#the writer of Nightwing Tom King

[i-care-bout-things-too]

Today on posts that haven't aged well: This!

Nightwing 110 released 2 days ago. This is the first time in like over 40 issues (if not more?) Where Damian has had a speaking role where he appeared for more than a single panel (like the Nite-Mite issue where everyone appeared for the "wedding") in a Nightwing comic. Damian was mentioned in a cross-over between Superman: Son of Kal-el where Jon was in NWs comic and Dick was in his, but I'm so disappointed in DC's absolute dismissal of Damian from Dick's life. Like I absolutely loved Silent Knight (this past Christmas' recent 4 issue mini series), but God whoever wrote it had Dick be the actual BIGGEST dick to Damian. Like not a sweet moment between them. And ngl, I LOVED issue 110 of NW, but a part of me absolutely knows this is fanservice and nothing will come of it. I swtg, since before Dick lost his memory, Damian has just been slowly dissapearing from Dick's life and I hate it so much. We barely, if ever, see them in a room together, let alone interacting. There's an offhand mention of a family Christmas in Tim: Drake Robin where we get a small image of Tim, Dick, Damian, Bruce and Kate at a table, but we never actually saw that in a comic or even a short. Dick appears for an early issue (as mentioned) in the Robin (2021) comic, and gives him a belated birthday present, meaning Damian has spent ANOTHER birthday alone and away from his family, and later Dick is part of Batman vs. Robin, Dark Crisis, and the Lazarus Planet events, but I cannot recall a single moment where Dick or Damian actually interact with each other. If any of you remember the Death of the Family event which preceeds Damian's Robin (2021) series, Damian unties Dick while he's still unconscious, but he's gone before Dick can wake up, and we shouldn't even bother with Pennyworth RIP, because Dick was there in body, sure, but mind? Nope. Ric Grayson. When Damian starts crying and runs away, blaming himself for Alfred's death, Dick/Ric does absolutely nothing. (None of the fam does. I hate it so much)

This is all to say, in the last few years, beyond 2021, DC has been doing everything in their power to keep them apart, because honestly what's a batfamily?

And no, don't even get me started on Gotham War. Damian literally physically fought Dick, and then when Batman ABANDONS Damian, who is it that hugs him while he's left in despair, listlessly kneeling on the ground? Tim. Tim fucking Drake. I love Tim&Dami brotherly bonding, absolutely fucking adore it, bought the issue just for the hug if I'm honest.

But Tim hugs Damian. While Dick is RIGHT THERE. And he does nothing.

Not to mention, not to mention, there was this really really cute three part back up story recently in NW illustrated by Serg Acuna, along side Dick, it features Babs, Jason, Steph, Cass, and if I recall correctly, Tim.

Um. Where the fuck is Damian?

And don't say Damian isn't in Gotham. He is now. He has been. Since the end of the Lazarus Tournament, at least. He was in Tim and Connor's DC pride short, set IN Gotham. He's in Gotham for the current run of Batman and Robin. He was in Gotham for the Knight Terrors event. And yet. And yet. This is the first time in years, there has been a Dick and Damian centric comic, when for years, Dick and Damian shared pages upon pages together. I don't know man. Clearly I have a lot of feelings about this, but I'm just sad. DC has done both of them dirty, their relationship exists only in name at this point.

Sorry for ranting but I just had to list all the times we've been failed recently.

So, since you’ve been reading the recent issues of Nightwing recently, has there been any mention of Damian at all, and either way, what are your thoughts on it?

Because let’s be real, Damian is His Kid. The Robin to his Batman. Damian is his baby. And since he’s regained his memories, from what I’ve gathered, there’s been 0 concern shown for Damian from Dick.

So I’m dying to know, has that been addressed at all? Because Dick and Damian and their relationship and dynamic are very much a comfort character for me, and I just have a lot of low level anxiety that Damian and Dicks close bond is going to be one of those things that’s never coming back. That it’ll never be acknowledged again in canon. And someday, the fact they would’ve literally died for and without each other will become a random irrelevant comic fact.

hiya babe!

there has not, as of yet, been any mention of damian. there has been allusions to a “family group chat” (and i didn’t like that scene so i’m not gonna get into it but it’s safe to assume that damian’s on it.) 

