DCU Comic Book Reviews

RED ROBIN #6

Council Of Spiders, Part Two of Four

January 2010

Written by Chris Yost

Pencils by Ramon Bachs

Digital Inks by Guy Major

Cover by Francis Manapul

Synopsis

Before, Victoria kills a number of different men, including one with a price on his head, which garners the interest of the League.  They try to recruit the Wanderer, but fail.  Now, in three separate cities, the League prepares to fulfill assassination contracts.  However, Tim Drake (aka Red Robin) ordered the hits to smoke out the Council of Spiders, who have been murdering members of the League.  Fourteen hours ago, Red Robin is given access to the League’s database.  Based on what he sees, he thinks the Expeditor might be working for the Spider Council.  The White Ghost dismisses the claim, believing the Expeditor is loyal because disloyalty would mean the death of his family.  Now, Red Robin stops an assassin from the Spider Council from killing a League assassin.  With the help of the league, Red Robin captures the assassin.  In Gotham City, Vicki Vale asks Lucius Fox for an interview with Bruce Wayne.  Fox tries to decline, but Wayne accepts.  Meanwhile, Red Robin interrogates the Spider Council assassin.  He learns the Spider Council were waiting for him and they have set a trap.  They have infiltrated the League headquarters.  

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This is a fairly typical, average issue of this series.  It contains all of the good and bad stuff that has been in evidence since it began.  I suppose you could say that Yost is consistent in terms of the material he is delivering, but you could also argue that he has gotten any better.  At least he hasn’t gotten any worse.  This is not a knock, by any means, this is an entertaining book and with Tim infiltrating the League, the story has gained a focus it lacked earlier.  But Yost is still tied to his time-shifting tricks, which undermines the story of any narrative tension.  The storytelling is disjointed and because of that we are constantly trying to readjust our perception of the timeline and events.  I think Yost is doing it for dramatic effect to shock us into thinking there will be assassinations, but no, here comes Tim!  All it really does is muddy the story and make it more confusing than it needs to be.  I mean, really, why did we have to go to “14 hours ago.”  I can understand the need to tell the story of the Spider Girl as a flashback, but everything else?  It should just be part of “now.” 

It is interesting to note that Tim refers to himself as “Drake” rather than “Wayne.”  Yost made such a big deal in earlier issues of this book that Tim wanted to be called “Wayne.”  I am not sure if the “Drake” was a mistake, written that way because that is what everyone is used to or if the change is supposed to be mean something. 

The cover states:  “The search continues….”  Might I ask:  what search? Now, I know the cover is referring to Bruce Wayne, but there is very little (if nothing) in this issue about Bruce Wayne or the search to see if he is alive.  Is Tim actually, you know searching, or has Yost dropped that thread for someone else to pick it up.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I think someone forgot to tell Yost what this book is supposed to be about. 

Is that a typo on the first page, middle panel?  Should it be “Victoria” rather than “Vitoria?”

 

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