Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue at random, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

It’s always nice to find a comic series where you can jump in at an individual issue, even if it’s in the middle of a story arc, and not feel completely lost just because you haven’t had the context of the preceding months. This issue of Robin is one that I randomly picked up in a newsagents on holiday somewhere in my teens, never having read another issue of Tim Drake’s solo series; but despite the fact that it deals with the aftermath of a major event in Tim’s school life, and features various characters I’d never seen before, as a standalone issue it’s perfectly accessible – the level of exposition in the first couple of pages enough to give a precis of what’s going on without feeling like overkill.

Chuck Dixon – despite any objectionable views he may or may not have put forth on the intarwebs – is probably among the writers who has most had a handle on the “Bat Family” of the last decade or so, in particular the characters of Tim, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon; and he was certainly a good fit for the Robin series. Here, we see a good mix of teen drama – Tim trying to cope with the shooting of a schoolmate, while also attempting to keep the existence of Stephanie “Spoiler” Brown out of his non-costume life – and vigilantism, as Tim and Steph hunt down the gang members responsible. This mix is exactly the sort of thing that a good Robin series should do, and it’s comparable to, say, the current Blue Beetle – although for a series based around teen characters, it’s sadly lacking in the humour department, despite Steph livening up the page each time she appears.

It also, in comparison to the rest of the issue, features a disappointing third act – once Robin and Spoiler invade gang “turf”, they encounter a desperately clichéd group of squatting, gun-toting “gangstas”, and the whole thing feels like the work of somebody very white and middle-class who’s perhaps seen a bit too much TV. A strong cameo from Batman at the end almost rescues it, but even so, it feels like territory that neither Dixon nor the character are comfortable in - we’re hardly talking Greg Rucka, put it that way.

One of the biggest selling-points of the series at this point, however, was the art of the late, great Mike Wieringo. The fact that he was actually able to make teenaged characters look their age (something of a rarity in the ‘90s – unlike today, when the growing influence of Manga, and indeed of artists like ‘Ringo himself, means we have artists like Freddie Williams and Cully Hamner drawing DC’s ever-growing teen cadre) made him a perfect fit for the book, and though his style here is cartoony, there’s a good sense of expression in the characters, combined with his trademark energy.

Despite my affection for the character, I’m not sure there’s ever been a time when Robin was completely unmissable stuff – but Dixon gave it a decent shout during his (lengthy) run, particularly as he built a supporting cast that was unique to the character, rather than being reliant on Bruce Wayne’s Merry Band. It can be a bit uncomfortable reading issues from this era that feature a wide-eyed, hopeful and wisecracking Spoiler when you consider the shameful treatment later meted out to her (read Girl Wonder for more of that) but nevertheless, if the grappling-with-teenage-life-as-well-as-burgeoning-hero-career genre is your thing, the run is well worth a look.