but you’re absolutely correct about everything. dick and damian do have a close relationship that straddles the line between fraternal and paternal, and i really expected there to be some mention of him so far. we do know that tim’s going to be in the run, which i am excited about, because dick and tim’s traditionally very loving, affectionate, brotherly relationship has been washed away recently. but nope, no mention of damian so far.

it’s getting on my nerves too. and that’s definitely something i fear as well. dick’s run as batman had issues upon issues, but i did love the way dick and damian’s relationship evolved into something more loving and almost airtight in trust. if it stops being pushed and starts being something comic nerds only reference once in a while, like hey did you know tim doesn’t actually drink coffee? and hey did you know oracle isn’t as powerful and meaningful as an able-bodied superhero?, then i will legitimately have a breakdown. 

dick was, briefly, in damian’s new robin run. i haven’t read that yet, i’ve only seen pictures on tumblr, so i can’t comment on how important his presence was and how much he did, but at least he’s in there.

here’s hoping tom taylor includes damian in his run sometime soon. also the titans, but that’s just me being needy.

[fantastic-nonsense]

just let out a scream of despair

[rmbunnie]

Another little inconsequential red hood thing and I'll admit that I'm decently biased but it irks me to see the whole "Jason can't shut up about his death/he makes his death everyone else's problem" take really frequently because he simply does not do that enough for it to be a thing in like any actual Red Hood story.

It's a thing you see sometimes in modern annuals/comics with large casts, particularly if a writer doesn't seem super confident with writing all of the characters that they're working with or if he's just a background character in this one, because with comics it's quicker to reduce a character to recognizable landmarks than to try and work out a whole new complex voice if you don't really need to, so it's tire iron, Jane Austen, Joker, and death, and it's all written out in dialogue because every character in a group event can't have their own internal monologue, but like. That's pretty much it. UTRH is the establishing event for Jason Todd post death so of course a lot of it is about his death, although it's arguably about the lack of response to his death more than his death itself, and he certainly makes it Bruce's issue but one beef doesn't make a trend. Plus if his death is anyone's issue beyond his own Bruce and Joker are like the number one guys whose issue it is. He THINKS about his death a ton in Lost Days, but it doesn't really reflect externally on any of his interactions besides with Joker, which again, that's justified and relevant beef. Teen Titans 29 is more about his place in the hero community/feeling like he was an outsider even before the bomb/Tim being the new robin than about his death, and side note, that being counted as an attempt on Tim's life also bugs me. He beat him up and then left of his own volition. That's not an assassination attempt its called a fight, albeit a sneaky and unfair one. But anyways. I can't speak on Battle for the Cowl because i haven't read it, both that and Batman and Robin 2009 don't really compel me, but it's entirely possible that's an outlier to my point seeing as I kinda sorta haven't read it and don't care to lmao. Even New 52 (although HIGHLY unpopular) and Rebirth/Dawn of DC/Whatever we're doing now Red Hood content don't really have him talking to people about it besides the occasional little quips. He might make stances that were developed because of his death other people's problem, like in the Mia Dearden Green Arrow situation with the "getting involved in other people's business" issue, but acting like he makes specifically his death everyone else's problem is ignoring all of the perfectly valid actually canon things he makes other people's problem. Most of the unpleasant traits he brings to the table are a result of his death and the sense of abandonment and betrayal that came with it, but that doesn't mean he's bringing his death into it when he acts unpleasantly any more than he's bringing his birth into it when he shows up in the first place. The consequences do not equal the event. All this to say it's irritating when people say the character is grating because he doesn't stop whining about his death when that kinda just indicates to me that they're working off fanon based on fanon based on kinda mid batman annual.

[thatstheproblemwithnapkinman]

let’s be honest, after devin grayson, scott lobdell, tom king, and tom taylor

can nightwing really get any worse??

[batbabydamian]

DC September 2024 Solicitations - Comics Featuring Damian! 🦇

THE BOY WONDER #5 of 5

9/4/24

Written by Juni Ba

Art and Cover by Juni Ba

Variant Cover: Lea Murawiec

The Robins have united to battle their way out of the stronghold of the Demon’s Head, but Damian cutting his family ties to Ra’s al Ghul isn’t just a matter of punching his way through ninjas. Could this fairy tale possibly have a happy ending? Or is the story of Damian Wayne an inescapable tragedy?

