EP 109: Holy (Bi)Robin! Tim Drake Comes Out
“Why change Robin? It was a no brainer.
It happens to a lot of bisexual people, it seemed like natural character development.”
Lately, all the news has been about Superman’s son Jonathan Kent coming out recently as bi-sexual in the comics - and the not-so-nice reception it’s gotten in the real world (WTF...Louis Lane?!?). But just weeks before that, ROBIN - one of the most recognizable (Queer?) comic book icons ALSO came out as Bi-sexual. This matters. It represents as big a pop culture moment as when Miles Morales & Kamala Khan were introduced to the world. And while Robin (aka Tim Drake) is not the FIRST comic book hero to come out as Queer, he represents the most important hero to do so. Because Robin has been all of us all along. From kids envisioning themselves as him, to Queer’s taking ownership (#representation), to the “Seduction of the Innocent” (+those other 1950s fear-mongering hearings) — Robin has always had us envisioning and questioning things. There has been celebration and pushback, and we wanted to talk about what it all means. So we brought together past guests Karl Preissner (Equity / Inclusion Ally & Advocate) and Steven Wakabayashi (Yellow Glitter Podcast host ), along with Ainsley Waller (Bisexual designer AND fellow comics geek) to unpack this moment and challenge our assumptions about the evolution of some of our most beloved characters...
LEARN ABOUT
Tim Drake’s big news
Ainsley Waller
Steven Wakabayashi
Karl Preissner
MENTIONS
COMIC: Batman Urban Legends #6
NEWS: Robin Writer Chuck Dixon’s problematic take
BOOK: Seduction of the Innocent (1954)
PERSON: Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)
TV: Queer as Folk (1999)
FILM: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
TV: Xena Warrior Princess
BOOK: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (Ocean Vuong)
COMIC: Flamer (Mike Curato)
COMIC: Displacement (Kiku Hughes)
FILM: Moonlight (2016)
CHARACTER: Elizabeth Bennet (Pride & Prejudice)
CHARACTER: Master Splinter (TMNT)
CHARACTER: Dumbledore (Harry Potter)