“Robin’s Strike File”
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artists: Roger Cruz and Victor Olazaba
Color Artist: Luis Guerrero
Letterer: ALW’s Troy Peteri
Review by Fay Clark
I’m going to have to be honest with you all. I completely forgot we get Annuals each year, so as soon as the Robin Annual 2021 popped up to review, I was all over it. Surprised, but all over it.
This story takes place between issues #5 and #6 of Robin. Annuals always give us just a little extra coolness to add to the storyline, and sometimes fill in a few gaps we didn’t even know needed filling.
Is it stalking or just being well prepared?
Damian, after just finishing an epic family reunion, seems to be in no mood to chill out for a few seconds. He really is Bruce’s son at this moment, jumping immediately back to work. He makes a rundown on all of his competitors, their backgrounds, and the reasons why they’re all on the island. This is why I love the Robin Annual 2021. It adds just that little bit of extra background on characters to fill out the story more. Nothing was missing from the main run, except now we get that extra information. It keeps us engaged and explains more about the super interesting characters we’ve been seeing for the last few months.
Joshua Williamson really knows what the readers what. I guess I didn’t need background character information about these people, I did however want it. Knowing more about them adds more to the choices they make in the arena. There’s probably one character in particular that people are interested in, so you definitely want to pick up this annual. As she’s on the cover of the book, I don’t think that this is a secret. Williamson has a great way of weaving a tale because I really wanted to learn more about Flatline, her character seemed super interesting and Joshua didn’t disappoint. I now need him to write a short spin-off series about her!
Return of the Majestic flowy hair
Here we are again. I know I’ve been a little obsessed with something that was probably just a throwaway design choice, but how could anyone not be obsessed with the way Roger Cruz and Victor Olazaba draw the flowiest, prettiest, most majestic locks of hair that have ever graced the DC universe? Too much?
Anyhoooooo… this issue isn’t drawn by the regular art team from the main series, so I was pleasantly surprised when the art felt very similar. There were some obvious differences, but it would still flow very well if you wanted to go back and read from issue one and included this annual. Cruz and Olazaba work super well together and when you add Luis Guerrero into the mix things really heat up. The use of shadows on parts of the characters’ faces to create atmosphere is awesome. It really adds some edge.
Conclusion
Go out and do yourself a favor, pick up the Robin Annual 2021. This is one of those things that you need to read if you’re a fan of the series. In fact, this is one of those things you need to read even if you have no idea about the most recent Robin run. Once this arc has finished up, I’ll be going back and reading it all again, but will now include this awesome Annual in the mix.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment
