nickpalmieri's review
3.0
Collects Robin #121-125.
It seems we're in a cycle where every 20 issues this book radically changes itself with a new location and a new supporting cast. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Willingham's direction here, as he makes Tim more snarky and gives him an incredibly unlikable new friend. Still, the stories found here are decent, if far more violent than before -- not a bad thing on their own, but definitely a shock compared to the earlier material from this title (some of these scenes terrified me when I first read them a decade ago).
The 3-part Johnny Warlock origin is fine, and the 2-part Unmasked story after is entertaining. I just can't help but feel the editorial hand interfering here. Characters sometimes act in strange ways, and I know some of that and the related plot developments are set-ups for dubious ends over the next few issues. So instead of feeling like a natural build-up for a well-constructed story, it feels more like a hollow attempt to move chess pieces around the board. For example: Tim has an irrationally emotional reaction to the apparent death of Warlock, which feels out of character and contrived. But he needed to do that so he could quit being Robin, so Steph could become Robin for a few issues after this, and even that was only to increase the impact of her death a few issues later. There is so much happening editorially that Willingham is forced to write some contrived material.
And the artist changed two issues in! The second artist isn't terrible, just nowhere near as good as the first.
It's not all bad. Willingham, if nothing else, set up a new section of Gotham for Tim and gives us a new source of antagonists for the future. I guess his specialty is world-building, which shouldn't be a surprise given his work on Fables. I just wish the story held together better.
It seems we're in a cycle where every 20 issues this book radically changes itself with a new location and a new supporting cast. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Willingham's direction here, as he makes Tim more snarky and gives him an incredibly unlikable new friend. Still, the stories found here are decent, if far more violent than before -- not a bad thing on their own, but definitely a shock compared to the earlier material from this title (some of these scenes terrified me when I first read them a decade ago).
The 3-part Johnny Warlock origin is fine, and the 2-part Unmasked story after is entertaining. I just can't help but feel the editorial hand interfering here. Characters sometimes act in strange ways, and I know some of that and the related plot developments are set-ups for dubious ends over the next few issues. So instead of feeling like a natural build-up for a well-constructed story, it feels more like a hollow attempt to move chess pieces around the board. For example: Tim has an irrationally emotional reaction to the apparent death of Warlock, which feels out of character and contrived. But he needed to do that so he could quit being Robin, so Steph could become Robin for a few issues after this, and even that was only to increase the impact of her death a few issues later. There is so much happening editorially that Willingham is forced to write some contrived material.
And the artist changed two issues in! The second artist isn't terrible, just nowhere near as good as the first.
It's not all bad. Willingham, if nothing else, set up a new section of Gotham for Tim and gives us a new source of antagonists for the future. I guess his specialty is world-building, which shouldn't be a surprise given his work on Fables. I just wish the story held together better.
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