For the primary time since 2011, Tim Drake is starring in his personal ongoing sequence. Tim Drake: Robin follows the following part of the Boy Wonder’s life as he finds a brand new house, faces new enemies and navigates his new love life. Meghan Fitzmartin, who started Tim’s daring new path within the pages of Batman: Urban Legends, shall be joined by penciler Riley Rossmo because the artistic duo chronicle the following chapter of Robin’s life. We lately had an opportunity to talk with Fitzmartin, who answered some burning questions, teased some upcoming developments, and shared her love for all issues Drake.
It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen Tim Drake because the protagonist in his personal ongoing sequence and fandom has lots of questions on him. For instance, the place is he residing?
On a ship.
Tim WOULD reside on a ship.
I do know, it is truly type of good. This is kind of pulled from life as a result of typically I reside on a ship. I feel that it is such an attention-grabbing area, and the extra that I used to be fascinated by poor Tim, the extra I used to be like, yeah, this makes a lot sense for Tim to reside on a homicide shack boat, which is what we have kind of lovingly been calling it. Riley Rossmo has accomplished such an incredible job with the design of it. Tim has been residing on a ship—he is bought his personal place. We’ve not seen a marina in Gotham, but it surely is sensible that there could be a marina as a result of it is surrounded by water.
It appears like it could be the setting for a closing battle on Batman: The Animated Series or one thing.
But these have been at all times on the docks. This is a marina the place the weirdos of society reside. Marina individuals are a number of the most attention-grabbing, great people who you do not actually ever get to see.
Oh my god, Tim goes to have yacht mates.
A yacht is sweet. I stated it was a homicide shed, only a reminder. (laughs) There are boats the place it seems like a shed was glued to a rowboat. It was actually enjoyable after I was speaking to my editor about developing with this marina area. It’s enjoyable to discover a unique a part of Gotham with Tim and making this area his personal.
Which model of Tim’s backstory are we utilizing? The New 52 established that his mother and father have been alive within the witness safety program, but it surely looks like we’re going again to him being an orphan. What’s the standing of Tim’s mother and father?
They’re not alive. We have sufficient historical past with the mother and father. They are not with us, and he’s adopted by Bruce. That is the timeline at current.
Last 12 months you electrified fandom together with your Batman: Urban Legends storyline which had Tim discover some questions on his sexuality. What made you select Bernard for that storyline, versus one in every of Tim’s different mates like Ives, or an authentic character? Did one thing in these outdated Bernard subplot pages soar out at you?
Yeah, I needed it to be any individual from his background. I did not need it to be an authentic character. I bear in mind these comics. I bear in mind studying them after I was a child and the way impactful that was to me. I like these runs. I like having the ability to see Bernard and Tim in these instances and areas, and so to kind of give a brand new tint to what was going on there’s actually attention-grabbing—having the ability to have a look at the canon and go, “So this is what was happening, but we didn’t have this information, or this shading.” That was actually enjoyable. Bernard got here to me as a result of he was a personality that felt appropriate after I was fascinated by who it could be. He was a personality that was expensive to my coronary heart and it was enjoyable to have the ability to convey him again.
Going via his appearances throughout the Bill Willingham Robin run, I used to be shocked to see all of the hints to Bernard’s sexuality…
Like I stated, there’s a lot that you could return to and go, “Oh, okay, that’s why.”
…like in Robin #122, Bernard threatens to sneak into Tim’s room at evening to sure and gag him.
He was in a ache cult…so I imply…
Continuity!
I feel the way in which that I write and the way in which that I have a tendency to maneuver via story is thru emotions, and I kind of examine that feeling after which it results in the remainder of it. So right here it was like, “I think it’s Bernard.” And then the extra that I went into it, I used to be like, “Yeah, it’s Bernard!”
Will there be some other deep cuts from Tim’s historical past in your run?
I feel proper now I’m targeted on the current and transferring ahead with Tim. I feel it was actually necessary to lean into the deep cuts for the Urban Legends stuff as a result of I feel that was about identification. That was about Tim’s particular understanding of himself, and the way in which that we perceive ourselves is we return in our personal historical past. That was why I feel it was necessary for me to have somebody like Bernard, somebody from his previous that he was connecting with. Now transferring ahead, eager to create new areas for him, and new villains, and new adventures is extra of the precedence now that he is type of understood his previous and understood who he’s within the current.
