robin
Vasilis Lolos takes on the Dynamic Duo
Batman and Robin, by Vasilis Lolos
I’m a huge fan of Vasilis Lolos‘ work on The Last Call, The Pirates of Coney Island and Northlanders #17. I’m also fond of Robin, in concept if not always in execution. So stumbling across his take on the Dynamic Duo — Robin decked out in baggy gym shorts and Chuck Taylors — just about made my day.
Lolos mentions that he’ll soon be setting up an online store soon, which I hopes means the Batman and Robin piece will be for sale. I’d totally buy that. Check out the blog post for his renditions of Ghost Rider and Spider-Man.
- September 22, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Best bets and digital deals | Superman, Star Wars, and Black Butler
There are a lot of digital bargains running around in this post-SDCC week, and some new digital releases that look tasty as well. Let’s start with a good one that won’t last: ComiXology is having a Superman 101 sale, starting at midnight (EST) on Friday, and running through Sunday. You can brief yourself on the Man of Steel with 99-cent issues of Action Comics #1 (Superman’s debut), The Man of Steel #1-6, Superman: Secret Origin #1-6, and more including the first appearances of Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor, and Supergirl.
In case you missed it in the rush of SDCC news, Dark Horse is now releasing Star Wars comics on its digital app, and they are posting Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #1 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1 for free to celebrate.
New free comics on comiXology include (links are to the comics on their web reader): Batman: Gotham Knights #1, Impulse #1, Robin #1, Titanium Rain #1, and a bunch of previews. And there’s the third chapter of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes prequel from BOOM! Studios—the whole thing is free, so you might as well go back and get the earlier chapters as well.
Free comics on Graphicly include Carpe Chaos: Rising Up #1, The Devil Died Different #1, and a preview of Eye Witness, which “combines a Biblical adaptation, with a modern day action-thriller.”
- July 29, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Grumpy Old Fan | DC’s new five-year mission
Batman #436, beginning "Year Three"
One of the more precarious parts of DC’s New-52 relaunch is this notion that a whole lot of in-story history happened over just five years of comic-book time. So far, this comes primarily from narration in the new Justice League #1, indicating that the team was formed “five years ago,” when “the world didn’t know what a super-hero was.”
Now, this may not be an entirely accurate measurement of the relaunch’s age. Practically by definition, the Justice League consists of heroes with fairly well-established careers, so we have to think that its charter members had been around for a little while before teaming up. Furthermore, in the context of the New 52 specifically, we can infer from what we know about the new Action Comics — which will show him less-powerful and with a more mundane costume — that Superman debuted some time before the events of Justice League #1. (According to Comics Alliance’s account of Friday’s New-52 Comic-Con panel, Action initially takes place just a few months before Justice League.)
- July 28, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
How do four (or five) Robins squeeze into a condensed DCU timeline?
From "Justice League" #1
Cosmic Book News snagged a copy of the DC Comics: The New 52 preview a day early — street dates be damned! — and uploaded scans of the opening pages of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League #1, the vanguard of DC’s line-wide relaunch. It’s an entertaining enough sequence, with Gotham City’s finest pursuing Batman across rooftops as he, in turn, chases some sort of raggedy cyborg villain, only to come face to face with Green Lantern for the first time.
But it’s the first panel, above, that captured my attention, as it establishes the events as unfolding “five years ago,” “when the world didn’t know what a super-hero was.” That the first issue of Justice League takes place in the past isn’t a surprise, but the time frame may be. It could also prove tricky for Batman’s history.
- July 19, 2011 @ 01:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Batman: Arkham City’s Robin is a troubled, cage-fighting introvert
Robin concept art from "Batman: Arkham City"
If you were perplexed by the Robin design released last month for Batman: Arkham City by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment, you weren’t alone. Some Robot 6 commenters referred to the look as “Eminem” and even (shudder) “horribly Schumacher-esque,” while at the Batman: Arkham City Community forums the discussion continued at length.
Now, however, Rocksteady Studios senior concept artist Kan Muftic has stepped forward with “the final word on Robin,” providing some insight into the game’s version of Tim Drake and revealing an additional piece of color concept art.
