Robin War continues and with it comes tie-in issues like this one! This issue takes place during Robin War #1 meaning it’s a tad behind the other titles this week, so keep this at the top of your stack. Is it good?
Red Hood/Arsenal #7 (DC Comics)
This issue opens with Red Hood aka Jason Todd telling Arsenal to keep away from him at all costs. All he has to do is watch after Joker’s Daughter. Piece of cake right? Not when a sweet job pops up! Why not bring a certifiable killer with you?
Why does this book matter?
This issue delivers a nice scene between Red Hood and Tim Drake as they discuss the Robins popping up all around the city. That doesn’t make this a must read for those following the event, but what about a circus themed villain group calling themselves The Circus of the Strange!? That has to have your attention!
I smell a team up!
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Scott Lobdell writes an issue that’s so strong I went in thinking I’d hate it and ended up liking it quite a bit. He’s basically got Arsenal and Joker’s Daughter going on a mission to stop a fat bearded woman in a tutu, a guy who wants to be Ghost Rider and a guy who can multiply himself from kidnapping kids. How they got a job like this is beyond me, but it might have something to do with the cops being busy with the Robins. This action sequence is fun and it incorporates Joker’s Daughter quite well. In fact it humanizes her quite a bit, especially with the fun banter about dog talk being sexist, but it ends on a strong note.
The scenes with Red Hood and Tim Drake don’t feel all that necessary and actually serve as recap since the exposition is well known if you’re following this event. They also make the point that only they were trained by Batman, a point also made in other Robin War books. That said they do touch on the difficulty of being Robin 2 and 3 which gives their sequence some meaningful sentiment.
The art by Javier Fernandez works very well especially in making Arsenal and Joker’s daughter work as a team. They’re slightly comedic together and Arsenal is silly on his own quite a bit, but Fernandez sells Joker’s Daughter’s pain when it matters most. Plus Fernandez makes these circus freaks a lot of fun and the action sequence is believable and exciting.
It can’t be perfect can it?
Some redundant postulating on Robin War from Tim Drake and Red Hood feels like wasted time for about two pages, but aside from that this issue is winning.
A Robin hang out.
Is It Good?
It may not tie-in to Robin War very well, but it’s a solid done in one issue. Come for the fun action sequence and strong character development of Joker’s Daughter.
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