Red Robin #9 - Reviewed

Red Robin #9: Collision Part 1

Written by Christopher Yost
Art and cover by Marcus To and Ray McCarthy
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
Product ID: DEC090164ed

Red Robin has a pretty cool costume, I’ll give him that much. Tim Drake is back in Gotham and he seems to have a plan. What’s his plan? I have no idea. I thought that part 1 of “Collision” might be a good place to step into this series but it really isn’t. Red Robin #9 is all over the place. The book is trying to thread 5 or 6 external story-lines together and it just doesn’t work well. My complaint with DC these days is that they are so intent on interconnecting their books that you end up with issues like this one. Red Robin makes no sense unless you are reading the five other titles that they are constantly referencing.

Let’s break it down.

The Plot

Red Robin returns to Gotham City as “Collision” begins! Now armed with the knowledge that Bruce Wayne is lost in time, what is Tim Drake going to do about it?

The Writing

I kind of enjoyed the writing. Christopher Yost writes good dialogue and that is very important, but he lost me with all of the narration. I don’t need to read Tim’s every thought or to be told what his emotion within every scene, that’s why comics have pictures. I’m kind of on the fence when it comes to the writing, but mostly I’m disappointed.

The Art

Marcus To did a fantastic job with the art. The pages are clean and the action has a great energy. I have no complaints in regards to the illustrations. Red Robin #9 is a beautiful looking comic.

The Verdict

Red Robin looks great and sometimes that’s all you need. On the other hand, if you are looking for more than just pretty artwork you should look somewhere else. Collision only works if you understand all of the references, and the problem is that even if you do get all the references you’re still left with a weak story.

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