Comic Book Review: Robin #140
by R.J. Carter
Published: July 16, 2005
Story |
Creative Team |
Publisher |
Price |
Target Audience: |
Grade |
"Veteran Affairs" |
Bill Willingham
Scott McDaniel
Andy Owens |
DC |
$2.50 US
$3.50 CAN |
Teen Up |
B |
For more information: DC Comics link |
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cover by McDaniel and Owens
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Here There Be Spoilers.
Robin the Boy Wonder has been working with an Urban Myth -- and it ain't Batman. It's a star-spangled special operative who goes by the name The Veteran; and he's been going by it for a long, long time!
As our tale opens, Robin is being escorted to Veteran's secret lair, a hidden military complex deep underground filled with support personnel and a handful of special operatives who've been his backup in the bigger, top secret fight for Old Glory, some of them with names easily recognizable to some of us old timer's who've been around the old DC Corral for a few solar revolutions.
Von Hammer? Storm? Tink? Bet they have some Weird War tales to tell.
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Robin: Why me?
Veteran: Because Batman trains good Special Ops commandos.
Robin: If you're so old, why didn't you ever recruit Batman himself?
Veteran: We considered it, but his psyche profile proved him to be unsuitable.
Robin: You turned down Batman because of psychological dysfunction?
Veteran: Ah, yes. The ubiquitous rumors that Batman's insane. That's nonsense, son, perpetuated by those all-too-squeamish Justice League ninnies he hangs out with. They're so conflicted about their own mission, they resent anyone who's fully dedicated.
Tommy Tinker: Batman's a full warrior among a troop of nonviolence crackpots who're eternally distressed to find themselves in a violent business.
Johnny Storm: He wants to destroy enemies, while they want to embrace the world's collective evil in a giant, redemptive hug. Phooey.
Tommy Tinker: The two philosophies don't mix. Batman should lose those whiny anchors at first opportunity.
Veteran: No, Robin, the reason we decided Batman was unsuitable is only that he's the most absolute of Type A personalities -- a great leader, but with zero capacity to follow. He needs to be the one giving the orders, and since that's my job, we reluctantly decided to pass him by.
Robin seems to be seriously considering the position he's being offered -- seriously enough that Batman directs Alfred to open a new top priority file to find out everything ever known about the Veteran. But this is a man whom even Batman believed to be a myth. If you've convinced an urban myth that you're an urban myth, you've got to be pretty good at what you do.
Meanwhile, there's a new girl in town, who happens to be an old girl from town. Darla Aquista is back from the dead, with a whole set of super powers, a new civilian identity, and a burning need to find Tim Drake... and another specific goal she needs to fulfill that is guaranteed to make Robin's life pure Hell.
Willingham has created a unique situation for the Boy Wonder, bringing in new characters and old histories in an interesting twist. I'm still not enamored of Scott McDaniels thick pencils and angular lines, but that's a personal taste. Overall, I'm interested in seeing where this one's going to go.
Recommendation: Enlist this one.
In stores Wednesday, July 20, 2005.
Advance comics are provided courtesy of The Comic Book Store of Little Rock. Michael Tierney, proprietor, even has his own book out, Wild Stars. Check it out.
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