#dcomicedit

[urianger--augurelt]

Slowly I turned off the lights. one by one..Room by room..Year by year..foster home after foster home. What happened in these homes..I try to block it out. But it lives in my body. So my body rejects itself. Like I'm a cancer. I snuff myself out into black so the pain doesn't eat me alive. No one helps me.

Somehow I stagger forward. WHY?

I don't know.

for what have I to live for¿

1|2|3

[angel-gidget]

⌖ Gidge's Guide to ℜobin 101: {2nd Edition, bc the first had dead links and other outdated info.}

Reminder: The linked Goodreads pages include not only purchase info, but also library look-up info. Always check your library first! People constantly underestimate the graphic novel goodness that can already be found for free on their local shelves.

Disclaimer: You can't read 'em all, so sometimes you just gotta pick. Some related storylines are excluded because I forgot 'em,  and some because I thought about it for all of 5 seconds and ended with “nah.” But this primer should definitely do ya. Also, the selection will quickly reveal the compiler's personal bias. You'll figure it out.

I. Robin: Year One | Where it all began! Here we meet Dick Grayson, the first Robin, the one most famously associated with the name. He does flips. He does tricks. He's adorable. [Goodreads | DCuniverse]

II. A Death in the Family | The (first) life and death of the second Robin, Jason Todd. Fun fact: Jason's death was a decision that was up for vote, and readers actually phoned in, leading to his death. The arc was written with two possible endings, depending on which way those phones ultimately rang. [Goodreads | DCuniverse] Note: Do not confuse this with Death OF the Family, which is a recent Joker storyline riffing its title off of the original.

III. A Lonely Place of Dying | In the wake of Jason's death, we meet our third Robin, Tim Drake. Otherwise known as the stalker Robin. Also, Gidge's darling favorite 4ever.  [Goodreads | DCuniverse] Note: Recent editions of A Death in the Family have sometimes put these two storylines together. So a more recent copy labeled "A Death in the Family" may contain this arc as well.

IV. Prodigal | In which Dick Grayson returns to Gotham to temporarily fill in as Batman while Tim is his Robin. Includes important brotherly bonding time.  [Goodreads | DCuniverse] Note: This was a Bat-book crossover storyline, hence the use of DCuniverse search. It has not recently been re-collected as a single trade, though older trade paperbacks exist.

V. Everything is Tim Drake and Nothing Hurts | Robin #3 was the first Robin to have his own solo ongoing title while under the *name* of Robin. For reasons. Read these reasons. Read about my starchild. [Goodreads Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | DCuniverse 1st miniseries, 2nd, 3rd, Ongoing ] Also, Timmers was on teams. Awesome teams. Including Young Justice [Goodreads | DCuniverse] and Teen Titans (version 3) [Goodreads | DCuniverse]. Did I just give you a giant mac truck of reading? Yes. Am I warning without remotely apologizing? Also yes. You can come back and savor it later. I'm just trying to post things for the most part in chronological order, dude.

VI. Stephanie Brown's Robin Arc | Ok, so the 4th Robin didn't exactly have a proper arc. She had various appearances, and her biggest storyline that has been collected into a volume was Batman: War Games. Said storyline was also her LAST one as Robin and ends pretty violently. If that doesn't sound very cheery, or strikes you as rather unfair, welcome to the Steph Zone.** [Goodreads | DCuniverse]

VII. Under the Hood | Ah, the fleeting nature of death in the DC universe! Jason Todd's eventful resurrection and path of daddy issues revenge. [Goodreads | DCuniverse] Note: Older editions of this storyline may divide it up into volume 1 & 2.

VIII. Batman & Son | In which we meet the only canonically biological spawn of Bruce's loins, Damian Wayne. The unbridled brat born to become Robin #5. [Goodreads | DCuniverse]

IX. Red Robin | Just when you thought I was done making you read about Tim Drake… Tim is fired! As Robin! By Dick! What a Dick! (okay, so not without reasons but still) Herein lies Tim Drake's coming of age story, outgrowing the shadow of Batman's cowl. [Goodreads | DCuniverse]

X. Batman & Robin | Aforementioned unbridled brat actually becomes Robin #5. And bonds with Robin #1. Who has become Batman. Again. For all Dick's talk about not wanting to be Batman, he seems to keep getting dragged into it a lot. [Goodreads | DCuniverse]

Extra Credit: The Dark Knight Returns | Featuring the most famous alternate universe robin ever, Carrie Kelley. Speaking in terms of major publishing history, also the first girl Robin, predating Steph by over a decade. [Goodreads & older edition | DCuniverse] ** Though lacking in links, This DCuniverse article includes checklists of both Carrie and Steph's appearances, for those seeking more thorough exposure.

[canariessource]

Birds Of Prey v1 #97

[scarlet-strange]

[acapelladitty]

Her training is excellent and she has all the right instincts. More important, she has the one thing i can’t teach. That hole inside her that can’t ever be filled, no matter how many criminals she takes down...it gives her the drive to do this.

Kate Kane is Batwoman