Robin Issue 6 Review: “Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Robin issue 6 is full-on action with the League of Lazarus Tournament finally kicking off! Robin is tearing through opponents like no tomorrow. The sooner he wins, the sooner he can figure out what Mother Soul is up to. But is Damian up to the challenge?

There will be some spoilers below.

Robin issue 6 features the first three rounds of the League of Lazarus Tournament. Damian still remains cocky and confident in his abilities. After all, he’s been trained by the best. His first opponent is Blue Shrike whose brother has come up against Damian’s brother Dick in the past. Blue Shrike claims that he’s not only fighting to win the tournament, but for his brother’s honor as well. Damian isn’t impressed and quickly defeats him.

Damian’s second opponent, Tengu is a little more challenging, but not by much. Tengu gets one hit in before Damian is able to defeat him. Mother Soul notes that Damian doesn’t seem to be interested in taking his time with his “carnage” like the other fighters do. But that does give him some time to recover before the next round.

This leads to a fun interaction between Flatline and Damian where she returns his manga to him. Apparently, she stole it from XXL who stole it from Damian while he was off-island. We also get to learn a bit about Flatline’s past and how she became Lord Death Man’s apprentice. It’s also possible that the deceased Alfred Pennyworth who has been talking to Damian periodically throughout this comic might actually be a little more real than previously thought. The break doesn’t last long before Damian, Flatline, Connor Hawke, and Ravager must fight their next opponents in the third round. Can Damian beat Respawn?

I sincerely enjoyed Robin issue 6. It was very reminiscent of a fighting manga. There were high-energy fights, but also some touching moments to break it up. Joshua Williamson has a good grasp of the characters and how they interact with each other. Damian seems to be most open to Flatline at this point because he’s still upset with Ravager for telling Damian’s brother Red Hood where he was. Damian’s personality is very nuanced and easy to get wrong. Williamson realizes that there are many facets that make up Damian Wayne and he’s much deeper than he is sometimes portrayed.

As always, Gleb Melnikov’s art is such a delight. It is perfect for this comic and fits the theme of the storyline so well. I enjoyed the full-page spread on pages 2 and 3 that have each panel showing a glimpse of each fight, surrounded by bones. It’s fun and creative and definitely reminds me of a fighting video game. I feel like Damian in particular was drawn very expressively in this issue. You could clearly see what he was feeling just by looking at his facial expressions. I also have to say that I’m really liking the design for Black Swan. Damian talks about her being graceful and that’s just how Melnikov draws her. She’s a ballerina and she fights that way.

Luis Guerrero’s colors continue to be excellent. The colors he uses flow seamlessly from one panel to the next. It’s not at all jarring even when a black and white manga panel is shown. It’s pleasant to the eye. And of course, Troy Peteri’s lettering for this comic never misses! It totally gets you into the mood of the comic.

My favorite part of Robin issue six is the interaction between Robin and Flatline where she returns the manga to him. She took the time to read the manga before returning it to Damian and told him she enjoyed how it was a romance about an art school, but it was also about being competitive. It was just a nice moment between the characters being able to relate to each other over something that probably isn’t too different from the two of them.

Robin issue 6 is a lot of fun and I’ll be interested to see how the next rounds of the League of Lazarus Tournament go. I’m rooting for Black Swan! I’m kidding! In all seriousness, I’m rooting for Damian. I want to see him be the hero of his own book after all. But, as a former ballerina myself, I can help but be intrigued about Black Swan and I hope we do learn more about her in this series. I’m also super curious about what Mother Soul is up to. I hope we get to shed a little light on that mystery in the next issue!

Author: Jessica Rae

Jessica has a BA in music with an emphasis in voice and spends her day typesetting, editing, writing, and moderating webinars. Jessica primarily reviews anime and comic book series. She also offers insights on various movies, books, games, and other geeky topics.

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