We
Are Robin 1: The Vigilante Business
Description:
A modern spin on the
original teen superhero!
In a Gotham City ravaged by the Joker, Batman alone is not enough
to keep the peace—and just one Robin isn’t nearly enough to back
him up. Now, teenagers who want to make a difference are coming
together in droves and adopting the “R.” They’re not a gang.
They’re not sidekicks.
They are Robin.
When Duke Thomas is recruited by the mysterious Nest to join teens
from all different backgrounds and walks of life in the Robins, he
hopes that they can help him find his missing parents. Instead, they
find something much more nefarious—an underground conspiracy that
threatens to bring down Gotham.
Now it’s up to these untrained teen
vigilantes to save the city from a mysterious evil force. But being
Robin is dangerous. Robins die. Will these new heroes face the same
fate?
Collects:
We
Are
Robin
#1-6 and DC Sneak
Peek:
We
Are
Robin
#1.
Authors:
Lee Bermejo
Artists:
Jorge Corona, James Harvey
Published
By: DC Comics
Published
When:
April 5 2016
Parental Rating:
Teen
We
Are Robin Vol. 2: Jokers
Description:
THEY WHO LAUGH
LAST...
All over Gotham City, teenagers came together with the common
purpose of protecting their home. Drawing inspiration from the teen
heroes who’ve fought at Batman’s side, they wore his colors as
they fought against crime and corruption. They were vigilantes. They
were heroes. They were Robin.
But now being a Robin means being a criminal. Robin colors are
illegal, and the Robins have gone back underground. Some of them—like
Duke Thomas, on a quest to find his parents—have other things on
their mind. Some of them are exploring new, more dangerous ways to
become vigilantes.
In the void left by the Robins’ absence, a new group of teens
has taken control of the city streets...but they don’t draw their
inspiration from the forces of good. Led by a sadistic killer with a
permanent grin, these Jokers are paying tribute to Batman’s
deadliest adversary...and they want to see the entire city die
laughing.
When the Jokers
strike, will the Robins fly once more?
Collects:
We
Are
Robin
#7-12
Authors:
Lee Bermejo
Artists:
Jorge Corona, Carmine di Giandomenico
Published
By: DC Comics
Published
When:
Oct. 18 2016
Parental
Rating: Teen
Review:
I snagged this 2-volume pair of TPBs from a discount bin. Their
price was too good to pass up, for the complete run of this 12-issue
limited-run series. Although I admit that I cracked them open with
only half-hearted interest to read them. After all, the DC Universe
feels over-saturated with Batman books and spin-offs. By my count, 24
of the 64 DC Comics releases hitting store
shelves this month star either Batman or one of the sidekicks (Robin,
Nightwing) or other significant characters (Joker, Catwoman, Harley
Quinn) from his immediate circle.
I was pleasantly surprised by what I found inside! In fact I was
hooked right from the first impression, the covers. They are
powerful, striking images, in monochrome but with muted pops of the
Robin-colors. Author Lee Bermejo handled the covers for all issues in
the series, and they are amazing!
Bermejo's story is equally powerful, and drew me in immediately.
The Robins are a gang of teenagers, dedicated to doing what they can
to improve life in Gotham. They've been recruited by a mystery backer
called The Nest, who provides them with coordination, technology and
guidance.
Bermejo sets these characters firmly in the realm of teen concerns
and behaviors. There are the constant texts and social media
check-ins, the stress about school, late nights working crappy jobs,
questionable family influences, intra-team crushes and hurts.
This is also an amazingly diverse team. The comics world was
heavily white and male for much of its history, but this team is an
amazing and inspiring blend of sizes, ages, ethnicities, genders, a
superb reflection of the multi-cultural melting-pot of our country
today, especially in urban settings.
But they are still new at this teenaged-vigilante business, and
they make mistakes. Failure to heed The Nest's advice gets one Robin
killed early in the series. The loss hits some of the young team
hard, as they realize at a gut level that this is not a game.
Yet the death is handled in such contrast to
the famed Death in the Family story-line
from the late 1980s, in which the Joker killed
Robin (Jason Todd). Rather than becoming an industry-defining event,
as Death in the Family was,
this tragedy
gets a
touching two-page
nod in #3, which simultaneously furthers the plot by giving us our
first glimpse into The Nest, followed by teen grief and resilience as
the theme of #4. Then our young Robins need to move forward, and the
larger universe took no notice at all.
It is one of many deft touches in Bermejo's story-telling
throughout the series. Another includes
the contrasts in family relationship dynamics
between Duke Thomas and John Bender (the villainous Smiley).
Since this is a 2-volume collection of all
issues in the We Are Robin series, there is a significant
story gap between #6, at the end of volume 1, and #7 which kicks off
volume 2. In between comes the Robin War story, which readers must
find elsewhere. But it does lead to one of my favorite sequences,
when these young Robins realize how amateur they still are as they
witness the brilliant work of Robin (Damian Wayne), Red Robin and Red
Hood. Their professionalism and skill levels leave
our gang of Robins both inspired and intimidated, realizing anew that
this vigilante hobby is not a game.
Artist Jorge Corona excels at facial expressions, and he gets
loads of practice drawing Joker smiles, especially between issues 8
and 11. But watch other panels throughout, for his clean, subtle cues
on their faces. Beyond that, though, I was not a fan of the art,
which tended toward such exaggerated proportions and angles,
especially in human physical forms, that I found the images working
against the narrative. I preferred the break
that comes in chapter #4, drawn and inked by James Harvey. Sure it
was gaudy, almost painful on the eyes in places, but called more
attention to the Robins' ethnic mix, and especially nailed Riko's.
The switch in artists for that one issue also coincides with the
gang's wrestling with grief over the loss of The Troy Wonder in #3.
No doubt it was an intentional creative choice, lightening the
visuals even as they wrestle with a new darkness in their hearts and
souls, escaping into their teenage bubble-gum fantasies.
I went into these TPBs expecting more ho-hum Bat-related brooding,
evil and darkness. And while there was no shortage of that, I also
found a delightful group of plucky young heroes, wrestling with their
size, inexperience, angst and personal challenges, all while
struggling to work together, have each other's backs, and improve
life for everyone in a dangerous Gotham City. A pleasant surprise!
3.5 capes
ISBN-10: 1401259820 (v1), 1401264905
(v2)
ISBN-13: 978-1401259822
(v1), 978-1401264901 (v2)
Language:
English
Pages: 160
pages (v1),
152 pages (v2)
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