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Aug 13, 2009 Web Exclusive By Kyle Lemmon

In part one of Search For a Hero, scribe Fabian Nicieza described the pre-Batman R.I.P. Tim Drake best when he fed him an off-handed Brady Brunch joke while fighting Jason Todd. The fallen hero may be the insecure Jan Brady to Drake’s precocious Cindy but the shattering events of Batman’s “death” have left the best detective Batman’s raised in a perpetual state of bewilderment.

The creative team tries to ensure a marathon send-off for the final nine issues of the Robin monthly. Jack Jadson’s employs plenty of dusky inks for the R.I.P. tie-ins (#175 & 176) before cover artist Freddie Williams II spins a more colorful tale. It’s perfect timing because the narrative fireworks start going off soon thereafter. There’s also some extremely crisp lettering from Sal Cipriano.

The repercussions of R.I.P. interweave nicely with Robin knocking on adulthood’s door and his aspirations for taking on the mantle. The main detractor from this series truly being a competent send-off is its glut of secondary and tertiary villains. Scarab, a second iteration of Lynx II, The Penguin, Anarky, Red Robin, the aforementioned Todd appearance, Lady Shiva and Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong (aka The General) all plop into Gotham’s concrete cauldron. That fact you have to hyperlink some of those characters for casual comic book fans is a testament to the story’s bloated drama. On the positive end, one of the more fascinating plot lines is Gotham Police Department’s “blue-flu” protest and the resulting arrests of crooked cops Marcus Wise and Roman Cavallo.

Unfortunately, the Spoiler/Stephanie Brown’s odd relationship with the Boy Wonder sputters into yet another bitter impasse. The eventual lead villain reveal is a touch anti-climactic and the true narrative force comes from Drake’s slow metamorphosis into a tough-as-nails protagonist, worthy of the cowl. In spite of its narrative fissures, Hero adequately leads up to Battle For the Cowl and reminds Robin fans that their wisecracking hero is flying into darker skies. (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 6/10