Grayson: Futures End #1 – Review

By: Tom King & Tim Seely (story), Stephen Mooney (art), Jeromy Cox (colors)

The Story: Dick tries his hand at political assassination and finds it doesn’t suit him.

The Review: As my first serving of the Futures End crossover, Action Comics left a bad taste in my mouth and a deep dread of what the rest of the month would bring. With its poor use of the five-year jump, its distant connection to the Event itself, its tenuous handling of the Superman mythos, the issue checked off every trademark of a forced tie-in. You could just as easily throw it away and it would make no difference to any storyline anywhere.

Thank goodness I read Grayson second. It’s not a cleverly finessed tie-in the way Daredevil‘s tie-in with Original Scene is, but at least it does everything Action Comics does not. And it starts with King-Seely’s decision to tell its story backward, a risky move that pays off by tying Dick’s (potential) future with his famous past. Tying it all together is the motif of a rope; it’s the visual that starts off the issue and upon which the issue ends, the beginning of Dick’s life as we know it as well as its conclusion. It’s a fitting symbol for a hero who’s always placed himself on the line.

Grayson #2 – Review

By: Tim Seeley (writer), Tim Seeley and Tom King (plot), Mikel Janin; Guillermo Ortega; and Juan Castro (art), Jeromy Cox (colorist)

The Story: Agent 27’s first mission with Spyral was a big success. Dick Grayson is playing the spy game now and you can’t deny that he has the skills for it. The question now is does he have the stomach for it.

…If you’ve read the issue you’ll know why I’m sorry about that last statement.

The Review: Apparently Spyral is operating out of St. Hadrian’s Finishing School and has taken over Leviathan’s task of teaching the next generation of young women to be prim, proper assassins. While the comic says Grayson on the cover, it’s clearly Matron Bertinelli who runs this school.

After running interference last time, Helena gets some time in the limelight this issue. In some ways she’s limited by the confines of her role, there’s a right way to do her job after all, but Tim Seeley does an admirable job of demonstrating Bertinelli’s competence and outlook on the job.

It does feel this month that Dick Grayson is a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of ideas in his title. Dick is a fine point of reference and allows Seeley to introduce some welcome levity into the story. Dick’s quips occasionally feel a little generic, like they would fit any character so inclined rather than being tuned to Dick’s personality, but at times it seems as though that’s intentional. In fact, the one great element of this issue that features Dick is the very real sense of Dick’s identity being challenged. Perhaps indicative of Tom King’s influence, Grayson #2 shows Dick’s sense of isolation beautifully. The final scene can read a little flat if you’re not in the mood to empathize, but in the right space it’s rather touching.

We also get a new character, if one whose personality is somewhat sublimated to the plot, as well as appearances from nearly all of the supporting characters from issue #1. Most interesting of these is Midnighter, who is apparently going to be a recurring antagonist for Agent 27 now that he’s fallen in with an organization called the God Garden.

It’s also very worth noting that your experience of this issue will likely differ dramatically based on your interest in the areas of the DCU King and Seeley are exploring. Those longing for more of the weird and wonderful present in Batman Incorporated will be happy to find that Seeley can’t hide his enthusiasm for it, but if you’re getting sick of unelaborated-upon organizations and awkward backronyms, I’m not sure that this will bring you around.

Grayson #1 – Review

By: Tim Seeley & Tom King (story), Mikel Janín (art), Jeromy Cox (colors)

The Story: Grayson—Dick Grayson.

The Review: I’m no comic book history expert, so I can’t tell you about the actual origin of superheroes according to such niceties as facts. But I like to believe that among their closest ancestors is the spy. The idea of a person meting justice while living an apparently normal life is such an integral part of both that it’s not hard to think of them as arising from a common nucleus. So if one decides costumed vigilantism isn’t one’s thing, spywork seems like a natural alternative.

