From Grayson (Fun Fact: I forgot the "r" at first) Annual 2

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There's not a single thing here I don't like. (Well save for Clark's current costume, but you know the whole de-powered thing, so time's are rough in his neck of the woods right now.) We've all complained time and again about how one of the major failings of the reboot in terms of how Dick's character was handled was the lack of interacting/connection between him and other heroes, to the point that when he died we really had to question who would really even care outside of the Bat Family. Nice to see his good relationship with Clark being acknowledged, because i've always felt that, in his own way, Superman was just as big an influence on Dick as Batman was. Also good to see that a similar origin for the Nightwing name still exists as it did Pre-Flashpoint.

@nathaniel_christopher said:

From Grayson (Fun Fact: I forgot the "r" at first) Annual 2

Gallery

There's not a single thing here I don't like. (Well save for Clark's current costume, but you know the whole de-powered thing, so time's are rough in his neck of the woods right now.) We've all complained time and again about how one of the major failings of the reboot in terms of how Dick's character was handled was the lack of interacting/connection between him and other heroes, to the point that when he died we really had to question who would really even care outside of the Bat Family. Nice to see his good relationship with Clark being acknowledged, because i've always felt that, in his own way, Superman was just as big an influence on Dick as Batman was. Also good to see that a similar origin for the Nightwing name still exists as it did Pre-Flashpoint.

Agreed. *Claps* I saw people complaining that their relation was too "dude bro" but I loved it like that, actually. That shows you see the other as a sort of equal in some way. I like that implication honestly.

@jayaaerow said:

@nathaniel_christopher said:

From Grayson (Fun Fact: I forgot the "r" at first) Annual 2

Gallery

There's not a single thing here I don't like. (Well save for Clark's current costume, but you know the whole de-powered thing, so time's are rough in his neck of the woods right now.) We've all complained time and again about how one of the major failings of the reboot in terms of how Dick's character was handled was the lack of interacting/connection between him and other heroes, to the point that when he died we really had to question who would really even care outside of the Bat Family. Nice to see his good relationship with Clark being acknowledged, because i've always felt that, in his own way, Superman was just as big an influence on Dick as Batman was. Also good to see that a similar origin for the Nightwing name still exists as it did Pre-Flashpoint.

Agreed. *Claps* I saw people complaining that their relation was too "dude bro" but I loved it like that, actually. That shows you see the other as a sort of equal in some way. I like that implication honestly.

Exactly, and that really in my opinion just works better. If Bruce is Dick's father, Clark's his cool uncle and once you reach adulthood there's an equal amount of respect that should pass between all parties. Both Dick and Clark are able to be fully open and honest with each other here about the recent hardships in their lives and I think that's important.

Pretty much what everyone said, I like the idea that Dick views Bruce and Clark more or less like equals. Also, I have no problem with superheroes "dude-bro'ing" it up, it's a fun way to remind us that these characters are human.

It's like Tim and Jason teasing Dick over Matron being 'hot'.

I also agree. I love that they seem like friends. I'm also just happy to see their connection reestablished.

You are all right. It's great that they are slowly weaving his former relationship's back together. And with Tim in Grayson I can certainly see them going back to the younger-older brother dynamic they had. I am really interested in Titans Hunt thou, the relationship's outside of the Batman books are actually what I missed the most.

You know if there are 2 good things about Batman and Robin Eternal it's that it's featuring Dick, Jason, and Tim working together at least, and that as far as Dick goes especially it's forcing actual discussion to be made on the relationship between Bruce and his "son". Think i've mentioned before where a lot of writers have acted as if Damian is somehow special, if not just "better", than the others because he's actually related to Bruce by blood and i've always thought that that was a deeply disturbing and unfortunate thing to imply in regards to adoptive relationships, even moreso when dealing with the Bat family as adoption is such a big part of the mythos overall. (Not only in regards to Dick, Jason, Tim, or even Cassandra, but with Alfred and Bruce as well)

Also it's a small thing, but this issue also revealed that Dick's kept a safehouse in Gotham for years, which just shows a nice bit of forethought. Believe that we've seen both Jason and Bruce do something similar before.