“We wanted to create a Robin that players would identify as a contemporary character and move away from the traditional ‘Boy Wonder’ image that most people know,” Muftic wrote in a message posted on the forum. “Our vision of Robin is the one of a troubled young individual that is calm and introverted at times but very dangerous and aggressive if provoked. The shaved head is inspired by cage fighters, because we thought that Robin might be doing that in his spare time to keep him on his toes. Still, we kept all the classic trademarks of Robin’s appearance, such as the red and yellow colors of his outfit, the cape and the mask. We really hope that people will discover our Robin as one of their new favorite characters in the Batman universe. He is back and he means business.”
Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to the bestselling 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum, is set inside the newly constructed fortified walls that have transformed part of Gotham’s slums into a sprawling maximum-security prison for the city’s gangsters, thugs and criminally insane. Robin will be available as a playable character in the challenge mode to those in North America who pre-order the game from Best Buy.
Arkham City will be released Oct. 18 in North America and Oct. 21 in Europe.
- July 6, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Quote of the day | Corrina Lawson, on DC Comics and female readers
DC Comics
“What would DC have to do to attract more women? Well, not add romance, puppies and rainbows. (I like kitties, though …) No, really, all they have to do is stop actively driving away the female audience with art too often based on porn poses and women so often portrayed as victims and not three-dimensional characters even when they’re in supporting roles. Give us art that’s not so obviously done to make woman sex objects only and make them well-rounded characters and we’ll be just fine. In fact, just keep the heroes you already have around instead of tossing them aside would be a start. Don’t, say, announce that all the Robins will be getting showcase titles when what you mean is that all the male Robins will be getting showcase titles and that the current Batgirl (former Robin) Stephanie Brown is going into limbo, along with former Batgirl current Black Bat Cassandra Cain. Because, apparently, there can only be one Batgirl as multiple ones would be too confusing but four Robins is just fine.”
– Wired.com’s Corrina Lawson, discussing how DC Comics might expand beyond a target demographic
of 18- to 34-year-old males, and why the publisher should do so
- July 5, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Graffiti artist turns Bulgarian war memorial into superhero monument
Vandalized monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia, Bulgaria
Far be it for us to condone graffiti, but if you were going to vandalize public property — say, a statue celebrating the Soviet Army and communist rule — this is the way you should do it: With gloriously nerdy style.
Courtesy of Gawker, the Daily Mail and other outlets comes word that police in Sofia, Bulgaria, are searching for the graffiti artist who over the weekend painted a monument erected to commemorate the 1944 “liberation” of Bulgaria, transforming Soviet soldiers into colorful comic-book and cartoon characters.
From right, that’s Wonder Woman, Robin, Captain America, Ronald McDonald, Superman, Santa Claus, Wolverine, The Joker and … I don’t know. I initially thought it was the Gorton’s Fisherman, but now I’m not so sure. (Any guesses?) On the base was painted the words “Moving with the times,” “In pace with the times” or “Abreast with the times,” depending on which translation you prefer.
The monument has since been cleaned up, at a cost of about $720. Go here to see more shots of the monument, including the mysterious figure in yellow.
- June 21, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
First look at playable Robin from Batman: Arkham City
Tim Drake Robin render from "Batman: Arkham City"
Following leaks on retail websites, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment have finally confirmed that Robin will be a fully playable character in the challenge mode of Batman: Arkham City, the hotly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed 2009 video game Arkham Asylum.
However, the “Tim Drake Robin pack” — yes, it’s Tim Drake, not Dick Grayson — is available only to those in North America who pre-order the game from Best Buy. So, sorry, fans of Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne and … anyone outside of North America.
Batman: Arkham City is set inside the newly constructed fortified walls that have transformed part of Gotham’s slums into a sprawling maximum-security prison for the city’s gangsters, thugs and criminally insane. Robin, who comes with his own gadgets and special moves, will be playable in all challenge maps, as well as to additional maps included with the pack — Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. There’s also a bonus Red Robin character skin.
Developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham City will debut in October.
- June 21, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Grumpy Old Fan | Robin, The Flash, changes and rollbacks
Tim Drake and Wally West, in Robin #62
This is not necessarily another post about DC’s post-Flashpoint superhero titles. However, since we superhero readers must deal with a climate of perpetual change, I often wonder just how far DC could go in rolling back its big changes.