It’s thus not entirely surprising to find Dick muttering into earpieces and adopting codenames now that his public outing has made being Nightwing impossible. Besides, playing secret agent seems right up his alley. Not only is he more than qualified, skill-wise, he’s got the daredevil charm that’s so essential to the modern spy. As he dons a blond wig,* tries out his Russian, and acts out the douchey American tourist to perfection, you can tell that he’s thoroughly enjoying himself, so maybe you should, too.

Nightwing #30 – Review

By: Tim Seeley & Tom King (writers); Javier Garrón, Jorge Lucas, & Mikel Janin (pencils); Javier Garrón, Jorge Lucas, & Guillermo Ortego (inks); Jeromy Cox (colors)

When the New 52 was announced a lot of people were disappointed; the world they had come to love was being washed away. It was a tough pill to swallow but there were lights in the dark of the unknown: Scott Snyder would continue to work in Gotham, previously dormant characters and genres would receive ongoing books once again, for all the predictable decisions DC was trying new things. But, for me, there was one above all others: we were getting Nightwing back.

Now, in the wake of “Forever Evil”, that time is over and, like Dick Grayson, we have a choice: we can mourn or we can move forward.

From the first image that bounces off of your retinas you’ll recognize Tim Seeley’s unique sensibility in this book. It seems strangely natural for a writer with Seeley’s appreciation for the weird and the absurd to be picking up the threads of Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc.

Many interviewers, myself included, have asked Seeley whether to expect a spy series or a superhero comic. Seeley has staunchly insisted that it will be both and neither. “It’s a superhero book influenced by spy books,” he told me at C2E2. Despite the presence of Tom King, a former CIA Counterterrorism Officer, a fact of which much has been made and much has been assumed, this issue is unafraid to step into the weird and the fantastic. It occurs to me that Seeley’s comparisons to the original Ra’s al Ghul stories may not have been as blind to the bizarre and mystical elements of the character as I thought.

The first section of the book revolves around longtime Batfamily ally Dr. Leslie Thompkins, unsurprisingly de-aged a bit for the New 52. Despite her facelift, Thompkins is handled well. She’s not as stridently pacifistic as she has been in some interpretations, but that’s kind of to be expected when a giant Bat isn’t going to swoop in and save you by default. Thompkins has always been a very different character in Batman’s world and Seeley writes her with respect, respect not only for her beliefs but for her normalcy. Not everyone becomes a hero in times of danger, but even if she doesn’t become the new Nightwing she reacts with honest heroism in the face of a situation far beyond her control.

Javier Garrón handles the art for this chapter and seems to enjoy the extremity of Seeley’s story. The stranger the character and the more dynamic the angles the more into it he seems. Admittedly his figures occasionally feel stretched out as a result but this points to a problem with consistency more than anatomy. Certain panels, notably those involving Spyral, can be pretty wonderful and the thick lines give the segment an undeniable pop, but it feels like Garrón doesn’t say quite enough about what he’s drawing except that he can make it attractive.

Time Warp #1 – Review

By: Too many to list—or even to review.  Just check out the issue.

The Story: Is a story told yesterday but read tomorrow still the same story published today?

The Review: My view towards these showcase titles tends to be the same as Forrest Gump’s view of life as a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get.”  I’d carry the analogy further to say that sometimes, you’ll get something you really like and there isn’t enough of it, and sometimes, you’ll get something you’d rather toss out and wish no one ever included it in the first place.  A successful showcase is thus one where each offering satisfies in its own way.

In that respect, Vertigo’s latest anthology succeeds pretty well.  Given the malleability of time as a springboard for ideas, the writers included here came up with a very interesting array of stories.  Some chose to use the nature of time to muse upon deeper subjects.  In Damon Lindeloff’s “R.I.P.,” Rip Hunter’s past and future selves work together to save themselves, ultimately to no avail.  Despite his time-traveling abilities, he must eventually stare his irony-ridden fate in the eyes and give in.