Yep, it’s time for reviews of the latest three issues of ROBIN.

Following the previous issue,ROBIN #161 follows Robin’s encounter with the gang that gained meta-human powers from a mysterious drug. The gang’s powers seem to be speeding up, and Robin tries to find help before it’s too late. He tracks down one of the drug dealers, but he mysteriously falls into a coma before Robin can question him. Then, to try to link the drug to Strader Pharmaceuticals, Tim gets Zoanne’s father to take him through a ‘tour’ of the facility. Elsewhere, we find out more about Dodge’s…situation. Apparently, his powers are changing and he’s turned into pure energy; he’s glowing red, and he’s out to destroy Robin. The issue ends as Robin finds the meta gang’s hideout. This issue was a nice, standard Robin story. Fast paced, some humor, some romance, and some action. The artwork and story were great as usual.

ROBIN #162 begins with some sort of swat team ambushing the meta gang’s hideout that Robin just found. They both arrive to discover that the meta-drug has basically deteriorated the bodies of the gang, and they’re all dead except for the leader. He helps Robin take down the swat team before he too perishes. After the fight, Robin goes to the president of Strader Pharmaceuticals (the maker of this illegal meta-drug), and begins to interrogate him. Before he discovers too much, someone shoots Mr. Waite in the chest from afar. Later, the drug dealer comes out of his coma, and spills the beans on the meta-drug. Alex (the journalist that Robin’s kept locked up with Killa ‘Nilla for the past three issues) finally gets to finish her story. This was an overall great story arc. It dealt with problems that both Tim Drake and Robin go through, and, as any fan of this book knows, there are tons of setups for future events.

And finally, there’s ROBIN #163. Basically, it’s what a teenage superhero goes through to get his Dad a present for Father’s Day. It starts out with Tim purchasing a watch for Bruce. Then, at random, a gang of criminals called “The Jury” begins causing havoc. They “help” serve justice by blowing up a purse snatcher. The rest of the issue is basically Robin beating the crap out of these guys. Tim doesn’t make it home in time for Father’s Day dinner, but Bruce couldn’t be happier about his newly-adopted son. This issue, like many others, was a nice, fast-paced story. It was also a nice breath of fresh air to have a sort-of one-shot story after the long arcs before this issue. However, this seems to be the calm before the storm: Dodge seems to be creating a team to take out Robin, so that should be interesting.