- Written by Lee Bermejo
- Pencils & Inks by James Harvey
- Cover by Lee Bermejo
In the wake of a huge loss, the Robins are reeling with grief. Riko takes to the rooftops of Burnside to find a symbol of hope, and finds herself living out a dream as she teams up with her personal hero: Batgirl!
Pickup your copy of ‘We Are Robin’ #4 at Comixology now!
‘We Are Robin’ has been an interesting entity, many readers have complained about the lack of time to introduce the characters as from Duke with whom we are already familiar. The story started in a high stakes situation and has continued that way up until this issue.
Issue #4 takes a break from the action of the first three issues (reviewed here!) to tell a more personal tale about Riko, easily the closest character to a real Robin on the team, which features a guest appearance by Batgirl. I’ve seen other reviewers complain that Batgirl is entirely shoe horned in to this issue to try and bring in fresh readers after a disappointing opening run but I would beg to differ. At this stage the gang are beginning to make a name for themselves around Gotham and so it is inevitable that they would have run-ins with members of the Bat-family.
Seeing them interact with Jim Gordon’s Batman would never fulfil the idea of them becoming a staple on Gotham’s vigilante scene so it feels entirely necessary that they would need some interaction with one of the core Bat-family members. Given that Batgirl is high on DC Comics agenda at the moment she is the perfect fit for this story.
What ‘We Are Robin’ #4 does well is tell a small scale personal story which manages to positively depict the affect that being a Robin has on Riko whilst giving us a decisive glimpse in to her personal life. What it doesn’t do well is continue the momentum of the series to date.
The writers have now shown they have the ability to pull off the larger scale group scenes as well as what they do so well here in doing a deep dive on Riki. Moving on from here what they now need to do is find the best balance of the two to continue to drive the series forwards. There’s nothing to stop both of these aspects co-existing in the pages of one issue and that might provide fans with a little more insight in to the world of ‘We Are Robin’.
For those who are a little confused as to who is who in the cast of characters there is a handy two page section at the end of #4 which features short bios for each of the Robin’s. Clever idea and hopefully not too late in the game to save ‘We Are Robin’ for cancellation.
Now for the elephant in the room… the artwork…
This issue is a massive departure from the gritty, urban artwork of the first three issues. James Harvey instead brings us a pop art inspired issue which really jumps off the page. Again I have seen some reviewers refer to this issue as nauseating and distracting but actually if you look at the artwork on merit it is one of the most visually unique issues of any comic released in at least the last year.
The colour palette is wide ranging and the use of overplayed patterns for clothing is purposely jarring to ensure that readers pick up on the fine detail. From Riko’s Batman leggings to the Batgirl artwork on her walls from actual recent issues of the ‘Batgirl’ comic theres a plethora of imagery to be investigated here and you can be assured that none of it is there by chance.
‘We Are Robin’ #4 is not going to turn anybody on to reading this comic but is a great character exploration piece with some outstanding art.
4 stars
