Red Robin #18 – Review

By: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Marcus To (penciller), Ray McCarthy (inker)

The Story: The Man with the Plan is in Moscow, checking out a lead on his latest quarry. Problem is, this lead is very well connected, so much so that Russia’s premier meta doesn’t want Red Robin on this case. Tread lightly, Tim…

What’s Good: Everything I love about Tim Drake (Wayne) is on the first page. He’s careful, meticulous, goal-driven, thinking three steps ahead of any of the competition. Everything I love about Red Robin is also in the rest of the pages. He’s the superhero incarnation of the trickster god. He’s got the cunning of a fox, and although he gets himself into some tight places, he knows what he’s doing. Except when he doesn’t, like in this issue. Total fun. I love Red Robin.

To and McCarthy on art chores were also pretty flawless. Red Star looked like a bad ass you don’t want to be messing with unless you happen to have Superman behind you, which Tim didn’t. The nighttime sky of Moscow, green against starlight, was totally cool, as were the fight scenes. The action punched and pulsed along, with quick, varying camera angles and shifting panel sizes, making the action appear quick and dynamic. The scene with Tim sliding the chair into the fight was well drawn. On draftsmanship, To and McCarthy can draw anything I buy.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: American Vampire #9 – This is becoming the Scott Snyder award after his win (for me) with Detective #871 last week, but it is impossible to ignore the artistic and story excellence of AV.  Endings to story arcs are very difficult to pull off and this was an outstanding one.

Most Anticipated: Lady Mechanika #1 – With art and story by Joe Benitez the #0 issue was very promising and featured a steampunky, attractive cyborg-ish lady who is trying to figure out her role in the world.  Definitely interested in seeing where this goes and enjoying more of Benitez’s art!

Other picks: 27 #1, Starborne #1, Batgirl #16, Red Robin #18, Chaos War Ares #1

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Sweet Tooth #16 – This was an issue that proved that Jeff Lemire can right the loud issues just as well as the quiet ones.  The action flows and so does the excitement, leading to an issue that was downright thrilling.  Really cool layouts are the icing on the cake, making this an easy pick of the week.

Most Anticipated: Fables #100 – Yeah, this is another great week for comics, with the second issues of THUNDER Agents and Superboy coming out, not to mention a new installment of Matt Fraction’s Thor.  But I simply cannot deny Fables #100, an absolute behemoth of a floppy and a landmark achievement for not only a Vertigo comic, but a creator-owned comic, period.  I can’t wait to see what Willingham and co. have in store.

Other Picks: Superboy #2, THUNDER Agents #2, Thor #618, New Avengers #7, The Flash #7

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Adventure Comics #521 – I had totally expected Brightest Day #15 to take this week’s crown, but the intense suction happening there caused me to dump even WCBR’s spoiler-free policy to trash it, leaving Adventure Comics #521, a pretty classically-styled Legion story to take the lead.

Most Anticipated: Batgirl#15 –  While I am always eager to see the Man with the Plan (Red Robin) and the Detective Comics Annual is tempting, I have to say, the cliffhanger ending of Batgirl #15, leaving her framed for a crime she didn’t commit, has the out-of-the-gates tension that will drive Batgirl #16 to the top of my pull list. Bryan Q. Miller delivers consistently satisfying stories and I’m waiting to see how my next exposure to Nguyen and Fridolfs works for me on Batgirl.

Other Picks: Red Robin #18, R.E.B.E.L.S. #23, Detective Comics Annual #12, Queen Sonja #12