CBR: THE BAT SIGNAL: Fabian Nicieza

[CBR News]

"Red Robin" writer Fabian Nicieza spoke with CBR about his continued stay in the Batman Universe as "Batman Incorporated" begins and Tim Drake rises back to his place in the Bat-Family, deals with women troubles and more.


Full article here.

[CocktailXYZ]

You touched on this a second ago, but what's it like for Tim reuniting with his old friends and what are his thoughts on Damien taking his spot on the team?


You misspelled Damian's name and I almost chose not to answer this question because of it. It's a pet peeve of mine. C'mon man, show some pride.

Heh, that was great. I wonder if there's any relation to people misspelling "Fabien"? :P

On a more serious note, I love what's going on with all the females playing off of Tim. I've been finding it a great dynamic and especially good at showing areas where Tim is fallible.

I remember reading some comments from Chuck Dixon once about how he was being pressed to eliminate aspects of Tim's personal life back when he was writing Robin and he more or less answered, "Are you crazy? Those aspects of his life are a writing goldmine." Like Peter Parker's world in Spider-man, it was all the complications, personal conflicts, and human limitations that made the character come to life in a palatable way. That's why it's so great to read Red Robin, who is this incredibly brilliant strategist and competent fighter tripping over his own thoughts when he's facing down the opposite sex. It's something he should come to terms with eventually (or perhaps not - there's that lengthy and complicated relationship between Bats and Catwoman, of course), but it's a perfect fit for now.

[ProdSlash]

Heh, that was great. I wonder if there's any relation to people misspelling "Fabien"? :P

On a more serious note, I love what's going on with all the females playing off of Tim. I've been finding it a great dynamic and especially good at showing areas where Tim is fallible.

I remember reading some comments from Chuck Dixon once about how he was being pressed to eliminate aspects of Tim's personal life back when he was writing Robin and he more or less answered, "Are you crazy? Those aspects of his life are a writing goldmine." Like Peter Parker's world in Spider-man, it was all the complications, personal conflicts, and human limitations that made the character come to life in a palatable way. That's why it's so great to read Red Robin, who is this incredibly brilliant strategist and competent fighter tripping over his own thoughts when he's facing down the opposite sex. It's something he should come to terms with eventually (or perhaps not - there's that lengthy and complicated relationship between Bats and Catwoman, of course), but it's a perfect fit for now.

You are really summing up why I like the character so much. He, in some respects, reminds me of the character that first drew me into comics, Spider-Man. I think Tim is a ton cooler than Peter Parker, but they share some elements.

I just think Fabian pulls them off better.

[Retro315]

I'll second the pros of that dynamic. It's working well, and I think has enough material to last a while before it gets stale, this whole "throw women at Tim and watch him trip" thing.

I think Bruce honestly has the same weakness - but is a good deal better at hiding it, or at least limiting it to just one or two women.

Grayson, on the other hand ... doesn't share that weakness.

[Skyrider]

Fabian's one of the best (and most underrated) writers in comics.

Yeah, that's right. I know you're reading this!

[Doug Strange]

Fabian's one of the best (and most underrated) writers in comics.

Yeah, that's right. I know you're reading this!

Whoa. How did you know that?

[Free-Man]

I'm very excited about the Teen Titans crossover he has coming up, but I'm glad it's only going to take up a single issue in RR. I get what he means when he talks abou pacing concerns. Can't wait to see Tim throw down with Catman!

[gzapata]

I won't lie....the only thing really keeping me from liking Red Robin is that costume. He had finally gotten to that amazing red costume as Robin and he switches to that thing? Its fine for another character but I feel it's way to retro for a young modern day character

[Xero]

I preferred the original Red Robin costume, the redesign looks like ass.

[Mr. Holmes]

Woo-hoo RED ROBIN #300!! Tim is really getting the respect he deserves. How many non-A list characters get 300 issues? And an overwhelmingly majority of it came from a consecutive series, only restarted because of the wide-line relaunch.

As a long time fan of Tim Drake, I'm so proud and happy.

[Neutrino]

Woo-hoo RED ROBIN #300!! Tim is really getting the respect he deserves. How many non-A list characters get 300 issues? And an overwhelmingly majority of it came from a consecutive series, only restarted because of the wide-line relaunch.

As a long time fan of Tim Drake, I'm so proud and happy.

I think it should be #200, shouldn't it? 183 issues of Robin, 16 issues of RR and a renumber at #17. Still very cool though. :)

[Mr. Holmes]

I think it should be #200, shouldn't it? 183 issues of Robin, 16 issues of RR and a renumber at #17. Still very cool though. :)

It should indeed be 200. Must have been a typo in the interview, and I didn't think about it. Or maybe, they plan to absorb the previous Robin minis, and have Red Robin run all the way until its 300 issues. Hope not

[Lackshmana]

The Red Robin 300 thing was a joke.

He meant that he would be on the book for as long as he could be.

That is why he made the comment about holographic touch pad app.

I seriously doubt the book will go remotely close to that long considering that Red Robin is a largely unrecognizable name in comics and its very unlikely to make for good marketing (since it is the name of a fast food chain.) On the other hand Tim Drake certainly deserves to star in a book well beyond the "Red Robin" phase, and if DC has any sense he will.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

I think that Fabian wasn't speaking literally, he was talking about never leaving the book.

"Well, I'm on record as making preliminary plans for "Red Robin" #300, so obviously I would be perfectly happy writing Tim Drake forever (it's gonna be a killer issue! Get your toll free holographic touchpad app loaded so you can vote on who lives or dies)."

I believe the holographic touchpad app mention is indicative of the lack of seriousness the Red Robin # 300 thing has. Fabian could probably weigh in, but I took it as part of his jokingly referring to his desire to never leave the book.

[Mr. Holmes]

I seriously doubt the book will go remotely close to that long considering that Red Robin is a largely unrecognizable name in comics and its very unlikely to make for good marketing (since it is the name of a fast food chain.) On the other hand Tim Drake certainly deserves to star in a book well beyond the "Red Robin" phase, and if DC has any sense he will.

Well okay I figured now that we aren't actually going there. But I meant it would have been possible to absorb the previous Robin series(es?). Well that's disappointing. *Leaves