This installment of "Robin Relics" brings you Issue #179 of Comic Shop News (the comic shop newspaper). Some great content here... We get a history of the Robin character, an explanation as to why Batman needs a sidekick, a look inside the new Robin costume, and even a little blurb about Tim Burton picking the suit!
Also included in this issue is this brief snippet about Entertainment Tonight running a story on the new Robin. I vividly remember watching this segment when it aired. If anyone happens to have a copy of this, PLEASE e-mail me at james@1989batman.com as I would LOVE to see it again!
As a side note... I just want to point out that the Kenner Batman Returns Robin figure looks VERY similar to the Robin art used in this article (drawn by Tom Lyle). Many folks have speculated for years that the head sculpt used on that figure was an early take on Marlon Wayans (who was originally set to play Robin in Batman Returns) due to the box-style haircut. I have never held much stock in that idea. I always felt the hair was just a result of Kenner trying to translate Robin's high, spiky hair to plastic while being limited to what they could pull off in the manufacturing process. This comparison of the art with that head sculpt shows that Kenner's effort is indeed a VERY close match to Lyle's interpretation...
As soon as I saw that render of Robin, I too knew it had to be the reference for the Returns figure.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting this. I used to have the issue, so it's great to see it again and having the Robin reference thing finally and absolutely solved is great
When Robin was introduced in 1940, comic book creaters wanted a kid sidekick for Batman, and Robin was created.
ReplyDeleteBurt Ward play Robin in Batman '66.
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