How does Bernard match into this new current, and what sort of relationship will he and Tim have?
I imply, each hero wants a damsel and Bernard is an ideal damsel. I undoubtedly wish to have Bernard round. I feel it is necessary for him to be round. I feel it is necessary too for Tim, to kind of push the query inside himself, which is, given his monitor report and courting, it isn’t been nice and I feel Tim actually desires this to go properly. I feel that is actually necessary to Tim. He’s all of us in these moments in relationships, the place we’re like, “I think this is really good, but I have messed this up many times before.”
I do not assume that he’s going to mess issues up once more, however I feel he is frightened about that. I feel that will get in the way in which of the connection with Bernard typically. Bernard is like, “I’m just happy that we’re here. This is a fun time. I think that you’re great. I’m not worried.” I’ve talked to my editor and I do not wish to play the “what is your secret identity?” factor, however I do not need Bernard to know but, so we’re residing in that area.
We’re not doing the drama of “you left our date to fight crime” or different stuff we see from teenage heroes?
Exactly! We’re not doing that. I feel Bernard is a really understanding one that is like, “This is fine, whatever, I trust you, I love you, whatever this is, I’m fine with it.” I feel Tim is extra like, “WHAT?! What does that mean? Does he hate me?” And Bernard is like, “At no point did I say any of those words.”
I feel that is kind of the conundrum that we’re going through proper now with Tim and Bernard. Tim remains to be making an attempt to settle into the truth that that is secure and that is good.
During the DC Pride: Tim Drake Special #1, there’s a second the place Tim and Conner Kent are holding arms. So, the query is, are you making an attempt to electrocute Twitter?
(laughs) I imply, who does not love setting a hearth beneath Twitter? That’s undoubtedly one thing that I’ve heard about and am conscious of and it is going to be extra of a dialogue level in later problems with sure comedian manufacturers which might be taking place proper now.
That’s going to be the road that everybody screencaps and places on Twitter. You talked about new enemies. What type of enemies are we speaking about?
Tim Drake at his core is a detective. Every detective wants a Moriarty. I feel that is kind of what we’re going for proper now.
What are the dynamics of sharing the Robin identify with Damian?
Damian resides his finest life. Well, it isn’t his finest life. He’s residing his life proper now and it’s a catastrophe differently than Tim’s is a catastrophe. I feel that is a part of the query that Tim is at present going through—he is the Robin who’s held the title for the longest, so what does that imply for him? What are the following steps for him? Are there subsequent steps for him? Should he keep or ought to he go, like the way in which that the music goes?
It is a query I feel that he’s having to face with himself. And that is a part of the identification search that I feel he is going via. Now that I’ve realized these items of who I’m, how do I transfer ahead? What do I do now? I feel that’s the core of this explicit run of Tim Drake. I’ve some concepts on the place I wish to take it, however finally, I’m very feelings-led and I’m very Tim-led. And so, a part of that’s simply feeling out what Tim desires and the way he will get there.
The character type of dictates the story.
Yeah, completely! He’s such a particular character to so many individuals, however particularly to me. He’s so necessary to me, and so the way in which during which I wish to honor him is by letting him kind of run the story. Sometimes he wants some assist and so typically, we assist him so much. Ultimately, I feel feeling out what the character is doing and wanting and transferring in that path is one of the best ways of going about it.
You’re additionally writing Dark Crisis: Young Justice, which has reunited Tim together with his Young Justice teammates. Will they be stopping by the sequence to examine on their buddy?
That is a query of the place they’re all going to finish up on the finish of Dark Crisis: Young Justice. Where we’re at proper now with them is that they are mates, however there are some fractures blooming and the query shall be, what’s Young Justice going to appear to be by the top of this? I feel we have all been via these friendships, the place we have been mates with somebody for without end, however we have not actually touched base with them shortly.
Tim Drake: Robin #1 by Meghan Fitzmartin, Riley Rossmo and Lee Loughridge is now out there in print and as a digital comedian ebook.
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