Robin

Nightwing, Dick Grayson – The Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order

New Comic Guide: All of the Robins!

April 11, 2017 by krisis

This is the final of four weeks of Bat-Guides before we switch to a a more “universal” theme for the next few weeks. And, you can’t have Bat-Guides without The Definitive Guide to Robin(s)!

Yes, that’s Robins – plural.

This guide tracks each Robin for as long as they bear the title from Dick Grayson debuting in Detective Comics (1937) #38 to Damian Wayne’s current reign as the Boy Wonder.

Before starting this guide I knew there were four distinct Boy Wonders (and one Girl Wonder), but I was confused about who was Robin when. It seems like Grayson has been Nightwing since time immortal – I’ve never read a story with him as Robin that wasn’t a flashback! When did he get upgraded?

Plus, I remembered Jason Todd dying back in the 80s (and coming back in the 00s), but when did he initially arrive? And, while I’m now a Damian Wayne expert from working on the Morrison Batman guide, what exactly was a Red Robin and when did Tim Drake start calling himself that?

I untangle all of those questions in this guide. It’s Robin-centric, so it does not follow Nightwing and Red Hood into their post-Robin adventures (they will be covered by future guides).

What it does do is track every Robin title, plus all of the many Robins’ appearances in Batman flagships and Titans titles from the Golden Age through present.

Plus, the Robin(s) Guide has a few new elements, including collapsable sections for lengthy issue lists and links back to the top of the TOC.

Okay, now it’s time for the tough question: Who is your favorite Boy Wonder? Post-Robin careers don’t count (a-hem, Nightwing). I’m talking about who was the best Robin?

New For Patrons: Definitive Guide to Robin(s)

March 18, 2017 by krisis

Tonight I launched a complete collecting guide and trade reading order for all of Batman’s Robins to CK’s Crushing Comics Club Patrons.

Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne – they’re all in there, from Robin’s first appearance in Detective Comics #38 in 1940 to present!! This guide will be available to the public sometime in April.

Head to Patreon to become a supporter of Crushing Krisis. Chip in as little as $1, or get early access to guides for the price of a single comic or cappuccino every month! We’re currently only $3 away from Patrons covering all of the month costs to host and serve CK!

Definitive Robin(s) Collecting Guide and Reading Order

The definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and trade reading order for Robin in DC comic books as collected in omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback collections. Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics and The Definitive Guide to Collecting Batman Comics. Last updated March 2017 with titles scheduled for release through July 2017.

Robins-assembled Robin. The Boy Wonder.

Batman’s sidekick and apprentice has been a critical, defining element of the caped crusader from his first appearance a year into Batman’s life to his omnipresence in Batman stories of the Golden and Silver Age to handing down the mantle to new heroes starting in the early 1980s.

Robin gives Batman contrast – makes him vulnerable but also relatable. On his own, Robin often represents represents the exuberance, athleticism, and growth that the more static character of Bruce Wayne cannot show.

Robin began to appear in his own short, back-up stories in Star Spangled Comics in 1947-1952, sometimes as the headlining star. He would later be a founding member of Teen Titans, and the current holder of the Robin mantle is almost always on the team. In the 1990s, a third incarnation of Robin launched into the first Robin limited and ongoing series. Later, in 2009, Batman and Robin became a core title in DC’s Batman line.