We Are Robin #9

Chist, DC. We fucking get it. You love The Joker.

Rating: -5 Ranking.

That ranking isn't fair if I'm simply reviewing We Are Robins #9 since this was a decent enough issue (if a bit Fake Joker heavy). But I have no idea why I have this comic book rated so high among the other comic books put out by DC. It's a failure of my method, I guess! Because I don't really like this comic book all that much. I suppose my ranking is because I had high hopes for it and I like the idea of some of the characters. But the characters don't get enough panel time to make much of an impression. I think I like Riku but do I really? Don't I just like my idealized version of Riku? Aren't I just making a quick judgment based on her aesthetic and deciding she's my kind of wears an animal on their head type of person? She might actually be a real asshole who wants people to think she's cute and adorable by swiping a ready-to-go aesthetic of cutesie little manga girl.

Dax builds things. Dre has a caretaker mother. Duke is a leader. Izzy is scrappy. That's all I have to go on! This book might be fairly solid right now if it hadn't gotten mixed up in that whole Robin War crossover. But since it did, it just feels like it's just now getting back to the characters.

The worst part about this book is that it makes Alfred seem like some kind of wacko perv monster preying on young kids. I suppose he went crazy after Bruce died and then after Bruce ditched him to bang that Madison woman and then after Bruce turned back into Batman against Alfred's wishes. Al's been having a tough year.

I sort of can't wait for most of the current DC titles to end so we can sort of start over on a lot of them! DC should end all of their comic books every year and simply replace them with a bunch of new books starring characters that didn't get a chance to shine the previous year. But they shouldn't throw out their universe every time. Just keep everything ever written as canon and explain any paradoxes as fans not understanding the metaphor inherent in a system using people with super powers to tell morality tales.