Written by: Tim Seely& Tom King
Art by: Mikel Janin
Publisher: DC
Reading Grayson issue one was by far on the opposite side of the spectrum then what I thought I was getting myself into. To be fair, I hadn’t done any previous research on what the series would contain, plot wise. I went into this comic thinking, Seeley would start us out on Dick’s point of view growing up with Batman. Or, his development in becoming Nightwing. I never expected to be thinking about the opening to James Bond’s Skyfall train scene while reading this issue.
Seeley begins with a quick two pager of Dick’s life, then throws us into a scene where (we assume) Dick is on top of a train, trying to take out an enemy. Now, he’s not dressed as Robin, or Nightwing but in tactical gear! A spy like story develops rapidly, and we are shown the faces of a few unknown enemies, as well as friendly’s. Again, with no costume’s in site! I found myself frustrated, thinking about the fact that I wanted a Superhero story, not a CIA type feature. But, hold on for just a minute!
As the story progressed, I realized that Seeley is doing us the favor of combining the two genres. Grayson is very much grown up and moving on to another chapter in his life. A life that still contains helping people, people that have been forced to obtain superpowers, or need help using powers correctly. He is actually working for a group with the name of Spyral, and doing so happily. There’s also the fact that Grayson is kicking butt majority of the issue, and bringing in his past training days as proof. He’s still doing acrobatic stunts all over, as well as action packed Batman moves that are sure to please any Robin fan.
This first issue will definitely give you surprises. Like who his female partner really is, and what the leader of Spyral truly has in mind for our caped crusaders. Let’s not forget to mention art done by King, who brings realistic detail throughout the comic, and sketches characters beautifully.
My over all opinion is to have an open mind on this series, and I believe it will deliver. It has the potential to bring in a mountain of different story opportunities, and frankly, I’m very interested in finding out how Dick handles it all.