TRINITY SPECIAL: WORLD’S FINEST

9/4/24 

Written by Tom King

Art by Belen Ortega

Cover by Daniel Sampere

Variant covers: Belen Ortega, Chrissie Zullo (1:25), Saowee (1:50)

The world’s finest heroes of tomorrow are back for more! The daughter of Wonder Woman and the Super Sons return for more stories filled with laughs, action and awe-inspiring adventure. Can Lizzie survive Darkseid and his terrifying math? Will an innocent trip to the past for homework change the future? Are Damian and Jon’s barks worse than their bite? Find out in this collection of the latest back-up stories from the hit WONDER WOMAN series!

BATMAN AND ROBIN #13

9/11/24

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art by Juan Ferreyra

Cover by Simone Di Meo

Variant covers: Travis Mercer, Christian Ward (1:25)

Batman, Robin, and Bane must escape Dinosaur Island. But they are not alone! A dangerous presence has taken over and won’t let anyone leave the island alive! Can the father and son dynamic duo return to Gotham or will this be their last adventure together?!

DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V #2

9/11/24

Written by Matthew Rosenburg

Art and cover by Otto Schmidt

Variant Covers: Daniele Di Nicuolo (1:25), Caspar Wijngaard, Lucio Parrillo

The peace between vampires and heroes is wearing thin. Lois Lane will try and negotiate a way to maintain a truce, but with Damian’s relentless attacks on the vampire queen and her armies, the only thing that might be able to bring them together is a…Miracle.

*Bruno Redondo Variant Cover C appearance + chance of interior feature

NIGHTWING #118

9/18/24

Written by Tom Taylor

Art and cover by Bruno Redondo

Variant Covers: Bruno Redondo, Jamal Campbell, Tirso, Nicola Scott, Serg Acuna (1:25)

Embark on an exhilarating journey through the streets of Blüdhaven as we bid a heartfelt farewell to the dynamic duo of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo in the epic conclusion to their award-winning run. With Nightwing’s fear of heights overcome, he returns to Blüdhaven for one final face-off with Heartless and Tony Zucco. It’s the battle you’ve all been waiting for! And if we’ve learned anything from Nightwing these last couple of years, we know he never has to do it alone. One thing’s for certain though: Blüdhaven will never be the same after this!

WONDER WOMAN #13

9/18/24

Written by Tom King

Art and Cover by Tony S. Daniel

Variant Covers: Gleb Melnikov (1:25), Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, Phil Jimenez, Nicola Scott

ABSOLUTE POWER TIE-IN! Gamorra found! Wonder Woman and Robin have finally located Amanda Waller’s super jail holding the powerless heroes they once fought alongside. Can the new dynamic duo break them out before they become trapped themselves? An undercover ally may hold the key to everything!

ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN BY PATRICK GLEASON: THE DELUXE EDITION

11/5/24

Written by Patrick Gleason and Ray Fawkes

Art by Patrick Gleason, Scott Mcdaniel, Mick Gray, and others

Cover by Patrick Gleason

Damian Wayne died. But like most members of the al Ghul family, he didn’t stay dead. Now that he’s back and done some soul-searching, Damian has decided he has a lot to make up for—but he won’t have to do it alone. With a young assassin named Nobody and a gargantuan dragon bat named Goliath in tow, Damian’s year of atonement will take him across the globe and reunite him with friends, foes, and his own complicated family as he seeks to prove to everyone—himself, especially—that he is a worthy member of the Bat-Family. This deluxe edition features a brand-new cover by writer/artist Patrick Gleason, development sketches, and tons more behind-the-scenes material! Collecting DC Sneak Peek: Robin: Son of Batman #1, and Robin: Son of Batman #1-13.

[celaenaeiln]

You've said in one of your posts that Dick was a queer symbol, is there any comics/panels where it's shown explicitly (as explicit as DC can do)

(btw really love all of your post you write so well)

Thank you!! <3333 :>

Nightwing (2016) Issue #105 variant cover!

They have Wally looking real interested in Nightwing's legs.

(Also laughing that Tim is using his brother for views. You’re a cute little menace Tim ❤️)

Nightwing (2016) Issue #81 variant cover

He's apparently bi or more in the Gotham Knights game.

By DC creators who created a list of the most "crush-worthy characters" for DC Pride promotion, Dick appeared the most out of all the characters, appearing on several creators’ lists.

Danny Lore a queer comic writer said, "Obviously we all have a crush on Nightwing. That's just natural."

Dick's considered the winner of that unofficial competition so I'd say everyone in DC, at one point or another, has had a crush on Nightwing.

