Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, dc comics, entertainment, grant morrison, grayson, Mikel Janin, nightwing, tim seeley, Tom King

Grayson #2 Hits The Brakes On Development In Favor Of More Of The Same

By Shawn Perry

[*Mild spoilers for Grayson #2 below!]

The second issue of Grayson by Tim Seeley and Tom King follows the pattern of the modern Hollywood sequel in that it takes what was established in the first issue and builds on it. My only complaint is that it refines without advancing and while that is not a terrible thing for a second issue to do it is indicative of an all-too-common pattern in mainstream media where keeping a story in the safe (ie: repetitive) zone seems desirable to keeping reader on their toes.  While there was plenty of great dialogue and intrigue woven in here involving Spyral, Midnighter and Dick's budding partnership with Helena Bertinelli – the inclusion of multiple conversations with Batman and the lack of storyline progression made this an overall disappointment.

As I said last month, I am a huge fan of this new status quo for Dick Grayson.  Forcing the consummate circus performer to leave the nest and fly on his own without the protective safety net of the Bat-Family or a mask has serious major potential.  In that vein, I enjoyed exploring learning more about the world of Spyral where Dick is outfitted with powerful resources and attempts dangerous missions with a skilled partner who doesn't take any crap.  Sound familiar? Helena gets fleshed out a bit more in this issue – and not just with great curves provided by the beautiful pencils of Mike Janin.  The budding partnership has a nice balance with her playing the stern spy to his cavalier double-agent that reminded me of the good old days of Morrison's run on Batman and Robin.

The issue starts by introducing us to Helena's school for deadly-skilled adolescent girls with great curves or something and then spins out of control with the Hood passing out on an archery field which will hopefully get further explained later. The issue features two conversations between Dick and Bruce, alias Birdwatcher and Mr. Malone, which are not particularly short considering their conversations could be intercepted by the secret organization that already knows their secret identities. The dialogue between Dick and Bruce rings true to their characters – conjuring up a nostalgia that de-ages them both, Bruce in particular – but I am of the opinion that series should be about Grayson and the Bat-phone should stay on the hook for as long as possible.

This week's adventure finds Grayson once again investigating the whereabouts of Spyral's most wanted freak-of-the-week: a sexy cannibal with a penchant for hybrid technology that has been inundated with powers beyond her control. Original, yes, but I see a pattern developing already here with powers being portrayed as a danger to both the wielder and society which, I deduce, will provide Spyral's motivations for spying on the world's superheroes and whatever else they have planned.  But that's getting ahead of ourselves and Dick is a long way from being hypnotized to take down Batman from the inside.  Helena mislead Dick about the mission's true objective, which had predictably suspect morals, until they had succeeded and then knocked him out with some fancy word that engages a hypnotic implant in his head and just like that Dick is whipped again.

The art was once again great as Janin's art lends a sort of vibrant energy and realism that seems to fit perfectly.  Every scene has its own tone that matches the situation and the characters involved.  In particular, I thought the introduction of Midnighter at his batcave-esque home base was perfect. As I suggested last month, he really is like Dick back when he was Nightwing but with a bit more experience working without a net.  The two will inevitably come to blows again and when they do, according to Midnighter – who is blessed with an OCD-esque foresight that causes him to replay his every mistake in battle ad nauseum – it will end "damn nasty" for Dick. I've got a good feeling about this rivalry in terms of what it will bring out in Grayson.

Overall, while it would have been better to see this plot thicken a bit more by now we got a nice round of polish on what was established last month.  On the last page I read the solicitation for Grayson: Futures End #1 and realized that Grayson #3 would not be dropping until October which will mark a full year since Dick got Civil Warred in Forever Evil #1 and we still haven't really seen the ramifications of – although we did find out that they had a funeral for him which, according to Bruce: "was…nice."

That's kind of how I felt about this issue, it was nice, but it didn't feel like the next chapter in the epic story Seely and King began with last months' issue. In response to the comment about his funeral Dick says: "hopefully I'll wrap this up before my flowers wilt" which means he wants to return to his old life soon. Well clearly that's not going to happen too soon and while I'm not sure I want it to I do hope things gets back into first gear before my flowers wilt on this series.

Shawn Perry is a comic book and film enthusiast striving to be here now.  He currently resides in East Hartford, Connecticut. Tweet him @thesperry, follow his blog at http://shawnsthoughtsonstuff.blogspot.com/ and email him at Shawn.Perry88@gmail.com.

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