What Tim and Jason really need is to be taken under Doyle's editorial. Ever since the New 52, they haven't had much relevance other than being vanity characters for fill-in writers favored by DC.

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As a person who's been against this whole "We Are Robin" thing from the jump, this was good in every way. Dick referring to Jason, Tim, and Damian as his brothers, acknowledging that as the first Robin all of this is his responsibility, stepping up to take control of a situation that's been out of control beforehand, showing leadership, and in general not just slapping these guys down and calling them stupid kids. This was all handled well.

Also, thank the good and sweet Lord that Jason's look was reversed for this.

@nathaniel_christopher said:

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I really don't like how Janin draws faces, they somehow look wrong (maybe it's Uncanny Valley effect).

@aahz said:

@nathaniel_christopher said:

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I really don't like how Janin draws faces, they somehow look wrong (maybe it's Uncanny Valley effect).

That's probably exactly what it is, but at the same time it works for me. We've certainly seen far worse.

I wonder since Tim Seeley seems to be taking over some of the writing duties of New Suicide Squad (Midnighter will have them appear)....maybe we can see a crossover between NSS and Grayson in the future. I think the two worlds can intersect rather easily.

@aahz said:

@nathaniel_christopher said:

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I really don't like how Janin draws faces, they somehow look wrong (maybe it's Uncanny Valley effect).

Yeah if there's one weakness to Mikel Janin's work is that the faces can start to look similar after awhile. The cover for Grayson Annual #2 is a good example as well as Dick and Jason in Grayson #12.

@youknowwhattodo: It's more like the facial expressions in his work look sometimes wrong,.

And I'm wondering why Tim is sitting on the rail like this ...

Luka Netz... right Kathy, try better next time.

#14 was good but the big reveal certainly suffered through the lack of Janín's art. But Dick finally went all out, waiting for #16 will be hell.

Netherworld Nudge

I'd like to see more stories about the following:

1. Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne working together

2. Grayson-Robin-Nightwing working with Ra's al Ghul on a time machine

Both of these unlikely stories will create more 'strangeworld' fanfare.

Spoilers for Omega Men

King just introduced the Hypnos in Omega Men. An alien gave it to a man in exchange for a shoe, earth things are very rare in that place.I think is very cool

According to some dude who claimed to have seen Batman V. Superman said on reddit: (always the most trusted source, the fact that they say it's great gives me some pause)

Dick Grayson is alive and is undercover somewhere

Kinda adds fuel to the fire that Scott Eastwood is Dick Grayson for Suicide Squad

Is Batman & Robin Eternal worth reading?

I think it's worth reading, it's better than the other two weekly's DC put out recently Batman Eternal and Futures End.

@the_kidd said:

Maybe if you like Cass and Harper, but no as a Dick Grayson story or a Robin story or Batman story, definitely not as a Batman and Robin story.

@vitacura: Well that is disappointing as I don't care much for Harper and as curious as I am to find out nuCass's origins, it's not worth reading a weekly.

@youknowwhattodo: That is not exactly hard to do.

For anyone who wanted to know what was going on with the Titans TV show on TNT..well...according to TNT and TBS president Kevin Reilly the project is no longer in development by the network.

I can't say I'm all that surprised at the news, prolonged silence over a series potentially in development is never a good sign. Before the silence, the rumors that the show was being renamed to Blackbirds, my doubts started to creep in about the shows viability because I didn't believe that the studio execs had a clear vision for the series.

BRE is a big dissapointment. I hope it ends soon and that Dick can go back to do amazing Spyral stuff. I also would love a crossover with Damian and then with Midnighter and Suicide Squad but I guess the last two will happen soon after all Suicide Squad has now the same writer and Midnighter is getting involved with them now.

I really enjoyed the latest issue of Grayson, it wasn't the best in the series, but it was arguably the most entertaining one and the payoff in the end was so satisfying.

It also seemed as though in this issue, Tim Seeley took all of the criticisms from tumblr into account and gave those critics the middle finger lol.

That theme song though....