Grayson Issue #9

He's talking about the tie but istg it took me a full year to understand he's not joking about his sexuality. I was like what? It was so out of left field.

Here he's talking to Tim:

Gryason Issue #13

"...And my charms do work on him."

"That's the birdwatcher I know...wait, did you just say 'him'?"

Devin Grayson, Tom King, and Tim Seeley all said they want to portray him as interested in men and Matt Bomer (which is so freaking weird because when I saw him in White Collar I immediately thought Neal Caffery was real life Dick Grayson) said Dick was a closet gay.

And that's about a explicit as DC will get with him but I'm more than happy with all this :)

[graysoncritic]

He Walks: Dick Grayson, the Survivor

This is a meta written for the ten year celebration of Grayson. For @grayson10yearslater.

From it’s prologue in Nightwing #30, Grayson by Tom King and Tim Seeley, boldly poses its readers with the question of how to describe one of DC’s oldest and most iconic characters when he is stripped of his familiar superhero identities. Who is Dick Grayson when he can’t hide behind Robin? Nightwing? Batman?

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim; Tynion IV, James, writers. Janin, Mikel; Hetrick, Meghan; Garron, Javier; Lucas Jorge, illustrators. Setting Son. Nightwing. 30, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Page 30]

Divided into twenty issues and three annuals, the story explores the theme of identity from all angles, pushing Dick away from his comforts to dissect the different layers of his character. A hero, the end of the last issue seems to say, is the true answer to this difficult question.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Antonio, Roge, illustrator. Spiral’s End. Grayson. 20, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2016. Page 23]

And while that is undoubtedly true, each of the preceding nineteen issues elaborate on what traits can folded into a hero.

Dick is a storytelling, the first annual says;

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Mooney, Stephen, illustrator. A Story of Giants Big and Small. Grayson. Annual 01, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Page 11]

Dick is compassionate, the finale of Act I with the Paragon Brain proves;

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Mooney, Stephen, illustrator. Sin by Silence. Grayson. 07, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Page 19]

Dick is a partner.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. Nemesis Part Two. Grayson. 10, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 23 to 24]

I want to focus a little bit on that last one. Dick, after all, was created to be the perfect partner. In 1940, he was the sensational character find that became Batman’s other half, the missing element to his mythos. Move further along his history, and a diverse number of writers were compelled to team Dick with other characters — he’s the Titans’ leader, the missing third piece of the World’s Finest, Batgirl’s love interest.

Grayson, too, is interested in exploring this aspect of Dick Grayson. In its first act, it pairs him up with Helena Bertinelli, whose more experience, tragic background, and darker personality is meant to mirror Batman.

Tom King: For me, it seems to make so much sense because basically she almost has that Batman female origin. She shares that origin that Batman and Dick have of having gone through this violent period when she was young and coming out of that a hero. We wanted to play with that. We wanted to play with the dichotomy of what Barbara is in Dick's life versus what Helena is in Dick's life. Helena's much closer to what Batman is and much closer to the father figure Dick was related to, so I think that creates immediate tension and fun stuff we can play with.

[Katzman, Gregg. "Interview: Tom King & Tim Seeley Talk GRAYSON." Yahoo! News, 4 Jan. 2015. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.]

In act two, he is paired up with Tiger King of Kandahar. In fact, there is a theme of duality and partnerships throughout Grayson, showing that this is a critical aspect of who is Dick Grayson.

The exception to this is Grayson #05.

A self-contained story, Grayson #05 isolates Dick to get to the core of who he is. By contrasting Dick with Helena and Midnighter, placing him in the unforgiving vastness of an infernal desert, and calling forth the tale of Robin Dies at Dawn, Grayson #05 presents us with a man who does not give up and does not give in. Dick walks, even if he must walk, at times, alone. When laid bare, without the trappings of a superhero identity or of a partner, Dick Grayson, Grayson #05 says, is, at the core of his being, a survivor.

In this meta, I want to see just exactly how Grayson #05 does that through a close reading of the issue.

Now, without any further delay, let’s get started.

Let’s start with the cover.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014]

Everything about this cover radiates heat. The sun is beaming down mercilessly, the spirals mimicking the sun rays, the color palette a strong orange that is highly saturated but not bright. The reader can feel how hot it is in this desert, and all around there's nothing but sand. Sand, sand everywhere the eyes can see, and in the center of the image, a lone black figure braving this infernal bare landscape.

