First Appearance of Tim Drake as Robin: Batman #442 Value

Tim Drake first appears as Robin in Batman #442, cover-dated December 1989, the last chapter of "A Lonely Place of Dying", the crossover between Batman and The New Titans that told his origin (Wikipedia). PriceCharting lists #442 as his first appearance in the Robin costume.

He had already debuted four months earlier, in Batman #436 (August 1989), part 1 of "Batman: Year Three", created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Pat Broderick. Comic Watch notes that he is not named in that first issue, and Wikipedia says he was named after Tim Burton, director of the 1989 Batman film. Collectors therefore track two keys: #436 for his first appearance and #442 for his first time in the suit.

After Jason Todd's death, Tim worked out on his own that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were Batman and Robin. In "A Lonely Place of Dying" he went to Dick Grayson with what he had deduced, argued that Batman needs a Robin, and convinced Batman to train him (Wikipedia; Comic Watch). Wikipedia says he was written to differ from Grayson and Todd: high intellect, a strong sense of justice, and a family of his own outside Batman.

Comic Watch dates his official start as Robin to Batman #457, after he defeated the Scarecrow and earned Batman's approval. Batman #442 is still the first issue with him in the costume.

PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Batman #436 (first appearance): ungraded $4.81; graded 8.0 $26.27; 9.2 $38.12; 9.8 $175.00
• Batman #442 (first as Robin): ungraded $6.56; graded 6.0 $26.29; 8.0 $32.00; 9.2 $42.00; 9.8 $68.97

In 9.8 the earlier issue is worth about two and a half times the Robin-costume issue on the same date, even though #442 is the issue the search asks about. Below 9.8 both books stay under $50 graded, so check the cost of grading before sending in a copy that is not a clear 9.8 candidate. PriceCharting's graded columns are slabbed copies on the 10-point scale used by CGC and CBCS.

One of the top results is a Reddit thread asking exactly this. The numbers above show the reason: PriceCharting records ungraded #436 selling about twice a week and #442 about three times a week, so copies are easy to buy. Compare the first Robin: Dick Grayson's Detective Comics #38 (1940) is listed by PriceCharting at $16,232 even in grade 2.0 (September 25, 2026; see our Robin page). Age and supply, not popularity, set most of that gap.

After Bruce Wayne's apparent death in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, Dick Grayson became Batman and gave the Robin role to Damian Wayne, Bruce's son. Tim took the name Red Robin and left Gotham to search for Bruce; the Red Robin series launched in August 2009 (Wikipedia) and ran 26 issues before the New 52 reboot (Comic Watch). Wikipedia notes that he also used the single name "Drake" for a short time during Young Justice before returning to Robin, and Comic Watch reports that Batman #125 (July 5, 2022) made him an official Robin again.

Yes. In Batman: Urban Legends #6 (August 2021), written by Meghan Fitzmartin, his friend Bernard tells Robin that his friend Tim helped him come out, and Tim realizes that he is bisexual (Wikipedia). Comic Watch notes the story was reprinted in DC Pride: Tim Drake Special on June 14, 2022.

• Batman #436 (August 1989): first appearance, unnamed.
• Batman #442 (December 1989): first appearance as Robin.
• Batman #457: officially becomes Robin, according to Comic Watch.
• Robin #1 (January 1991): first of a five-issue miniseries written by Chuck Dixon.
• Robin vol. 2 #1 (November 1993): his ongoing series, 183 issues through April 2009.
• Red Robin #1 (August 2009): the Red Robin era.
• Batman: Urban Legends #6 (August 2021): comes out as bisexual.

Dates from Wikipedia unless marked.

• The New Batman Adventures: voiced by Mathew Valencia
• Young Justice: voiced by Cameron Bowen
• Titans (2018 series): played by Jay Lycurgo
• Batman: Arkham Knight: voiced by Matthew Mercer

All from Wikipedia's Tim Drake article.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the title, issue number, date and publisher; reprints and facsimiles say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode that did not exist in the cover year means a later edition.
• Paper: decades-old newsprint tans at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and replaced covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service such as CGC can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat and straight on in even light, then the indicia and the back cover. Batman #436 and #442 have different covers but the same masthead, so make sure the issue number in the corner is sharp. ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover art from the photo, and there are free scans every day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market, and a grade that trades about once a year can move a lot on a single sale.