Reviewer: Tim Sheridan
Story Title: The Auction
Written by: Bill Willingham
Art by: Damion Scott
Colored by: Guy Major
Lettered by: Phils Balsman
Editor: Michael Wright
Publisher: DC Comics
I was disappointed by this latest issue of Robin. I have wanted to enjoy Robin for a while. And every few issues or so, I do. But I think enough is enough. I am dropping the book. Since Bill Willingham took over, I’ve wanted Robin to be a better book. Willingham does some great work over on Fables, so I was rooting for him. But sadly, he has not really delivered.
Perhaps this has to do with the fact that he had to work in War Games to his scripts, but even now, it’s not going very well.
Robin is now parentless, and off on his own (save for Alfred) in Bludhaven. All this sounds kind of interesting. Tim Drake is a character I have followed since pretty much his first appearance. I grew up with him (well, I got older, he did not) and I’ve always felt a sort of attachment to him. Always thought he was a great character.
Anyways, that leads us to this issue. It’s just not good. Damion Scott’s has a very stylized way of art, and in Batgirl, it gels. Here in Robin, for one reason or another, it does not. It seems sketchy and unfinished to me. That, coupled with the coloring renders the action a bit unclear. The way the story here is written also makes it a bit rushed. It’s very action packed, sure, but it doesn’t feel like anything is really happening. I can’t really care about anything here.
Robin and Batgirl fight some of the Penguin’s goons. That’s pretty much all that I get from the issue. Then they are trapped and will now be forced to fight each other. I don’t like a story where I can sum it up in two sentences.
Perhaps I need to take another look at the issue, but despite all the high energy throughout, it bored me.
