A return to what we do best... or I think I do at any rate! :)

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

It's been noted, and not by me, that since we moved here, we've been lacking a certain something, a certain "je ne sais quoi", But I've realised je sais exactly what quoi we're missing...

TIED UP ROBIN!

And so, to rectify that, I've gone digging through my archives to come up with a selection of published pages and commission work which fits the bill. More by coincidence than anything they all feature Dick Grayson... what a surprise! :)

So, to paraphrase Stephen Sondheim in his original version of "Back in Business" from Dick Tracy (Not to be confused with Madonna's version, the Sondheim one is far more of a period piece... but I digress)


Mitch Ballard - My very first commission piece!


I love this piece "The Hunter and Hunted" so damn much! It set the standard for all my future commissions, and I've been ridiculously lucky with the commissions and pages I've got. The scan doesn't do it justice, but Dick's PO'd glare is wonderful, and as someone once said, looking at it, "You can just tell by looking at it. Under that mask, Slade is SMILING"

Irv Novick and Dick Giordano

From Batman 246 "How Many Ways Can a Robin Die?"

Trevor Von Eeden

From his backup strips in Batman, and my second ever commission piece!

Gene Colan

From the Vampiri story arc

Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

From Batman 321's cover

Dick Giordano (I think)


Walt Simonson


Also from Batman 321

George Perez

From New Teen Titans #22

And this is what seems to be a test-ink page by Rick Magyar over Perez pencils from New Teen Titans #7. The odd thing is that Magyar didn't ink the published issue, and there are no word balloons.


Bob Brown and Joe Giella


From a Batman issue whose number escapes me for the moment, but is an unused cover




Andy Price - One of my most recent commissions


And we end as we started, with the Mitch Ballard piece, this time to show the difference that colouring can make! :)


Hope you enjoyed these affectionate tributes to the Teen Wonder in assorted states of captivity, and that this will inspire others to share their... personal peccadillos!

Comments

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Very, very nice!

But, Ummm. Hello! Why must you tease with only the small offering from Batman 246?

Seriously. That post was how I even found S_D. Don't know how I stumbled on it, but I did. And I was very happy.

Also, Trenchcoated, Robin-drowning Batman Bondage Sears Toys For the Win.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

A repost of 246 might be in the offing, but will require trimming because of the new guidelines...

[wheresmything.insanejournal.com]

Robin in distress. New s_d is now properly christened!

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

On the Mitch Ballard: You can just tell by looking at it.

So true!

How long ago did you start collecting?

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

The first piece of original comic art I bought was my Cypher splash page by Alan Davis, which I got over 20 years ago now (and for a price that would make you weep if you knew how little it was). I added an odd piece or two over the next decade (the New Mutants Art Adams lithograph, my DR and Quinch page) and a bit, but I only really got interested in the notion of commissions about five or six years ago.

[parsimonia.insanejournal.com]

Unless I'm mistaken, I think that first panel there, from Batman 246 is where the Superdictionary must've got the image of Robin where he says "I must get these ropes off."

Also, I'm just thinking about the idea of Robin in bondage, as we see here. Despite the fact that we all very much enjoy the sight of it, it never really strikes me as excessively exploitive or objectifying. Even if he's tied up and facing mortal peril, he's almost always portrayed as struggling or fighting back in a strong way.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

That is indeed the source for the superdictionary entry.

You raise an interesting point about him never meekly accepting being captured. The struggle is half the "fun"... There's also the fact that you know he's going to escape or be rescued before anything dire happens to him, so it's sort of "safe" to enjoy his capture and restraint. (And in a way I could never enjoy a similar scene if it were remotely real)

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

You know, I love recognizing SuperDictionary in comics now. S_D made me buy a copy.

Speaking of which: dammit, dammit, dammit. I found the source for this the other day in something in my big stack of comics and can't find it now. Little help, anybody?

I want to say it was still about Robin, but maybe I'm just overgeneralizing.

[merseybeatler.insanejournal.com]

....PANSY PURPLE TRENCHCOAT.

Is it terrible of me that I find 'why is Batman wearing a giant pansy purple trenchcoat (and fatsuit?) and matching hat' a more pressing, urgent question than 'why is Batman apparently condeming his ward to a watery grave'?

It's just SO HORRIBLE.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Well, it IS a more... surprising element than Robin being chained up and thrown overboard...

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Oh, that made me laugh out loud. Especially the fatsuit. LOL.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

You'd think he'd want to look svelte. Even when especially when condemning his ward to a watery grave. Gonna have to find a new ward and all.

[tsuki_the_geek.insanejournal.com]

AND NOW WE CAN CALL IT HOME! Thanks icon_uk!

[johnzdrake.insanejournal.com]

Feels like home now... Whew...

[magus_69.insanejournal.com]

Mmm... bound Dick...

Thanks for sharing!

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Dammit, now I've got that song stuck in my head. And I know perfectly well it won't go away until I've watched the movie again, and my VCR is dead at the moment, so I can't. Dammit! Thanks a lot, icon_uk.
Oh, well, at least it's from a movie I like. Are you a fan of it?

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Don't worry, it's a great little song. :)

Dick Tracy? It managed to do what it set out to do I suppose, but since I have little love (more due to lack of interest than active loathing) for the original comic strip, I was perhaps not the best audience for it.

[queen_marshed.insanejournal.com]

At last, scans_daily 2.0 is complete! :D

I personally blame you for my bondage fetish. If it weren't for you I would've stayed normal! XD

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Why the blankety-blank would you ever want to stay normal?

And to paraphrase Scream; "scans_daily didn't make me a bondage fetishist, it made my bondage fetish MORE CREATIVE!" :)

[skitty_kat.insanejournal.com]

Ah ... now that's a nice thing for a Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and Dick Grayson's tied up in a variety of different ways. Thank you, sir, thank you!

Quick question though: why is Batman wearing a trenchcoat and throwing Robin in the river? I've never seen that one.

Also: Sondheim. Yay!

[jarodrussell.insanejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes. Brag, brag, brag. Your favorite teen sidekick gets in way more trouble than mine. It's always about the Robins, isn't it. ;)

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I feel like I should apologise, and yet....

Actually it does seem a little unfair, since you'd have thought the "damsel in distress" would be more of a staple in such a male oriented medium. Yet look what we get! Sucks to be hetero sometimes, eh? :)

[goblinthebamf.insanejournal.com]

for some reason Batman dumping tied up Robin into the river cracks me up.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

"You haven't been tied up all week Robin"

"Yeah, great isn't it?"

"On the contrary, it means you might be slipping in your escapology skills"

"Oh man... does that mean..."

"Indeed it does chum. Get me a length of chain, a block of concrete and my Robin-chaining coat and hat."

"Holy hostage crisis!"

[redsilkscarf.insanejournal.com]

What an awesome post; thanks so much!

Those few pages of Dick by George Perez are nothing short of obscene... I wholly approve. :D

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I recall the happy, happy day that issue hit the shelves.

You can see a larger sample of the issue here (http://community.livejournal.com/robin_daily/85499.html)

[metrosessuale.insanejournal.com]

Sheer fabulosity. I know it's probably a very silly thing to say, but whenever I see Perez-drawn Robin I think, 'He must have REALLY ENJOYED drawing that. I mean, really.'