Canon Recs & Resources

[dcu_memes]

With the DCU Universe being spread out over so many titles and, let’s face it, so many decades, trying to keep track of all that canon can be exhaustingThis post is designed to make things a little easier, but it needs your help

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Tim And Kon As Teammates (Buyer's Guide 1)

[dcu_memes]

Unfortunately, a lot of Tim and Kon's early careers, both individually and as a team, aren't collected as trades, and the little that is collected is out of print. The following collect several key storylines from the Young Justice era (League Of Their Own contains the first few issues, I believe) but I'm only including these links for reference - I would not recommend paying some of these prices. Try eBay or second-hand bookstores. I've found Sins Of Youth at a library, so never say never! (Both JLA: World Without Grown-Ups and Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day are collected in other, more recent titles.)

♥ JLA: World Without Grown-Ups
♥ Young Justice: A League Of Their Own
♥ Young Justice: Sins Of Youth
♥ Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day

There is some good news, however. The new Young Justice tv show may not be connected to the comics bearing the same name, but it has inspired DC to release several Young Justice specials collecting key stories. These all came out in the past 12 months, so finding back-issues should be much easier and cheaper than finding the out-of-print trades.

♥ DC Presents Young Justice 1
♥ DC Presents Young Justice 2
♥ DC Presents Young Justice 3

In comparison, most of the Teen Titans run has been collected in trades (although DC, as ever, lag severely behind in how long it takes them to get those trades out). A full list of trades and the issues they contain can be found here, although for Tim/Kon shippers I'd recommend the following...

♥ A Kid's Game
The first trade from this run of Teen Titans, it establishes the new version of the team, and has Kon and Tim investigating whether Luthor is really Kon's genetic donor, a secret the two of them keep for quite some time.
♥ The Insiders
A crossover with the Outsiders, where Luthor uses Kon to attack the Teen Titans. Although not, perhaps, an essential Tim/Kon title, this is a significant arc for Kon.
♥ The Death and Return of Donna Troy
Another crossover with the Outsiders. Included here because it collects Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day in a book that's still in print.
♥ Life And Death
This collects the issues of Infinite Crisis relevant to Kon's story, meaning you don't have to read the whole crossover event (which can be confusing, since it splits its focus between between pretty much every character in the DCU). Corresponding issues from Teen Titans and Robin are also included.

Tim And Kon As Teammates (Buyer's Guide 2)

[dcu_memes]

Besides these team books, there are few more titles (both individual issues and collected trades) that feature Tim and Kon working together.

♥ World's Finest 3
As featured in the first comment on this post. I've yet to find these 2 issues in any comic book shop I've visited, but that doesn't mean they're not still out there.
♥ Superboy 85
Although this issue revolves around Kon's first encounter with Cass Cain, it starts with some laugh-out-loud banter between Kon and Tim. Kon is quite adamant in his belief that the entire Batfamily should talk like they just stepped out of Adam West's Batman tv show.
♥ Robin: Tales Of Fire And Madness
The story will probably make more sense if you read the entire trade, but the Tim/Kon interaction is all in issue 141, when Tim asks Kon to pose as Robin to help maintain his secret identity. More banter, more of Kon abusing the word "chum".
♥ Final Crisis: Legion Of 3 Worlds
I wouldn't call this essential, since Kon is only featured towards the end, but it does show his resurrection for those wishing to read it.
♥ Superboy: Boy Of Steel Collecting the relevant stories from Adventure Comics after Kon's return. You could choose to only buy issue 3, which is the most Tim/Kon heavy issue, but I'd highly recommend going for the entire book if you're a Kon fan.
♥ Red Robin: Collision
After Final Crisis, the Robin identity was passed to Damian Wayne and Tim became Red Robin. This is the second trade from the Red Robin title, which as a whole is extremely enjoyable, but if you're looking for individual issues then check out issue 9 where Kon visits Gotham and there's some adorable Tim/Kon hugging.
♥ On The Shoulders Of Titans - Not yet collected in trade, this two-part storyline consists of Red Robin 20 and Teen Titans 92. Tim works with the Teen Titans for the first time since Kon and Bart's return, having to deal with Damian also being on the team. There's a lovely Teen Titans group hug and Kon gushing about how Tim will always be his Robin.

This isn't a comprehensive list of their interactions, but it should give potential readers a starting point and a guide to what's actually available to buy.