Designated Sidekick

Thanks to Mary, Weaves, and the host of others who have going OMG! about this issue.

Earth to Tim Drake. Thanks for picking up on that one. I see you were trained by the World’s Greatest Detective (/obYoung Justice joke)

I have a vastly lowered set of expectations for Robin 171. I have a total lack of faith in this being anything but a swerve by DC.

This lack of faith is partly based on the experience, and partly on an assessment of the industry. What makes major players in an industry decide that screwing over the buyer was a better choice than selling products? I’m thinking about the way that representative from DC comics admitted to using pages from the Dixon Outsiders run out of context in the DC Previews / Solicits for the express purpose of inciting blogger anger. Using the sales tool to piss people off doesn’t fill me with the sort of confidence that I think they had in mind*

Given that, and the way that various other issues from DC have been handled with a sneer, a dismissive way, and a petulant whine about sales figures, I can’t bring myself to trust DC enough to feel excited about Robin 171 – which means, as some who has a car named Redbird (with the Tim Drake HeroClix and a Spoiler HeroClix on the dashboard), and had been buying the Robin series when it started (including the two variant covers), I wanted back into the love for the comics.

I don’t feel excited, I feel a pre-emptive dread that this will be a swerve, and it’ll be a swerve to go “HAHA! WE TRICKED YOU! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK A LOT! HAHAHAHAH!” followed a few weeks later with some industry figure going “See? We screwed over the Steph Brown fans, and they didn’t buy up the comics after we screwed them over, so she doesn’t sell that well”.

I want to be wrong about Robin 171. I really do want to be blown away by the return of Spoiler.

I just hope that the opportunity to annoy a cohort of vocal fans is not more important than the idea of selling product to the same group.

Anyone want to bet on 171? Will it be a swerve or straight up?

*I have been reminded that it was Chuck Dixon, the person bringing us Robin 170 and Robin 171.  I feel less confident about 171