drawing attention to DC’s presence at San Diego Comic-Con. There were spotlights on Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, and Dan DiDio, panels for Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Wednesday Comics, multiple talent searches, and surely no end of creator signings. Not gonna lie, I’m missing going to SDCC.
- Number of references to Penguin Commandos: 1
- Number of identifiable villains: 10
- Fingers held up by a waitress: 3
- Blows thrown in scuffle with Zsasz: 5
- Lines spoken by Killer Croc: 0
- Burgers ordered: 2
Who is Tim Dating?
Unclear. He and Supergirl meet for lunch in the framing scenes, but it’s strictly platonic.
Check back next time for more Robin randomness.
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