Tim Drake: Robin #10: Welcome Home

In the final issue of the series, Tim Drake: Robin wraps up the Marina story of the titular character, where he faced Moriarity (and himself) in the first half of the story arc, to now facing down the cult of the Chaos Monsters, a bleak reminder of Bernard’s past as well as a reminder of what makes a family for Tim. Overall, this issue was good, with a few noticeable weak spots but not necessarily distracting from enjoying the issue.

Writing

Meghan Fitzmartin (Dark Crisis: Young Justice, Batman: Urban Legends) has done a phenomenal job writing this series. Taking the reader on the ride of Tim Drake’s self-discovery in multiple ways and layers has always been a strong suit of the series. In placing Tim in a labyrinth to find his way out to save Batwoman, he is confronted by his father as a ghost (thanks to the gas being pumped into the air). Tim had to address his feelings of loss and grief, which he had not done until now. Fitzmartin used this as an opportunity for the titular character to conduct a self-reflection, very similar to issue #6 when confronting himself through Moriarity.

However, the struggle with the writing is that it felt like it needed more issues to develop the story. [SPOILERS]

Tim was approached by his “ghostly father” and addressed his feelings of absence; the Chaos Monsters cult leader reveals why Kate Kane showed up to Tim’s boat with hands covered in blood and the Bat-and-Marina family raced in at the last minute to help save Tim and Kate. All in one issue. It didn’t leave much room for details, breadth, or pacing to allow the plot to develop. The details about Kate’s altercation with the Chaos Monsters still feel a little unsatisfied. As cool as it was to have the Bat-family jump into the labyrinth, it did feel cliche and left some questions unanswered, such as “How did they find Tim to begin with?”

Overall, the series was written wonderfully. This last issue was a little left to be desired, but it was more of a pacing issue for story development rather than plotholes and missing critical pieces to the story.

Artwork

Where the writing for this issue was done well with a few sore spots, the artwork seems to be hit or miss on several pages. Nikola Cizmesija (Batman: Urban Legends, Sword of Azrael, Future State: Gotham) had moments where the artwork was a little flat. In panels where Robin was the focus (either up closer or from a 3/4 body shot but the only person in the panel), the drawing was a little too simplistic and didn’t have a lot of depth, giving it a somewhat odd look. Cizmesija also had some anime influence on Bernard when he was clearly worried and upset, drawing his eyes to be completely white with no irises and small pupils. This is not problematic, but it is only removed in one scene and is noticeable.

However, there were also several moments of amazing artwork. The ghost of Tim Drake’s father looked absolutely convincing and almost majestic. The framing of Bernard and Batman when Batman first appears was an interesting way to frame the leading moments within the page. And the panel where Tim Drake confronts the cult leader of the Chaos Monsters in the alley was chillingly good.

The colors by Lee Loughridge (Fables, Hellblazer) were always great in the series, and this is no different. The use of greens in the labyrinth scene was a nice touch to illuminate the story while giving off that uneasy vibe of being in a mysterious place simultaneously. And the color palettes used in the other parts of the issues were a nice balance that gave the pages an excellent aesthetic for each scene. And the lettering by Tom Napolitano (Justice League, Catwoman, Supergirl) is a fantastic work of art, especially with sound effects.

Cover Art

In addition to the cover art, this issue has two variant covers: Cover B, Gleb Melnikov Card Stock variant, and Cover C, Travis Moore DC Pride Card Stock variant. In all honesty, all three covers are amazing in their own right. The main cover uses excellent lighting and shading (although the light almost appears to be overexposed), but giving Tim a look similar to Batman makes him an intimidating figure. Cover B Melnikov is more of a fun cover with great colors in the background to help make Tim capture the focus more. Walking on a tightrope in a crouched position is intriguing, even impractical. And the Pride cover by Moore looks beautiful with the other members of Tim Drake’s family celebrating with him.