This cover tells us not just the location of where the issue will be set, but it also shows that Dick will be alone out there. It tells us this will not be an action-filled story, but it will be one of survival. Man vs Nature, and nature does not discriminates with her ruthlessness. Dick stands alone facing the elements, but he stands. He is walking, he is not giving up. It would be so easy for this cover to have a close up of Dick's, Helena's, and Midnighter's exhausted expression as they each try to survive, but instead we just see Dick by himself, alone, walking. He does not give up, he does not give in. He survives.

The issue then opens in medias res, immediately presenting the readers with that main conflict: survival. It does not waste any time with unneeded exposition — after all, though Dick would hate this fact, we as readers do not need to know the name of the mother who is dying; we do not need to know the details of Minos’ mission before it all went wrong; we don’t even need to know how Midnighter managed to track Dick and Helena. All we need to know is that Dick and Helena, and Midnighter are all after the Paragon Heart, which belongs to the, as of this page, unborn baby; that ARGUS somehow tracked Midnighter who was fighting Dick for the Heart; and that mid-fight the mother went into labor.

There's an elegance in the way everything is conveyed so well and so quickly in this one page. It's brilliant storytelling from both a writing and a visual stand point.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Page 01]

As they crash into the desert, the mother passes away. ARGUS is gone, but our trio and the newborn baby girl are faced with a mightier enemy: The desert. The nearest town is days away, they do not have a lot of supplies, they do not have how to call for help. Here, we’re faced with this issue’s main question: Can they survive this? The answer seems to be resounding “no.”

Let’s take a look at how each of the characters approach this situation.

Helena is pragmatic. She is thinking of the mission, but her expression is troubled. She doesn't see a way out of this. She knows they have to survive long enough for Spyral to eventually find them, but the odds are against them. Given the fact she’s injured, it’s unlikely she’ll ever make it out of this desert. Still, that does not mean she’ll fall into despair. She'll do what needs to be done, but she knows this is not something they can easily get out of. If she goes down, she'll go down fighting. Like I said, she’s pragmatic.

Midnighter, on the other hand, is a pessimist. He is jaded. Why bother trying? Midnighter is a nihilist. “We’re dead,” he says not once, but twice.

Then we have Dick. Beautiful Dick, he holds the baby in his arm like she's the most precious thing in the world. And in this moment, she is. His reply to Midnighter is telling. They aren’t dead. They can't be, because if they are dead, then so is she, so death is not an option. It's not a question of what is practical, of what the mission is, of what the odds are. It's not about being an optimist, either. It's simply about her. She is all that matters and she is entirely dependent on them, so they can't be dead. They cannot let her die, this little innocent child who is not even an hour old. So what will they do instead? They’ll walk. They’ll survive.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014 Page 02-03]

The next page displays what will become the brilliant standard for this issue — open skies, sand, and small figures walking. Everything about it conveys this vastness that is so oppressive in its openness. It's the majesty of Mother Nature.

Note how tiny the figures are. Note how Dick leads the other two, not by a little, but by a lot. In his arms Dick holds the baby, nurses her with the formula from the mother’s bag. In the pages we see Helena struggling, Midnighter drinking water and shedding away his clothes, but Dick remains stoic. He leads, separated — isolated, distant — from the rest, determined, disappearing into the far orange of the page.

In this, we see Dick’s silent determination. It’s notable that he is not trying to make light of the situation through humor. Instead, he is silent. And he walks.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 04-05]

As the story continues, Midnighter’s pessimism deepens. It is notable that this issue is the first time Dick and Midnighter have seen each other since Grayson #01. And what does Midnighter do? He lashes out at Dick by revealing he knows who Dick is. This calls back to Forever Evil, where Dick’s identity was revealed to the world. Midnighter is weaponizing Dick’s trauma against him, trying to draw a reaction out of Dick. Not only that, he says that they only way to survive is to kill the baby and use the Paragon Heart. Otherwise, the odds are not in their favor, and he deems this "just walk" strategy is pointless. This is how Midnighter copes with the hopelessness of their situation — he dwells on the negative and lashes out.

Helena reacts to Midnighter by subduing the threat, but she doesn’t comment on his defeatist attitude. Nor on his plan. She is, again, practical. She won’t say they’ll make it, but she won’t allow Midnighter to pose a threat to the mission.

