Even though June is a few months away DC Comics is treating fans to a bunch of amazing previews for their upcoming Pride Month specials, including a new special focusing on Tim Drake’s Robin, DC Pride: Tim Drake Special. Since coming out as bisexual in 2021, Tim Drake and Bernard Dowd have become an item in DC canon, and the new special collects their reunion story from the pages of Batman: Urban Legends alongside a new story that brings back Tim’s Young Justice teammates, as well as the Batgirls.
2021 was a huge year for queer representation at DC Comics, with both Tim Drake and Jonathan Kent (the new Superman!) coming out as bisexual men, and many other LGBTQIA+ characters taking center stage as well, like Justice League Queer, the new Aquaman Jackson Hyde, and Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy. While the comics have hinted at Drake’s queer sexuality for decades, it was a huge LGBTQIA+ moment for comic fans when Tim Drake started dating a man, his childhood friend Bernardo, on-page, since so much of queerness in comics has been relegated to subtext and headcanon. Drake, who is the third character to adopt the Robin persona and is Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, officially came out as bisexual in the pages of Batman: Urban Legends #6 and has been growing into his out identity ever since.
The DC Pride: Tim Drake Special is by Meghan Fitzmartin, Belén Ortega, and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque and includes gorgeous covers by Ortega and Travis Moore, both of which feature Tim and his crime-fighting childhood friend-turned boyfriend Bernard. Tim Drake has had a rough few years in DC Comics, perhaps starting with the introduction of Damian Wayne in Grant Morrison’s “Batman and Son.” The biological son of Bruce made every crime-fighting session a competition to win Batman’s confidence and approval, and Tim gradually slipped out of focus. The Urban Legends series has done a solid job of re-establishing Tim as Batman’s main Robin, since Damian is off adventuring with his “Lazarus Tournament” pals, and having him stand proud in his bisexuality and start dating Bernard is allowing him to have complexity and depth that will grow his character even more. DC Pride: Tim Drake Special is a 64-page one-shot, collecting Tim and Bernard’s Batman: Urban Legends chapters as well as a brand-new story.
Fans of the Urban Legends stories which feature Tim and Bernard will be delighted to have the stories collected in a single volume, and longtime Drake fans will be elated to know Young Justice haven’t been forgotten. The new story will follow Tim teaming up with the Batgirls – Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Oracle – as well as his former Young Justice peers, in an adventure that sets up “Tim Drake’s 2022 path.” Stephanie Brown and Conner Kent, aka Superboy, have been hugely important figures in Tim Drake’s life, so it’s not a surprise that this huge team-up will apparently define his status quo moving forward.
Robin coming out seems to signal a renewed interest in the character from DC Comics, with past writers expressing the intention to give Drake far more of the spotlight in the Batman line. DC Pride 2022 is shaping up to be even bigger and more exciting than the 2021 line-up, and featuring Tim Drake’s breakout stories in Batman: Urban Legends will surely make even more readers fall in love with the third Robin, with this and his new story getting fans up to speed on where Tim is now, and where he’s heading in the future. Make sure to look out for DC Pride: Tim Drake Special by DC Comics when it debuts in June 2022, starring the hero many fans still refer to as ‘the best Robin.’