In a sense, the first big set of changes started in 1956, with Barry Allen’s debut as the new Flash. Barry’s introduction acknowledged explicitly that there had been a previous (albeit “fictional”) Flash, whose name Barry took and whose costume was Barry’s inspiration. You know the rest: new versions of Green Lantern, the Atom, Hawkman, etc., followed; they all teamed up as an updated Justice Society called the “Justice League”; and they were joined by a number of new characters like Adam Strange, the Hawk and the Dove, and the Doom Patrol.
After that, though, DC’s Silver Age of the 1960s was exciting but uneventful, because (outside of a few marriages) its status quo was never really challenged. Accordingly, when the Doom Patrol was murdered (in September 1968′s issue #121) and Dick Grayson left Wayne Manor (in December 1969′s Batman #217), DC’s shared superhero universe moved into a new phase.
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- May 26, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn! This week’s shelves were submitted by Rey Taira from San Francisco, who shares his collection of comics, original art, Gundams and more.
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now let’s hear from Rey …
- October 27, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Robot 666 | Putting the ‘goth’ back in Gotham with Frazer Irving
from Batman & Robin #14 by Frazer Irving
Over on the CBR mothership, Batman & Robin artist Frazer Irving stops by The Bat Signal column to talk to Kiel Phegley about, among other things, his work with Bat-maestro Grant Morrison. Naturally, Irving dishes on some of the darker moments he’s drawn for the Dark Knight and his associates:
- October 27, 2010 @ 06:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Themed sketchbooks: Vito Delsante’s Robin
For my final installment in my spotlight of themed sketchbooks, I turn to comics’ most popular sidekick: Robin. Many men (and a couple of women) have stood at Batman’s side as the boy wonder, and since the character’s inception in 1940 he’s carved a mark in fans … especially comics retailer and comics pro Vito Delsante.
“I’m a fan of Robin the Boy Wonder. Any incarnation. So I have folks a million times more talented than I am draw him for me!” says Delsante. He admits to dressing up as the Boy Wonder himself on two occasions for Halloween, for as he puts it “It’s a great character for kids since it’s ultimate wish fulfillment; you can be a kid and still hang out with Batman? Sign me up!”
- October 4, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Please put Ted Naifeh on a Batman (or Robin) comic already, DC
Ted Naifeh's Detective Comics cover design
We’ve spotlighted that Batman art of Ted Naifeh a couple of times already, but in the past couple of days the Courtney Crumrin creator has moved from character designs and sample pages to taking a stab at covers for Detective Comics and Batman: The Streets of Gotham. The results, needless to say, are lovely.
The final installment (I think) of Naifeh’s Teen Titans co-feature hits shelves today. After seeing his take on the Boy Wonder, I’d pay good money to see DC hire him next for a Robin series.
See Naifeh’s full Detective Comics cover after the break, and visit his website to see his gallery of work, including Courtney Crumrin, Polly and the Pirates, Death Junior and, yes, Batman.
- September 29, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Grumpy Old Fan | The value of bad comics
Batman #8
Last week I talked about rediscovering the ‘70s series Secret Society of Super-Villains. As you might have guessed, this was made possible largely by the Internet. Without it, I would have had to scour back-issue boxes at regional comics shops and/or at the occasional convention. After all, that’s what I grew up doing.
Regardless of where or how I bought those back issues, the fact remains that I bought them pretty much sight-unseen. Oh sure, I remembered random scenes from isolated issues, but basically my yen for SSoSV grew out of two things: its concept and its reputation. I knew what it aimed to be, and I figured if Gerry Conway wrote most of it, it couldn’t be all bad.*
What’s more (at the risk of being obvious) I had to track down these back issues because a collected version of Secret Society of Super-Villains is apparently still trapped in royalty-payment limbo. Not that I am especially bitter about that, mind you; because clearly I don’t mind reading the individual issues and they weren’t that hard to find.
- August 5, 2010 @ 04:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Straight for the art | CubeDudes makes Robin hit the bricks
A Lego Robin
CubeDudes is a Flicker set of Lego figurines made by a variety of brick-obsessed folks. In addition to the Robin above, there are a number of comic-related characters to check out, including Batman, Spider Jerusalem, MODOK and even Calvin and Hobbes. (via)
- February 23, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Chris Mautner