DC’s blog The Source has reported that Marcus To from Aspen Comics is the new regular penciler for the Batman: Reborn series, Red Robin.
You can see a bigger version of the image here.
Normally, I wouldn’t be posting news on the fact that a new penciler is hitting a book, but the difference in style between To and his predecessor, Ramon Bachs (departing to launch a new Azrael ongoing with Fabian Nicieza), is pretty stark. What say you, Rama readers? Excited with the new artist? Or do you want Bachs to, er, come back?
August 6th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Wow. Great pencil’s. This looks fantastic.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Awesome news!
August 6th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I’d be hard-pressed to find any complaints about the art shown here. I say, “Welcome aboard!”
August 6th, 2009 at 7:51 am
This might actually make me pick it up.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I know. Bach’s wwasn’t bad, just not my style. this looks great though
August 6th, 2009 at 8:02 am
AWESOME.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:08 am
It’s hard to judge from one splash page. The second and third tier Aspen artists look like faded Xeroxes of the bigger artists. Weak storytellers and backgrounds. I liked Bachs better, at least when inked by the talented Art Thibert.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:11 am
So, a new penciler on one of the new Batman books, rotating artists on the Morrison book, Winick being yanked off the “Batman” title almost before it even hits the stands…it’s almost as though there’s some kind of lack of consistency somewhere in DC Editorial…
August 6th, 2009 at 8:19 am
This, in my opinion, looks a lot better than Bach. I picked up the book but have been contemplating dropping it due to the art. Bach had a habit of making Tim look like a full grown adult and just like all the past Red Robins. At least in this one splash page he still looks like a teen/young adult body wise. I just might keep it on my pull list now!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Red Robin and Azrael have been two of my favorite characters for years. Ramon Bachs is the wrong choice for either of them, but at least things are looking up for one of them.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
@ I_Captain Blanco
Winick coming back after Daniel’s story. Rotating artists don’t mean inconsistency
August 6th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Winnick is still on Batman, Blanco. He returns with a new artist after Tony Daniel’s little arc.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Cool! Glad I’m reading Red Robin!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:47 am
in the next issue: Red Robin and Moondragon lead The Hand against Ripclaw!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I love Tim Drake but I avoided the new series because of the awful art by Bach.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Didn’t really think Bach complimented Yost writing all that well. This looks good. And Tim looks a bit younger than how Bach was drawing him. Time will tell!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Sample looks pretty good, IMO.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Generally I think companies should work to keep creators on their books longer, but in this is a smart move. Don’t like Bachs’ style but he is a good fit for the dark and gritty Azreal and Marcus To does action scenes well. My only concern is can Marcus handle a monthly? He’s never had one before does a lot of design work in Hollywood. If To can give DC 10 issues or so a year on Red Robin both books should benefit.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I was just saying that Ryan Stegman (Riftwar and Incredible Hercules) would of been great on this title.
Marcus To is just as awesome so this makes me happy.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:29 am
# brad Says:
August 6th, 2009 at 8:47 am
in the next issue: Red Robin and Moondragon lead The Hand against Ripclaw!
—-as derivative as it may look, it still looks DAMN GOOD.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:30 am
That is the very first image of Tim as Red Robin that actually LOOKS like Tim as Red Robin and not some random adult male generic superhero mold. I LIKE IT!!
August 6th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I didn’t care for Bach’s art in the series. His Tim as Red Robin looked like a 275 lb body builder. The story didn’t really grab me either, especially because I don’t expect much to come of Bruce’s return in an ancillary book like this one.
Marcus’ interpretation looks really dynamic, which is a good fit. Overall, Red Robin remains a “wait for the trade” series for me.
August 6th, 2009 at 10:00 am
i just wish To had been on since the beginning cuz i hate picking up titles mid arc
August 6th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I hope he remembers that Tim is still a kid. In Battle For The Cowl, whenever he was drawn in the Batman costume, he looked just as big as Bruce. But when he was out of costume, he looked like a kid. The same thing happened in Red Robin #1. You can’t put a 170 pound kid in Batman’s costume and then all of a sudden he looks like he’s put on 80 pounds. It doesn’t work that way.
August 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
I’m not familiar with the new penciller’s work, but the image shown looks like a better fit for the book, and good pencils in its own merit.
Coloring and inking were also badly chosen for Red Robin, IMHO, so I hope there’s some tweaking in that area as well.
August 6th, 2009 at 10:54 am
NINJAS … cool!
It’s hard to tell from one picture, but, the page looks nice.
One question though, what’s with the guy with 4 blades and no fingers? How do you survive a fight with this guy? Close a door on him, he can’t turn the knob:)
Ron
Rons Comic World
Armory Plaza – Rt 38
Mount Holly, NJ
August 6th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Looks pretty decent, though i’ll save judgement for final product. Though i would like to ask if anybody noticed RR appears to be leading these ninja’s?
August 6th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Awesome.
Been following To since he was a lowly fan artist posting He-Man drawings online.
–J.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
thank god… i hate ramon bachs art with a passion!
August 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Well, he passes the “draw a million-zillion ninjas” test. Welcome aboard, good sir!
August 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
The art looks great due to its solid attention to detail.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I was happy with Bachs’ art, and I think I’ll be happy with To’s. I just never like seeing the revolving door in motion (and still think that it undermines even great books like X-Factor).
I have been happily surprised by how much I like the first two issues of Red Robin. It wasn’t on my t-buy list at first, but it’s really grabbed me, and a strong artist can only help Yost’s effective scripts sell better.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
hated the art,that’s why i couldn’t buy it.now i may try an issue.
August 6th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
thank god. Just make sure Tim is drawn to look like Tim. He’s not a hulking 6 foot guy.
August 6th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
this not the first time rotating artists have worked on a Grant Morrison series remember New XMen .
I like the art here. I had no complaints about Bachs art in the first place issue 2 looked a heck of a lot better then one
and on another positive note Ramon is taking over the new Azrael series
August 6th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Oh hell yeah! Ramon Bachs is a very good artist, but he was SO wrong for Red Robin. Looking forward to having a sleaker superhero artist on the book!
August 7th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Oh hell yes! I don’t know this artist, but that image speaks for itself! I can’t wait to see this.
August 8th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Good news, nice preview art.
August 8th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Let’s hope DC doesn’t slap a lousy inker onto To’s work; this guy’s work shows some promise. DC has a history of ruining good pencil artwork by hiring bargain-basement inking talent.
Patrick Gleason’s artwork on GL Corps comes to mind: his pencils are beautiful but the finished product looks rushed and inconsistent. Also, anyone who has seen Dale Eaglesham’s artwork for Marvel will notice how much better his artwork looks when it’s been digitally-inked as opposed to the “team” on inkers DC assigned to finish it during his JSA run.
Lastly, I don’t agree that Thibert improved Bachs’ pencils at all. Even accepting that Bachs was the wrong guy for Red Robin, Thirbert’s inks made Bach’s work look like a Ron Lim-wannabe’s. That’s not a compliment.
Thibert’s recent work has been pretty pedestrian and his work on this book is just another example.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Marcus To is an amazing artist that only gets better. Love the preview pages and can’t wait till the book comes out. Hope there is an A list colorist on it too!!
September 8th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
To is an unbelievabley great artist
!! His artwork is amazing, and from my point of view, cannot be faulted. So definately excited about Red Robin!!!