The Life and Times of Tim Drake - Part 1

Robin #1 (of a 5-issue Limited Series)
“Big Bad World”
Creative Team:
Chuck Dixon – Writer
Tom Lyle- Penciller
Bob Smith – Inker


This is it, folks. After more than a year of preparation, our boy Timothy Drake officialy becomes the new Robin. Wait, no. The first appearance of Tim in the new costume is actually on Batman #457, but that was only a single-page tease (definitely worth getting though, since it was part of the “Identity Crisis” storyline. Not the Brad Meltzer one!). The opening scene of this issue picks up exactly from Batman #457. Turns out Tim doesn't exactly have the utmost confidence in being Batman's sidekick yet, but Bruce assures him that he'll do okay, he just needs an edge. Scene change : we see the appearance of Madame Shiva in Tokyo. She'll be an important part in the series (and Robin's life) later on, so pay attention. Then we see that Tim is actually going to Paris to learn an ancient form of Tibetan martial arts. He says his goodbye to his father (still in a coma) and visits his mother's gravesite.
After arriving in yhe City of Love, Tim starts training under the Rahul Lama. Actually he starts training with the Lama's grandson Shen Chi., since the Lama is a rickety old man whose sole knowledge of English is “Have a Nice Day”. Aside from the punching and kicking stuff, he learns healing arts as well. When told to pick a weapon to be taught, Tim picks the sling. The reason? “It's clean” (Shen Chi's retort? “Just like a kid. What do you expect to hit with that?” “Oh, I might do all right”, said Tim. How cool is this guy?). After that they both go to a nightclub where they met an Asian girl, who is a member of a gang of some sort. He gets beaten up a bit then changes into Robin to investigate further. He encounters a beating by the same gang on a black dude named Clyde Rawlins. They both fight the gang, not realizing that Lady Shiva is watching on the background.

My thoughts : Okay, first of all, I never thought that DC would give Robin his own mini-series! Remember, this was the early Nineties, we dont have the internet back then, so the appearance of this issue on the comic shop was a fantastic surprise. And whoo, such an excellent read. Initially, when I read the credits, I was disappointed that it's not done by Alan Grant or Marv Wolfman (his creator). Who are these Dixon and Lyle dudes anyway? I need not have worried, though. Dixon is a very good writer, and his almost-100-issues tenure on the title proved that the fans embrace his take on the character very much. Tom Lyle did a decent job too. He immediately made his mark on Tim by giving him The Hair: the cool whacked out hairstyle that distinguishes him from the previous Robin's clean-cut 'dos. (Does anyone knows who actually came up with the idea though? I'm assuming it's Lyle because in the previous appearance Tim still has that ordinary style). We got an initial taste here of what will be the golden standard for issues to come: the building rapport between Tim and Bruce (and Alfred), Dixon's fast-paced, economical story-telling, and the moments of humor.
All this, plus a brilliant Brian Bolland cover and a neat Neal Adams poster.!

Outstanding panel:
The conversation between Alfred and Tim was good, but this one made me chuckle: