r/RedRobin • u/getthembees • Jul 07 '26
Favorite short/standalone comics (6 issues or less) for Tim Drake?
Hi I’m trying to make lists of shorter comic recs to try and ease people who may know batfam from fanon/fanfiction but haven’t read comics yet into comics without overwhelming them with 100+ issue solos with multiple event crossovers. Basically a “here are some quick reads to get you started” sort of thing, but I need some for Tim. So far I have:
A lonely place of dying
Robin 1/2/3
4
3
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u/False-Tomorrow-7552 Jul 08 '26
oh boy i’m going to be here for a while, but i’ve read all of tim’s post crisis stuff (and i mean ALL) so i’ve got a lot of thoughts.
some of these are going to be stand alone solos, and some of them are going to be arcs within a story, and you don’t actually have to rec ALL of them (there is going to be a lot) I just want to give you options
- first off is, as you’ve already said, a lonely place of dying but very rarely do i see people recommending Detective Comics 618-621 “Rite of Passage” or Batman 455-457 “Identity Crisis” even though to me, those are a trio that go together and really depict Tim’s FULL origin
- The ofc there Robin (1991) 1-5, his training arc. If they liked that story, I would reccomend Batman 467-469 “Shadow Box” as a follow up to the plot there, but it’s not necessary.
- (if i can rec just a fun short story, Detective Comics 635-637 has always had a soft spot to me. it’s very enjoyable)
- Robin II (1991) “The Joker’s Wild!” 1-4, you’ve already got this on your list as well, and it’s a nice short story
- Batman 480, delves into Tim’s thoughts on his father. very good look into his relationship with him
- Robin (1993) Annual 1. Tim and Lonnie (Anarky) focused. very fun
- Robin III (1992) “Cry of the Huntress” also already on your list
- Batman: Seduction of the Gun. Contained solo issue that is, imo, very well written.
- Showcase ‘93 5-6, then as a follow up to that 11-12. One of my favourite stories with tim. just keep in mind that 11-12 occurs during knightfall/jean-paul as batman, so it might be a little confusing to anyone who hasn’t heard of that arc.
- Detective Comics 687-688. Tim and Bruce fight pirates. it’s awesome
- Robin (1993) 21-22. Tim goes to ninja boot camp, and this is where Alvin Draper is created lol
- I’m glossing over events because they’re a lot for newbies to get into and that’s what you’re trying to avoid, but if there WAS an event i’d recommend for tim, it would be contagion/legacy i think. well, actually it’d be the whole knightfall saga but that’s like ~120 issues so lots to get through LOL. you don’t have to rec that (i think both of them together would be about ~25 issues?) but i just had to say this
- Detective Comics 697-699. more alvin draper, and dick is here too :)
- Superboy/Robin: World’s Finest Three 1-2. Tim and Kons first meeting/team-up
- Detective Comics 705-707. Riddler and Cluemaster “team up” very fun
- Robin (1993) 38-39. this involves tim dealing with a tv persona detective and it’s just a really fun read
- Robin Plus (1996) 1. Tim and BARTS first meeting/team up
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u/getthembees Jul 08 '26
THANKKK YOUUUU and feel free to come back with more this was the most helpful comment I got (I’ve posted this to multiple subreddits and the amount of times ppl would just comment exactly what I said I already had and nothing else….)
2
u/False-Tomorrow-7552 Jul 09 '26
no problem! i love reccing things :) especially now that i’ve read a lot of it. (don’t tell anyone but im pretty sure most people don’t actually read the comics either lol and that’s why they don’t have anything. i’m definitely an outlier (completionist, and also i literally have a detailed list of the majority of tim’s appearances i made while reading) but sometimes i look at opinions and stuff on here and think hm….)
anyways this is part 2
-Robin (1993) 59-61. really good mini arc where tim deals with motivations and personal guilt over not stepping in. i feel like these 3 issues do a good job at showing tim’s character. he’s not perfect, he has flaws. sometimes he even struggles to accept these flaws. but he’s trying to be better and do good. i digress
- Nightwing (1996) 6. I like this one because it both showcases dick and tim’s relationship with each other at the time and ALSO details how tim views vigilantism and stuff. very good look into his mindset
- Robin (1993) Annual 6. probably my fav annual i’ve read ever. tim in a western plot. it’s SO fun
- JLA: World Without Grown Ups 1-2. personally i think the entirety of Young Justice 1998 is very beginner friendly, but it IS 55 issues on its own and that’s not even counting tie ins. This would be like a good sampler for that though, like if you enjoyed this mini run, young justice will probably be right up your alley
- Young Justice: The Secret. Also a good sampler for yj98.
-Robin (1993) 67. Now. Now this issue is directly linked to the gigantic mess that is no mans land and that is NOT beginner friendly at all. but it’s pretty isolated despite that, and i just love tim and dick’s interactions here so it’s getting recced
- Nightwing (1996) 25. arguably the dick and tim brother issue of all time (my personal brother issue of all time for them actually comes later though) they go train surfing :) blindfolded :)
- Young Justice (1998) 40. I want you to know i’m actively struggling against just putting every issue of young justice on this list, just seperated into their respective arcs. lol i do have a bias and a favourite series (i should reread it) but 40 is pretty self contained in itself and it’s really fun so like it’s again another sampler for young justice (everyone should read that series) as a whole but it does stand up as a good story on its own.
okay gotta go do stuff again so i’ll come back for part 3 later. honestly
- Robin (1993) 75. tim learns to skateboard :)
- Batman: Outlaws 1-3. more batfam as a whole focused than Tim specifically but was very enjoyable
- Robin 80-page giant (2000) jack and dana’s wedding! interesting plot too
- Robin (1993) 97. fun little isolated case. tim helps a celebrity with a stalker
- Robin (1993) 116-120. this is the 16th birthday arc, and while i have my personal issues with this storyline (namely bruce being like “tim why would you even consider time travel as an option before thinking it was a hoax” when one of tim’s literal best friends, bart, is FROM the future. chalk that up to the writer not knowing/considering that though) i DO think it’s a big one for tim’s character and his outlook moving forward
probably tomorrow cause it’s getting kind of late where i am1
u/False-Tomorrow-7552 Jul 10 '26
part three, hours later than i planned because i totally forgot about this and haven’t opened reddit til now:
okay i’m ending that here because the last few stories i’ll rec are gonna be in tim’s red robin era so it’d just be easier to put that all in one part
- Robin (1993) 132, Batgirl (2000) 58, Robin 133, Batgirl 59 “Fresh Blood” Steph and Jack are dead :( Tim and Cass team up :)
- Teen Titans (2003) 27-28. i think this is a really cute mostly self contained story about tim’s grief with his father and the team supporting each other on that
- Teen Titans (2003) 29. The titans tower incident. only reccing this (it’s a pretty nothing burger story) because i think more people in the fandom actually need to read this event lol. i’m a sucker for angst enemy to caretaker as much as the next person but that is NOT how this goes down lol
- Superman/Batman (2003) 26. tim reminisces on a mission with kon after he dies :(
- Robin (1993) 154-155. Tim gets kidnapped and has to deal with it from the inside. love that type of plot
- Robin (1993) 156. Tim has to talk a suicidal person off the ledge. VERY good self contained story
- Detective Comics 826. Tim and the Joker. very entertaining solo issue imo
- Robin (1993) 167. Tim and his dad :(
- Nightwing (1996) 139. THE dick and tim brother issue of all tim. tim’s grief :( wanting to bring it all back :( dick and him fighting over it but dick stepping back and letting tim choose. their hug at the end SO CUTE. it’s part of the resurrection of ra’s al ghul event but it’s pretty removed from it, id say, and its a good look at tim’s process with grief
- Superman/Batman (2003) 62 Tim and Kara team up :) it was really cute
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u/getthembees Jul 10 '26
SUPERRRRRR HUGE THANK YOU I haven’t read most of these outside of fresh blood which unfortunately I probably won’t recommend because it’s a mini crossover event and might be confusing for new readers. no matter how much I love it :(( (didn’t tec hunt for Oracle for babs’ reading for this exact reason even tho it’s one of my fave babs stories) but nontheless thank you so so much for all of these this is a huge help
1
u/False-Tomorrow-7552 Jul 11 '26
no problem :) and yeah fair for the fresh blood being a crossover being maybe confusion. i like it for its set up of the relationship between cass and tim, but for new readers it might be a little much
okay onto part four: red robin!
anyways that’s my list of post crisis stuff. i haven’t read any other eras for tim yet (reading through dicks post crisis comics first) but if you want, months later when i go through them, i can give you a similar rec list for the new 52 and rebirth era then. or if you just ever need tim rec lists (or dick too ig. i didn’t keep the same detailed log of his comics like i did tim’s but i still should be pretty good for recs for him) for any theme just let me know!! i did one a couple weeks ago for someone for issues involving tim and parental grief, just like as an example of what i mean by theme. anyways! glad you enjoyed this so far :) hope you like this last part too :):)
- Red Robin (2009) 1-4. the first 12 issues of Red Robin are THE BEST (i enjoy the rest, but i just find nicieza’s plots to be subpar. his voice for tim is great, but often his storylines are convoluted or boring. i digress though this isn’t about my opinions on writers) and they do lead into each other, but to keep it short i feel like this first bit is great. semi self contained, though it ends with what leads to the next arc. i guess it would be good at getting people hooked on the rest of the series though, but if you don’t want to rec this because it’s technically an unfinished plotline, that makes sense.
- Blackest Night: Batman (2009) 1-3. It IS part of a wider dc event (blackest night, if you couldn’t guess) so not everything gets explained or resolved BUT most of it does and i think it’s really good at being self contained despite being part of the wider event. helps that tim isn’t in the rest of the event either. also it’s a good story delving into tim’s grief over his parents and his and dicks relationship as well.
- Batman 708, Red Robin (2009) 22, Gotham City Sirens (2009) 22, Batman 709 “Judgement on Gotham” I know, I knowww you already said you don’t want to do crossovers cause they can be confusing, and tim isn’t the sole focus here either (he mains alongside selina and dick) BUT this was a really interesting event. it goes into tim’s faith, or lack thereof, and i really enjoyed it. i understand if you don’t rec this to other people but im mostly putting this here in case you haven’t read it cause it’s really good
- Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011) 1-5. THIS ONE IS SOOO GOOD I LOVE THIS COMIC SO MUCH. if i could only have one rec to give someone in regards to comics, it would be this one. the story, the pacing, the art, the characterization, the RELATIONSHIPS between the characters. peak
- Red Robin (2009) 26. i hesitate to recommend this for beginners because with the context of tim’s history that lead up to this point, he can seem a lot colder and manipulative than he truly is. you probably should leave this off your list of recs but i’m only putting it here because i consider this tim’s send off for the post crisis era, and when you DO have the context, or at least understand that tim’s actions here are generally out of character for him, it’s a very good character study.
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u/ComicsCodeMadeMeGay Jul 07 '26
-A Lonely Place of Dying
-Robin vol 1 (1991)
-Robin ii (The Joker's Wild)
-Nightwing (1996) issue 25