Teen Titans #0

Never a huge Teen Titans fan to begin with, I've stayed away from the New 52 relaunch of the title with the exception of the first issue or two. However, I was curious enough to see how Teen Titans #0 would tell the origin of Tim Drake as the third Robin.

Like most of the New 52 origins, Tim Drake's story gets streamlined and simplified more than necessary. We still get the young detective who searches for Batman's identity realizing Batman doesn't work nearly as well without a partner. But how he eventually gets Batman to accept is damn awkward.

Scott Lobdell's writing aside (which is clunky and has a couple of huge plot holes) the story works for the most part up until Drake puts his family in danger by stealing from the Penguin. Yes, this earns him his face-to-face with Batman, but it's hardly the work of the genius the book espouses him to be. The comic also doesn't explain how Tim is able to continue being Tim, and live publicly with Bruce Wayne, with his parents in witness protection and the Penguin still after him. For fans.

[DC, $2.99]