Dick, though… Not once does Dick acknowledge Midnighter’s taunting. Not once, not even to defend the baby. A weaker writer would have tried to get Dick to empathize with Midnighter, to tell him again that they're not dead yet, that they just need to keep trying. Instead, Dick’s refusal to even look at Midnighter shows how he won't even acknowledge the possibility of not surviving. His focus, instead, is all on her. That is what is driving him so that is what has his entire attention. Midnighter's temper tantrum is not even worth his time. Not when her survival is at stake.

I also want to take a moment to take in the environment. In this scene, the first panel shows how tiny the three of them are in the vast desert, the beautiful sky expanding above them. Mother Nature, the issue seems to say, is beautiful, worthy of awe. It is big, bigger than any human. More powerful, too. It is a challenge unlike any Dick has ever or will ever face. It cannot be charmed by him, it cannot be fought against, it cannot be conquered. It is not cruel or evil, either. It simply is, bare and uncomplicated, honest at all times. To survive her, Dick must also be the barest, least complicated version of his self.

While writing this, I often felt myself hesitating when writing about the conflict between Dick and desert. Phrases like “go against the desert,” often came to my tongue, and I had to swallow them back due to how wrong they felt. To “go against” someone (or something) is to have an antagonistic, adversarial relationship, and I’m not sure that is incredibly accurate to this scenario. The desert is indifferent towards Dick and the others. Midnighter speaks of fighting, of winning, of conquering this challenge, but Dick, by contrast, is quiet. He is not trying to “win” against the desert. That is not the right frame of mind. Rather, he is simply trying to survive.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 06 - 07]

As time passes, Midnighter continues to talk. To taunt. His negative attitude doesn’t light up, and he is still trying to get a reaction out of Dick. Here we see that Midnighter is perhaps not fully comfortable with his enhancements, like he doesn't see himself as fully human because of them. He resents them even as he trusts his enhancements more than he trusts his own abilities. He says he sees all outcomes and there are none where they survive this. Not as humans. Not without the Heart.

Note how Midnighter presents their situation as not about being tough, but about how much energy you have. This framing seems to reject the idea of survival — of “toughing it out” — and instead looks at their situation as one of victory and defeat — you have to have enough energy to make it out of the desert, and in doing so, you’ll be victorious.

Yet, Midnighter predicts himself to outlast Dick, but in reality, he falls before Dick does. This begs the question: Was Midnighter right? Must you defeat the desert and win against it in order to win?

Personally, I believe the story is saying “no.” This is not about victory and defeat, but about survival. And to survive, one must lay themselves bare of foolish things such as pride and ego. To survive, you must dig deeper within yourself, and find something that will allow you to not go against mother nature, but to continue walking along side her.

Dick has found his something deep within himself. That something is his compassion. Helena collapses, and Dick leaves with her his shirt, laying himself bare. Yet, despite his fallen partner, his priority is still the baby girl. He will survive for her, and in this action we see the depths of Dick’s compassion for others. He continues to walk. He continues to survive.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 08-10]

Finally, after days, Midnighter is confronted with the true force that is Dick Grayson. He was so certain he was going to outlast Dick. “I have… My… Enhancements. I have powers,” he struggles to say. But what does Dick have? How can a simple man continue to go against these conditions?

This page shows how deeply Midnighter underestimated Dick’s humanity and his compassion. Dick is not a superpowered individual, no, but Dick’s determination is unlike at other. This is who he is… Someone who walks.

Dick is a survivor. When Dick was a small boy, he lost his entire world in a traumatic act of violence. From the moment those ropes snapped and the Flying Graysons plunged to their deaths, Dick became a survivor — someone who had to figure out how to walk forward when everything seemed lost. And Dick did it.

If I can go on a bit of a tangent here, I’ll say that I really dislike whenever child heroes are characterized as child soldiers, be it by fans or by canon writers. This reading is, in my opinion, incredibly lazy and displays a lack of understanding of what superhero identities are meant to stand for. We can discuss the traumas that come along with being a child hero, but to dismiss it as a universally bad thing and equating to the real world horror of child soldiers ignores the fact that this is a fictional world in which the fantastical concepts act as metaphors for larger ideas.

