We Are Robin

Many different heroes have held the mantle of Robin over the years. Each of them is completely different, and we all have our favorites (cough Damian cough). Each one also represents a different idea about who and what children are, and how they are depicted in superhero comics. Kids can represent hope, they can represent dread, they can represent immaturity, and they can represent legacy. Let's break down how the Robins can represent all of these things.

This week DC kicks off the crossover event story "Robin War" in a comic book entitled, appropriately enough, Robin War #1. The storyline will wind through this month's issues of Grayson, Detective Comics, We Are Robin and Robin: Son of Batman, while this month's issues of Gotham Academy, Red Hood/Arsenal and Teen Titans will all tie-in to the events of the storyline. It all wraps up in next month's Robin War #2. To help you tell your Red Robin from your Red Hood, and your Robin, singular, from your The Robins, plural, we've assembled a handy guide to the major players in "Robin War"...

As much as I've been enjoying most of the new "DC You" titles, I'll admit that the first issue of Lee Bermejo, Jorge Corona and Khary Randolph's We Are... Robin didn't do a whole lot for me --- and not just because of that weirdly punctuated title. That first issue had a solid main character with a clear motivation, a couple of interesting set pieces, a sweeping threat to Gotham City and a genuinely great first page, but something about it just didn't land. When the second issue hit shelves this week, though, I decided I'd give it another shot, and I'm glad I did, because this is where the hook finally lands, and where the story ramps up into something that's engaging, exciting, mysterious and, if you're the kind of person who obsesses over Batman's sidekicks, very rewarding to read.