Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
We Are Robin #1
DC Comics
Bermejo, Corona, Randolph, Mulvihill & Lopez
"We Are Robin" is a deep character study of Duke Thomas. I'm not sure if we can assume he will be the lead character or just one of the cast, but it appears the comic book is set to be about a band of young adults that set up shop as Robin. The comic is filled with clichés, but also presents a decent paced story with an interesting character to follow. I think this is a good start to this series.
The book opens with a playground fight as Duke is getting beaten on by a bunch of other youths because Duke was hitting on some girl. This allows the reader to see how Duke is clearly of Boy Wonder stock. One thing of note is I like how the first visual saw the close-up of Duke's face with the shadow appearing to be a Robin mask while he's decked out in a red sweatshirt. This was a nice touch to the opening.
The book then moves through the clichés. His parents are missing, he's bouncing from foster home to foster home, the cops are trying to find his parents, but really he's the only one actively looking, he's street smart, tough, but down on his luck. The narration through all of this is good but the story just felt too much like a movie we've seen a thousand times before. The ideas didn't make Duke interesting, but how it written did somewhat.
The comic ends with Duke finding himself in some kind of underground cult. This leads to trouble because he isn't one of them. The cliffhanger appears to propel the book into the title of the series.
There really isn't a plot in this comic book. For the most part we are just reading about Duke's life and how he's trying to find his way to his parents through various roadblocks. The character is charming and that helps but the comic stops short of being character centic. Primarily because the book is trying to show us how Duke is a capable Robin as well provide his background. The balance is there but the ideas just don't feel too original at this level.
The artwork is really nice. The comic has a couple of great panels, such as the opening one in the book. I like the final page of comic as well as I thought it was a nice teaser for the coming issues. The book does have a touch of a cartoon feeling to it, which doesn't quite line up with dialogue, such as "wet ass-crack." I'm not sure the target audience for the book between the look versus the words. Artistically the book looks very good regardless.
"We Are Robin" is a good start to the idea that there is an army of Robins running around Gotham. This particular issue takes a long look at Duke Thomas as it gives us a day in the life of. The character has some charm to him but the components that he's dealing with feel very clichéd. Overall, the art boosts the reading experience and helps to keep the pace up. This is a decent comic book to take a look at but no real plot appears to be launched. Give it a try.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