I am proud that Seeley did that if they had been rational he would have surely taken their opinions into account but they just harassed him. Nice touch with the girl and woman trope but I guess that had more to do with the James Bond references through out.

The ending was really nice, finally, those damn shadows. I am just a bit disappointed that TAO is not Minos.

@folly: Seeley and king are off of Grayson aren't they??

@yash_blue: Not permanently. Or at least they seem to be back when Rebirth kicks in. King and Seeley tweeted that they are working on a bigger project and need the time. The temporary writers/artists stated that they already got information from King and Seeley for the plot. So while Seeley and King are off, the plot points still seem to be predefined by them. It also works with Seeley's statement that the Court of Owls will not come up much in Grayson either because he does not write it or because it does not come up while he is on the book.

One of my favorite issues, just for its style and ending.

Idk, Tim Seeley's twitter feed seemed to confirm he was leavingGrayson. Of course, that doesn't mean Tim and Tom aren't going to be writing Dick Grayson anymore, the pair seemed to imply from their earlier tweets that they still will, just not in a series named Grayson.

@folly: I don't know how to feel about that I mean I really wanted the court to be grasons villainous group but the robin war was such a mess,court turned into parliament and became a lame and dismissive group just like that

Disappointed

The theme song for Agenty Thirty Seven is an instant classic lol I need it for my phone.

@nathaniel_christopher: right! I laughed my butt off.

I just started reading Grayson and its been really good so far. The pacing, action, and dialogue are all great and make it very entertaining. I also really like the spy angle and it seems like a vwry interesting direction for Dick. Midnighter is also pretty cool in it. So far Im only on issue 3, but its been really good so far. Ill definitely have to get caught up so I can join in the discussion.

I'm tempted to say that this is one of the best runs we've had for the character. Perhaps not as important as say his time with the New Teen Titans or in Bludhaven under Dixon, but certainly better than what we were getting previously.

Bronze Tony the Tiger vs Dick and Tony the Tiger? bring it.

Just read the preview for Batman and Robin Eternal, where exactly does that fall within Grayson continuity?

@the_kidd: probably just after agent zero threatened Dick into returning to spyral

Batman and Robin Eternal take place after Grayson 12, and I think before Robin Wars, so in-between Grayson 12 and Grayson 15 would be my guess

Even for Robin wars it is hard to tell, when it happened in the continuity of Grayson (even if Grayson was part of the cross over).

Looks like Grayson will be ending soon and Dick will be going back to being Batman's boot boy.

Don't forget, he'll be leading the Titans as well!!!!

It's like the 90's all over again!!!

Is this confirmed?

Like his return to Nightwing, it's not confirmed but it's heavily implied from rumors and recent developments.

@youknowwhattodo I haven't really read much of Devon Grayson's Titans run. I heard that it was kinda like a modern drama meets superheroes? I was pretty young at the time it started and wasn't into comics, just batman the animated series. I wouldn't mind seeing a new titans team, especially given the one the New 52 has pushed, but do you think that a new team can be successful? Also wouldn't mind hearing your opinion on the old Titans series

The Wolfmann/Perez New Teen Titans was definitely a lot like modern drama meets superheroes and it was arguably one of the most important books DC published in the 80's. In fact it was so big that there was a crossover between New Teen Titans and Uncanny X-Men. Reading it now, I do think the comic holds up rather well, which is impressive considering the series itself is older than me. I don't want to get into a lengthy review so I'll sum it up by saying I enjoyed it. The Devin Grayson run on Titans was pretty solid from what I remember, much better than her attempts at writing Nightwing.

Do I think a remake of the Titans can be successful? If there's a fantastic creative team behind it and like Wolfmann/Perez, they end up writing on of the best comic books DC has put out in a long time, it can work. Unfortunately, since the 90's DC has tried to recapture the magic of the Wolfman/Perez run and they've never been able to do so. While I've enjoyed parts of the reboot, but if there's one area where they've struggled, it's in team books and young heroes...which a new Titans comic would feature both. Basically, I don't have any confidence that a new Titans series will live up to the hype and am fairly certain will disappoint a lot of people. I've read Titan's Hunt and the reunion has been underwhelming to say the least.

