Warning: Potential SPOILERS for Tim Drake: Robin #6New cover art released by DC Comics shows Robin sharing a swoon-worthy kiss with his boyfriend Bernard Dowd. Tim Drake has been exploring his bisexuality for well over a year, and this cover marks a major milestone in his current character arc, as it's the first on-page kiss between Robin and his boyfriend.
Tim Drake's current journey began in the summer of 2021 in the pages of Batman: Urban Legends #4 by Meghan Fitzmartin, Belén Ortega, Alejandro Sanchez, and Pat Brosseau. In the story "Sum of Our Parts," which spans three issues of Urban Legends, Tim battles a pain cult and discovers his feelings for former classmate, Bernard Dowd. Since then, Tim and Bernard have been happily dating as Tim continues discovering himself and coming out to his friends and family. Their relationship has been heavily featured in Tim's new solo series, Tim Drake: Robin, where Tim Drake faces his classic problem: how to balance a civilian life with his vigilante life.
The new couple reaches a major milestone on the cover, by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, of Tim Drake: Robin #6. The cover features Tim, dressed in his Robin uniform, holding Bernard as they share a kiss under the moonlight, Robin's cape swirling around them. Significantly, as of the release of February 2023 solicitations, this is the first on-page kiss readers have seen the couple share. The entire issue solicit reads:
- Written by MEGHAN FITZMARTIN
- Art and cover by RICARDO LÓPEZ ORTIZ
- Variant cover by DAN MORA
- 1:25 variant cover by KARL MOSTERT
- $3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
- ON SALE 2/28/23
- The final showdown! Tim Drake comes face-to-voice with the villain who’s been taunting Tim by using his metahuman powers to create ghostly animals. When this Moriarty’s identity is revealed, all hell breaks loose in the marina. Can Tim keep things afloat, while simultaneously dealing with his relationship with Bernard?
Robin's On-Cover Kiss Is a Major Win for Queer Superheroes
This cover marks a major turning point for the journey that Tim began back in Urban Legends #4 with his and Bernard's first date. Robin coming out as bisexual made international waves, but the gesture would have been empty without continuing Tim's romance with Bernard. Their first on-page kiss has been a long time coming, but it's worth the wait: displayed on the cover in a pose reminiscent of Batman and his love interests, Tim Drake's queer identity has been wholeheartedly embraced.
When comic book fans visit their local comic shops in February, this kiss—the issue's main cover—will be the first thing they see when they look for Robin in the stands. It may have taken a while for readers to see Tim and Bernard share a kiss, but this cover proves that the couple—and Robin's status as an LGBTQ+ DC hero—is here to stay.
Check out Tim Drake: Robin #6, available February 2023 from DC Comics!
Source: DC