Tim Drake: Robin #2 is published by DC Comics and written by Meghan Fitzmartin. Artwork is by Rile Rossmo, colours by Lee Loughridge and letters by Tom Napolitano. Main cover art (left) is by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz.
Tim Drake: Robin #2 is available now, in print and on digital, where all good comics are sold.
Synopsis
To catch a criminal mastermind, Tim will have to…steal a diamond? Oh no, what’s gotten into you, Tim? It’s Tim Drake like you’ve never seen him! Plus: a murder most foul at the library, the Gotham Marina is in danger, and Bernard isn’t answering Tim’s calls!
Review
Tim Drake is back. After a four star debut, can the team of Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo maintain the strong foundations laid last month? In short, the answer is yes. With its second issue, Tim Drake: Robin absolutely builds on those foundations and continues to build out Tim’s world.
Fitzmartin deserves praise for her approach to not just Tim’s heroics but also for her commitment to his character. Both issues have laid out Tim’s internal monologue in ways which allow us insights in to his approach to being Robin and how that impacts on his personal life. A through line is clearly going to be how long he can keep his vigilante secret from Bernard. There will only be so much narrative steam and Fitzmartin is tackling it in the best way possible. There appears to be no rush to bring Bernard in to the fold, but neither does it seem that the series will spin off the mystery for years to come.
In its second issue Tim Drake: Robin continues to explore its lead character’s ability to work alone. Honing his detective skills and deepening his relationship with the GCPD. The conviction to keeping Tim separate from the rest of the Bat-family leaves me with joy as a reader. The easy road would be to drop in cameos from Batman, Nightwing or Tim’s ex-girlfriend Stephanie. But, so far, the book has stayed away from stunts in order to grab the reader.
Second issues need to wrinkle the storyline and inject much more complications for our characters. That is certainly the case here. Issue #1 introduced the marina where Tim lives and now that area is in danger due to the current crime spree. Those complications light a fire under Tim as well as exposing his insecurities as a crime fighter. In terms of storytelling, it is exactly what the series needed to add enough thrust to the narrative to keep it going.
Unsurprisingly, reviews for last month’s debut varied from pouring praise and vitriol on to Riley Rossmo’s artwork. I remain firmly in the camp of Tim Drake: Robin looking outstanding. Once again I applaud Rossmo and DC for breaking from convention and delivering a book which is unique from beginning to end.
Verdict
With a masterfully written second issue Tim Drake: Robin has cemented itself as a serious contender for readers’ attention. Fitzmartin isn’t playing around when it comes to putting Drake front and centre in the spotlight.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
