Red Robin #3

Two issues in and i don't like what i'm seeing

I have a feeling that this series will turn around after this arc. This arc is only to establish a new, darker, Tim Drake Wayne.

After Detective, this is the Bat book I'm enjoying most so far.

The first issue was great and the second one had me wandering if I read it yet until I glanced over it.

I still like RedRobin but think the next arc will be better too.

I'm loving this book as well.  I feel bad for Batgirl, though.  Not sure how that's going to work for her since these other books are going in such different directions.

I'm about to reread 1 and 2 now.

I reread 1 and 2 over the weekend and im gonna have to agree with HailScott. I'm really digging this title.

I loved issue #1. I liked issue #2, but it left me wanting more from it. 

This series hasn't been very good so far, so the next 2 issues will make or break me staying on board. I'm leaning toward: not.

Second best Batbook on the market, in my mind. Can't wait.

I'm really looking forawrd to the new artist.  I'll stick with it until then.  I feel like Bachs has been really uneven.

This book is kicking ass and it feels like it's been a really long time since #2 came out. So I'm pretty excited to get this.

I actually just started reading Bat books over the last few months w/Dick, so maybe someone can give me a cheap primer here.

How long was Tim=Robin? Was he the last one? Did he try to take over for Batman (I didn't read Battle for the Cowl). Did he essentially get fired from the gig for Damien?

@HailScott - Tim has been Robin (off and on) for quite some time (I think 1994ish is when he showed up). Yes, he was the last one before Damien took over.  He sorta/kinda tried to be Batman during Battle for the Cowl, but it didn't go well.  Dick didn't really fire him (though Tim seems to feel that way). I think Dick essentially feels Tim is an equal, so he named Damien his Robin because Damien needs his tutelage more than Tim. For a more in depth summary you should, of course, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Drake

I am sure that if Conor were around this week he could have given you a much more thorough set of answers.

Personally, I think Tim is more like Bruce than anyone else in the entire DCU and will make an excellent Batman if he is ever given the opportunity. 

@stuclach- Thanks a lot!!! This is a good intro for now- I'll check out the wiki page, too.

@HailScott - No problem.  Glad to be of help.

I'm anxious to see the Tim Ra's team up.  I've liked this book so far but the art is a little in consistant.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next issue and if it ties into the Blackest Night: Batman title.

Am I the only one that finds all the jumps in timelines a little confusing?  Bachs seemed to have the body type down in this issue, finally.  I can only assume Robin found the cave painting/etching...  Interesting.

@magnum, the shifts in time are really starting to irk me. I was enjoying this book, but I'm starting to lose interest. I'll finish the arc, but if it continues like this forget about it.

I really enjoyed this issue, but I have to agree with the time-shift complaints. It's a neat little literary device, but it can be overused and abused. This issue was a prime example of that.

Excellent use of the events of Final Crisis to give Tim's character additional depth.  I am loving this series.  I understand that some of you are not enjoying the time shifts, but I feel they are the only way this story would work.  If this book just showed Tim moping around for a few weeks following Bruce's "death" before getting to his current adventure, it would have been boring. This way we get to see his current quest while simultaneously seeing his motivation. I love it.

I agree the time shifts are a useful way to tell this story but something about the way they're being used is off-putting and annoying. I wish I could be more specific, but i'm still kind of a newbee.

The Wild Huntsman (LOL) irked me more than the time-shifts. This was not a good issue (IMO!).

@crazychris - It is probably just a preference thing. I'm sorry you don't like that aspect of the book.  I wouldn't be surprised if it falls by the wayside after they get the basic motivations for the character solidified.

@WadeWilson - I loved the Wild Huntsman.  He seemed like such a French superhero.  Boastful and yet completely ineffectual.  The way many Americans view the French (rightly or wrongly).

Ah, correction: This is the 3rd best Batbook on the market to me. I forgot to include BATMAN & ROBIN.

Anyway, I thought this was good, but not great. I'm really disliking the art as we go on, and although the story wasn't bad, it wasn't incredibly interesting either. All of the non-present day stuff was great, though. 3/5.

Just re-read it. It seemed to flow a little better for me the second time through. I didn't read Final Crisis, can anybody fill me in on this Anti-Life Equation?

@crazychris - The Anti-Life equation is designed to make you give up.  I believe it is meant as a proof that Darkseid is the rightful ruler of the universe.  It essentially removes your will to live.  I think Tim Drake has had so much suffering in his life that he was at a point where he almost welcomed a chance to rest, to stop caring.  Thankfully, I have never been that low in my life, but I still found the way his experience was portrayed in this issue very moving.  The only thing I found more emotionally moving this week was the "Don Hall of Earth is at piece" bit in BN #2.  Both are damn fine examples of what comics can do.

Here is the wikipedia page on the Anti-Life if you want details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Life_Equation 

@crazychris:

It's a little to complicated to write it out on here, so check it out here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-life_equation

Just read this, I'm really enjoyed this issue and loving this book in general. I really like the way Tim's mind set and inner dialogue is being written and the art is really good.

4/5 

I'm going to drop this title at #4 unless that issue persuades me otherwise. The time changes are starting to get to me too.

I really enjoyed this issue.  It's a fun book but Tim's a tragic enough character that it keeps it serious.  Plus the last page made me laugh, and what more can I ask for in a week full of zombies than that?

@Stuclach and supertrack, thanks for the help guys.

@crazychris - Anytime.

one of two less time shifts and this book would have been a 5

Easily the best issue of the series to date-- the first issue so far I'd rate a 4 or above I think.

@stuclach- Wasn't the Wild Huntsman (lol I can't say/type that & not laugh) part in Berlin? So, you just totally outed yours & America's mocking opinion of the French for no reason! Watch your back, dude ... wait, don't worry about it, they won't do anything.

@WadeWilson - I don't really remember where it took place, but I thought it was France.  If it was Germany, then he is essentially a ridiculous representation of their "barbarian" past.  It still works relatively well.

I didn't mean to imply that that was my opinion of the French.  However, I am one ethnocentric bastard, so it might be. 

I'm not really digging this. It doesn't feel like Tim.

All the issues leading up to the new series' seemed to be painting Tim as "older looking" this looked as though they reverted to him being very young again. Not a fan of the art in this one at all.