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Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1

It’s new comic book day! What are you all getting? What are you excited to read? Sound off in the comments below! While you wait for shops to open, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

The Mary Sue – Yes, Graphic Novels Are “Real Books”—Here Are 10 Incredible Ones to Add to Your Bookshelf – What else would you suggest folks add to their shelves?

Kotaku – Twitch DMCA Purge Deletes Thousands Of Streamers’ Videos – And this is why we avoid music in our videos….

Reviews

Geek Dad – Catwoman #26
Batman News – Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1
The Beat – Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge

Review: Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1

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Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1

Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1 is the latest Dark Nights: Death Metal one-shot that’s better than the main story. Focusing on the hit Robin King character, we learn more about his history and his relationship with The Batman Who Laughs.

The issue is an interesting one. We dive further into this twisted version of Bruce Wayne and “Batman”. Bruce is the one who killed his parents. From there goes on a mission to take on the adult heroes and their rules. There’s a brilliance to it all and we get to see why the Robin King is so good at what he does. Like Batman, he plans, and plans a lot. But, that’s both good and bad.

Writer Peter J. Tomasi handles the main story and adds depth to the breakout character. We get a vision and a mission and it’s one that’s consistent. With distrust of adults and rules and wanting the children to rise up, Robin King has a distrust of everyone. That includes The Batman Who Laughs. With that small detail, Tomasi gives us someone who can rival that character and likely will be a thorn in his side down the road. He’s more than just another evil Batman now. The crumbs for what’s to come are sprinkled here. Like the other one-shots, Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1 is going to be a vital chapter in Dark Nights: Death Metal.

What Tomasi also does is deliver a chaotic glee about everything. Robin King has a kid-like excitement about the carnage and destruction. The attitude and actions make sense and are fun in a weird way. We see heroes murdered and there’s a bit of humor about it. That’s partially due to Tomasi’s writing but also the art by Riley Rossmo.

Rossmo is joined by Ivan Plascencia on color and Rob Leigh on lettering. Rossmo’s distinctive style with Plascencia’s colors creates a chaotic symphony of destruction visually. There’s an almost Looney Tunes feel about it all as Robin King’s joy explodes off the page. Rossmo’s character style adds to that and what could easily be gore and horror comes off as over the top humor. The glee with which the art presents Robin King too is somewhat infectious. Mixed with his at times child-like innocence, there’s a combination of a comic that’s reminiscent of 90s Bisley Lobo, a celebration of over the top destruction.

The issue also features a second story, “The Quiet Ones.” Featuring Signal, it has him going up against a new evil Batman we haven’t seen before. It too feels like a key moment that’ll have an impact down the road as the character “rights” his power and gets focus. Written by Tony Patrick with art by Daniel Sampere, color by Adriano Lucas, and lettering from Andworld Design, it’s another story that probably should be in the main comic but is relegated to this one-shot.

Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1 is an odd comic like many of the one-shots. It’s likely an important part of the story filling in key moments not in the main comic. There’s clearly things here that’ll have an impact down the road and play in to what’s to come. But, at the same time, I’m not sure how you would add any of this to the main series. Even adding an issue, it’s too much of a side quest focus to keep the flow of that going. It’s also far more entertaining than what we’ve seen there. It’s focus on a few characters allows them to have depth delivering a comic that feels like it’s more about the character than the gimmick. That’s something that has plagued Dark Nights: Death Metal as a whole.

Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1, like the other one-shots, stands out. If you want to learn more about Robin King, it’s out there but there’s just enough having to do with the main event, it also doesn’t stand on its own. Still, it’s an entertaining read that’s beyond insane and fun.

Story: Peter J. Tomasi, Tony Patrick Art: Riley Rossmo, Daniel Sampere
Color: Ivan Plascencia, Adriano Lucas Letterer: Rob Leigh, Andworld Design
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Batman #101

Wednesdays (and now Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this week.

Batman #101 (DC Comics) – The first two arcs of James Tynion IV’s run are over and now we’re getting to the meat of his vision and direction for the character. This is the fresh starting point for new readers as Batman lays out his vision of where things should go and faces new challenges in how to do it.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Presents: Madam Satan #1 (Archie Comics/Archie Horror) – Archie gets into the Halloween season with this one-shot comic where the Queen of Hell wants to prove herself to be the most powerful being in the Underworld!

Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1 (DC Comics) – The issue is a lot of fun showing us more about Robin King and continuing the streak that the Death Metal one-shots are more entertaining than the event itself.

Dead Day #4 (AfterShock) – The series has been amazing so far not just telling a story but really creating a whole world for readers to think about and explore the impact of the concept. This issue continues the series’ excellent run really bringing the action and plot points together. And there’s a reveal we were not expecting.

Dune: House Atreides #1 (BOOM! Studios) – With the movie delayed, fans of Dune will just have this prequel comic series to enjoy for a while. We have an early review that loved the story and chess game of the characters.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Blood #1 (AHOY Comics) – It’s more snarky tales of terror with a whole new title from the folks at AHOY! Add some laughs to your Halloween horrors!

Electric Black Presents #1 (Scout Comics/Black Caravan) – Two chilling tales of cosmic horror, madness, and wartime revenge as Scout launches their Black Caravan imprint!

Fantastic Four #25 (Marvel) – This is setting the Fantastic Four up for their next adventure! If you’re looking for a spot to start reading Marvel’s First Family, this is it.

History Comics: Challenger Disaster (First Second) – The first releases for the “History Comics” line-up were fantastic. They’re both entertaining and educational, perfect for young kids who want to learn and adults who want to brush up on history.

Juggernaut #2 (Marvel) – We didn’t know we needed this series. The first issue was fantastic and the second is just as solid. This is not what we thought it’d be and a story of redemption and reflection like this is just a gripping and touching read.

King Tank Girl #1 (Albatross Funnybooks) – Tank Girl moves to Albatross and we’re expecting the usual fun insanity the character and series bring.

Phantom Starkiller #1 (Scout Comics/Black Caravan) – Sci-fi trippy action that has a Kirby vibe about it. We really want to check this out after only really seeing the cover for the series. A very 70s vibe about it, we really want to find out more about one of the launch titles from Scout’s Black Caravan imprint.

Phantom of the Opera (A Wave Blue World) – An adaptation of the classic story. The visuals are amazing. Check out our review and make sure to pick it up!

The Scumbag #1 (Image Comics) – A new series from Rick Remender is always something to check out. With a rotating line of amazing artists, this is a series to check out and is intriguing. We have an early review to check out and decide if it’s for you!

Stillwater by Zdarsky & Perez #2 (Image Comics) – A mystery with horror tinge, the first issue was a solid slow build with one hell of an ending. We’re excited to see where this series goes. The idea is familiar but we’re expecting it to take us in a new and exciting direction.

Werewolf By Night #1 (Marvel) – While the first issue doesn’t hook us as much as we’d hope, there’s a lot here to like and it’s something new and different. It’s sort of tied to the “Outlawed” event impacting Marvel’s younger heroes and has a nice throwback aspect to it in many ways. There’s a lot of potential in this series.

Preview: Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1

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Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1

Written by: Tony Patrick, Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Daniel Sampere, Riley Rossmo

With a utility belt filled to the brim with weapons designed to kill every hero in the DCU, Robin King is the most sadistic soldier in the Darkest Knight evil army! Can anyone stop him from laying waste to Earth’s last line of defense? And how did he become one of the Batman Who Laugh’s groblins in the first place? And in the backup story, can the Robins liberate Gotham City from the Darkest Knight’s control?

Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1