Book of the Week: Grayson #12

[baldeaglecomics]

Dick Grayson is coming home. Finally. Since his gruesome “death” during DC’s Forever Evil superarc, Nightwing has been in hiding, acting as Agent 37 for Spyral, a corrupt, secret spy agency that has a hand in the political stability of the entire world. GRAYSON #12 brings Dick back to Gotham, but the journey home won’t be easy.

After the first paragraph, this article contains NO spoilers for GRAYSON #12.

(To avoid spoilers of Batman story arcs from the last three months, skip this paragraph) Since he joined Spyral, Bruce Wayne and Alfred were the only living souls that knew Dick Grayson was alive. Endgame, a masterpiece by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo spanning Batman issues 35-40, resulted in Bruce Wayne’s apparent death but it was revealed recently that Bruce is alive with absolutely no memory of his life as Batman. Dick has nearly succeeded in his Bat-assigned mission within Spyral (read Grayson issues 1-11) and now it’s time for him to return home…to a family that thinks he’s dead and a “father” that doesn’t remember him ever existing.

Writing & Plot

Tim Seeley and Tom King’s writing on the entire Grayson series has been exciting, thought-provoking, and enjoyable. GRAYSON #12 is one of the highlights of this phenomenal run. Dick has always been my favorite Robin because he complements Batman so perfectly while maintaining a unique and entertaining persona. Whenever they interact, their mutual love and respect built throughout their storied history is apparent but more apparent are the values that Bruce has imparted onto Dick. Grayson developed even more once he graduated as a Robin, becoming a mentor to Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne and refining Bruce’s values by building deep bonds with the other Robins. King & Seeley have found a way to seamlessly translate those values into Grayson’s new life as a spy and it’s interesting to see how Grayson has changed because of the conflicts between his morals and his expectations from Spyral. This issue is a sort of summation of his evolution as he now returns to the people that knew the “old” Dick Grayson.



Since everyone in the Bat Family believes Dick to be dead, it was only a matter of time before we saw each of their individual reactions to discovering he is still alive. King demonstrates his scholarly understanding of the Bat Family’s characters by writing these interactions perfectly. My favorite part of the book was the creators’ choice to use blurbs from Batman comics spanning the last 75 years to aid the storyline and build thematic tension. If you read all of the snippets, you can feel how the voices have changed over time and with the benefit of experience, providing a quick recap that explains exactly why each character reacts in the way they do. Unfortunately, these quotes don’t entirely capture how the Robins and Batgirl have changed since Dick’s death, but it’s easy to infer their current mental states based on the dialogue. Grayson’s apologies to each character are masterfully written, creating something that is meaningful to the characters’ entire history in less than eight sentences. Overall, the writing is very well done and the focus on the entire Bat Family makes this book feel like the center of the Bat Universe, if only for just a week.

Continue reading on the Bald Eagle Comics Blog!

[poroto678]

I only read this one and Sinestro, so i agree with your "book of the week" assesment.

Grayson is a great book overall. This issue was fantastic. I love the way Seeley and King write this kinda stuff.

[JasonTodd428]

Yeah, Grayson is the best book DC is putting out right now. It's not only consistently the book of the week for me but it's also frequently the book of the month as well. I really enjoy what Seeley and King are doing with it and with Dick Grayson. I think this has been the best the character's been written in a good long while.

[Robotman]

Totally agree! This was one of the best issues of an already amazing book.

[OWL45]

I agree. Grayson is the best book DC is publishing. The writing and art are top notch. They are really evolving Dick Grayson on all levels.

[The Odd Man]

Knowing that Dick was going to reveal his being alive to the Gotham crew, i had apprehensions. I was afraid that this title would be bogged down in the Bat-universe titles, and lose its unique flavour.

King and Seeley proved me wrong. And I am happy for it! So. Very. Happy.

Just when I thought this would be a turning point INTO mediocrity, I was very happily proven wrong. Seeley and King have proven my faith in them is warranted. Very much so. I can't wait for the next issue! (Which is habit for me.)

[taylortexas]

Grayson has consistently been wonderful and the best thing that's happened to the character since his run in the cape and cowl. It's a book I always look forward to and if it maintains this quality then I'm in no rush to see Nightwing return whatsoever.

[Random4]

is Dick still half-romani in New 52...or is that all been retconned?

[vartox]

is Dick still half-romani in New 52...or is that all been retconned?

He is, they specifically mentioned that once or twice.

[HellHere]

is Dick still half-romani in New 52...or is that all been retconned?

He is of "Romani descent". So read that as you will.