@youknowwhattodo: I'm interested to see if Batman and Robin eternal really brings him back as nightwing. Especially after the last issue. What I really wanna know is if we can see Helena in a post-Grayson book with dick. I really like the way she has been written compared to how she was written pre-new52. Think the next book featuring Grayson will be court of owls centric considering what happened in Robin War? Not sure how I would feel about that.

Also, I love this forum because their are people who really care about Dick Grayson as a character and know so much about him. It made getting into comics a lot easier for me

Agreed on every single point, though I will say that I thought Geoff John's run on the Teen Titans was solid, with him making the concept work again. There are a lot of choices that were made in the New 52 that I think were flawed from the ground up and the new Teen Titans series was one of them. The execution, the team members, the history, all terrible.

Man I really do need to get the New Teen Titans run though. If only i'd jumped on the omnibuse's when they were still fairly cheap.

One of my favorite aspects of the first season of Grayson (issues #1-8) was the relationship/dynamic between Dick and Helena. In my opinion, it would be wise for DC to continue to develop that relationship even if/when Dick returns to being Nightwing. When I say relationship, I'm not referring to 'shipping', I just want to see them interact as much as possible. With the exception of Damian, no character in the new 52 has clicked with Grayson more than Helena 'Matron' Bertinelli. Will we see her in the same book as Dick? I'm not sure, they'd certainly interact a few times since it's obvious that Helena holds the key to Dick becoming Nightwing again and it would be stupid to cut the cord on the two right after. It's certainly possible that if there's a new Birds of Prey book, Helena would be a part of it. Personally, I don't want to see it because

a) it's been done before

b) if BOP is going to be heavily influenced by Fletcher/Stewart's Batgirl (they might even write it), a former spymaster/assassin in Helena would seem out of place. While I enjoyed the Batgirl: Annual, it was obvious that Matron DID NOT fit that world. Aside from reader nostalgia, I can't imagine why Helena would even want to work with Burnside Babs?

If Helena's not heavily featured in the next Dick Grayson book, at the very least make her relevant in the Batman comic which may or may not be written by Tom King.

For the next plot of a Grayson solo, I also am rather lukewarm about the prospects of it being about Dick infiltrating the Court of Owls in Gotham. It would have worked much, much better two years ago after the CoO tie-in with Nightwing, but I feel now it's a little late for that, not to mention it feels like a demotion. I'd much rather have him a part of Checkmate or ARGUS. But, maybe the new direction surprises me like Grayson did.

I can't believe I forgot about John's run, it was arguably the closet the Teen Titans came to being the toast of DC. I think what helped the concept work (besides Geoff Johns writing it) was the fact that Johns wasn't trying to recreate the past by inserting characters who clearly outgrew the series (Dick Grayson, Wally West). Instead, he focused including characters from Young Justice and inserting them into Teen Titans lore.

Bingo. Johns understood what the Teen Titans should be and executed it well. Didn't try to keep writing the older guys as if they were still kids, but instead moved them off the team and focused on a new core cast of younger heroes, with many having connections to older heroes in the JLA (Which is what the group's always been about). At the same time, he kept a few old favorites like Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy, who specifically didn't have their own series to star in. This drew back other old fans of the franchise as well, while at the same time Johns, again, didn't write them as being the young guys they were when they first joined the team. They were the veterans now, mentors in their own right who were responsible for all of the new kids. This set up a good balance between the young and old, with the focus still being primarily on the young. Then there was just a really good team dynamic overall as well. Loved that run and also need to track down the omnibus for it at some point.

I do also hope Helena stays as a recurring character. Honestly I would not mind if the others would be kept around as well, at least Tiger and Kathy. Seeing his freenemy relationship with Midnighter going to waste would be sad too.

I'm not so hyped for the Court of Owls after the Spyral Infiltration and because they just do not seem like a real threat (anymore). Ultimately it will depend on the writers especially with Nightwing going bi-monthly. I just hope the new story will still have the breath of fresh air and not fall into the batman-lite.