Brief Thoughts: Tim Drake in "Two-Face Strikes Twice!"

Two-Face Strikes Twice! is a comic that I normally never would have picked up if it weren't for the internet. Published in '93, the comic is double-sided and two-volumed, meaning you read half and then flip it over and read the other half. Book 1 has the first parts of two different stories, Book 2 has the second half of each story. Since I have only been able to get my hands on Book 1 I'll only discuss that one. The story concerns Harvey Dent tormenting his ex-wife, Gilda Dent, but mostly serves as an excuse to trot out that giant Two-Face coin prop a couple more times. The story itself leaves much to be desired but it doesn't matter so much for this because the artwork is what originally caught my eye.

Each of the stories in the comic are drawn in a different style. Part one is in a more classic, Golden Age style while part two is done in the painted style seen above by Daerick Gross. Though the art style is not my favorite aesthetically the blocking is quite interesting. The left-hand scan at the beginning of this article is the one that originally made me track down the comic. While at first glance it might seem like a standard scene inside the Batcave it is Tim Drake's body language that has caught my eye. As you can see, Bruce has decided to go out and follow a lead on Two-Face and is discussing this with Tim, who was already in the cave when Bruce arrived downstairs. In the first panel, you can see that Tim is in a casual pose. His back is more or less straight, his head is slightly tilted, his feet are kicked under the bench and his hands are just flopped in his lap. In this same panel, Bruce is starting to get changed out of his civilian clothes and into his uniform. In the next panel, Tim is pointedly looking away from Bruce, and though he is still sitting up straight the tone of his body language has altered significantly. Now Tim's ankles are crossed, though his knees are still spread, and his hands are purposefully placed in front of his crotch, the left one holding the right in a somewhat nervous, uncertain gesture. Bruce, in this same panel, has stripped down to his underwear and is adjusting his jock strap, still not looking at Tim. In the final panel, Tim is looking back at Bruce, his chin is a little higher set but his body is now leaning against the wall behind him. Most significantly, his arms are crossed with his hands gripping his own upper-arms in a hug, another nervous, and this time self-protective, gesture. Yet, in contrast, his feet are now planted on the ground in front of him and his legs are spread wide, his reclining position now subconsciously presenting his crotch to Batman. Batman, meanwhile, is completely dressed and adjusting his cowl. In three panels we have managed to establish certain things about their characters that have nothing to do with the dialogue. First, we have established that Batman is far too engrossed in his own thoughts to pay any attention to Tim beyond basic conversation. Second, we have established that Tim is both a healthy adolescent male and also subconsciously sending Bruce signals that he is attracted to him.

Later, on page 14 (as seen in the image on the right - my apologies for the poor photo quality), Tim has been sent by Batman to a clinic where Two-Face and his hench-twins are up to no good. While Tim is checking the place out from the outside, Batman sneaks up on him, per his usual form. Except, Tim completely jumps out of his skin when he realizes Batman is there. Generally, slightly startled is the most you would expect out of someone Batman knows really well but Tim looks completely rattled. The dark knight is depicted as a mere shadow in the background of this panel while Tim takes up most of the foreground in a feminine-coded pose that is seen quite often in depictions of women in comic books but hardly ever for men. He has what is called "S-spine" going on which means that his back is curved so that his butt is sticking out and his chest is puffed up with his ribcage sticking out oddly to emphasize a tiny waistline. His arms are bent and raised level with his chest in a softer pose and his legs are elongated and have more of a feminine curve. His face has a soft jawline and his mouth is open in a gasp with a more definite pink tone added to his lips that there was before. All of this contributes a pose that looks as though the artist copied it from an image of a female character somewhere.

Now it is interesting to see a Tim Drake displaying sexualized body language towards Bruce and then, when he appears next in the comic as Robin, striking a typical pose for a woman in mainstream comics. (In fact, the sort of pose that many women grow tired of seeing in mainstream comics because, really, who pushes their butt and chest out simultaneously like that on a regular basis? It's not good for your spine.) There are two main readings that you can take away from these panels.

The first possible reading, the one that immediately jumps to mind for me, is a sexually anxious Tim Drake. When he first appears he is sitting in the Batcave watching Bruce change and it makes him nervous and uncertain of himself. He struggles internally, possibly without really realizing what he is struggling with, over his sexual interest in Bruce and his need to go hide somewhere and be embarrassed. Tim is still a teenager coming to grips with his newfound sexuality and his mind is easily distracted by it. When Batman sneaks up on him later he is more startled than he would normally be because the earlier scenario is the last time he saw him and it is still fresh in his mind; that level of discomfort, uncertainty, and embarrassment has not yet left.

The second possible reading (and the more likely one, if I'm being honest) is that the artist did not really realize what he was doing. He probably meant to show through Tim's body language either his mental puzzling through what Bruce was saying or else his embarrassment at sitting there while Bruce changes because while I would imagine they change into their uniforms in close proximity on a regular basis (time is of the essence) and have seen each other in various states of undress during medical exams Tim is still an adolescent and hasn't known Bruce too terribly long. Although this does not explain the startled "S-spine" pose later on I guess I can't complain too much about a guy being drawn in one of those awful poses for once instead of a woman. I suppose it would help my interpretation of Tim's blocking if I knew a little more about the artist and could guess at his intentions. However, I couldn't find much information on the web, or at least nothing very helpful for this analysis.

So what am I getting at with all of this? No, I'm not really declaring that Tim Drake is gay or in love with Bruce. They've established him as straight in the comics and I can accept that reading and move on. What I think I'm really saying is that blocking is everything and subtext is just as important as text. Different people tend to glean different meanings from a piece of media. When you combine images with the words several more layers of text and subtext are introduced. Delicious, flaky layers. Like a puff pastry. Mmmmm.