Robin is not a child soldier. Robin, much like Batman, is a response to trauma. Specifically, Dick’s Robin is a response to the trauma of being a survivor of violent crime, and Robin demonstrates how a victim can regain agency and transform their tragedy into an empowering narrative. As Steve Braxi points out in his On Superman, Shootings, and the Reality of Superheroes essay, Batman “transform[s] trauma into will power,” and Dick, whose story is meant to mirror that of Bruce’s, does the exact same through Robin. Through Robin, Dick is able to not only find justice for his parents, but he is also to help other survivors like him. And that is what allows him to keep on walking.

This is what Grayson #05 demonstrates. It strips away the metaphor of the hero identities and the distraction of partnerships, laying Dick out bare and showing that as long as he can help someone, as long as he has his compassion, Dick Grayson can survive anything.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 12 - 13]

In the following page, the vastness of the desert is contrasted with close up shots of the baby. We see Dick, so impossibly small standing against a large desert that disappears into the horizon, and ocean of sand and oranges, and we see the whole reason why Dick is still alive. The environment that may kill him is contrasted with the reason why he will survive.

“I’m here. I’m here,” Dick tells the baby girl as she ceases her cries. “I’m still here.”

He gets up… And he walks. The repetitiveness of the action throughout the issue emphasizes the slog of the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, those moments when you realize time is progressing forward as it always had, but your mind and heart are still stuck in that one moment that changed your life forever. All Dick can do is walk, walk, walk, yet he is still lost in this vast desert, the trauma is still overwhelming him, there’s no end in sight… But he does have his reason for not giving up — his compassion allows him to continue onward.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 14 - 15]

Robin Dies at Dawn is the title of Batman #156. In this two part story Batman finds himself in an alien planet filled with threats. Robin saves him from sentient, walking plants, and after escaping, they find a giant stone idol that comes to life and begins chasing them. They manage to leap over a deep fissure and realize that if the stone idol were to do the same, the unstable down would crumble and the stone idol would fall, securing their safety. As they wait for the idol, they see that it, too, realized the ground was unstable and it tries to figure out a safer passage to the other side. That’s when Robin provokes the stone idol, who, in fury, grabs a boulder to throw at Robin. Before it can do it, the floor crumbles and it falls, but boulder still hits Robin and kills him. Later, it is revealed that this was a hallucination induced by an experiment Batman subjected himself to meant to study the effects of loneliness in astronauts. Through the following days, Bruce has occasional hallucinations of alien creatures putting Dick in danger. It isn’t until Dick’s life is threatened by the Gorilla Gang that Bruce is able to “overcome” the lingering effects of the experiment, the threat to Dick’s life being enough to “shock” him back to normal.

[Finger, Bill; Boltinoff, Henry; Schiff, Jack, writers. Moldoff, Sheldon; Boltinoff, Henry, illustrators. Robin Dies at Dawn. Batman. 156, e-book ed. DC Comics, 1963. Page]

To the baby girl, Dick recounts this Golden Age story as if it were a dream, focusing on the part where the stone idol kills him with the boulder. In this tale, we go back to Robin, Dick’s first survival mechanism, and to the first person who first showed him compassion and to whom his survival was paramount — Batman.

Though so far Dick has rejected the idea of victory vs defeat, he presents the baby with a scenario where he is faced with such a conflict. Yet, in this case, to “go up against” the enemy is to call them forward so they will fall. Dick’s taunting leads the stone idol to it’s defeat, and this is the point which Dick says he wants the baby girl to focus on. You must welcome danger, he seems to say, and face it head on. You must walk forward instead of running away.

Yet, it is notable that the enemy is not the only one who is defeated in this story. After all, Dick “dies” at dawn. This is what Dick doesn’t want the baby to focus on, but I think it’s important in understanding this idea of survival. In the story, Dick sacrifices himself so Batman can escape. He goes up against an enemy, he achieves victory, but he does not survive. But, crucially important, Batman does.

This paints a picture where Dick's survival and his victory are not one and the same. Not the way Midnighter seemed to have believed. While Dick’s compassion is intrinsically tied to his status as a survivor of violence, this story seems to indicate that Dick will readily relinquish his own survival for the sake of someone else. In the framing of victories and defeats, other people’s safety -- other people's survival -- is Dick’s “win” condition.

This, I believe, demonstrates how Dick's compassion allows him to pass own his survivor status to others, even at the cost of his own life. By shielding them and giving them the opportunity to move past a trauma, Dick creates other survivors. He becomes their protector, their patron saint.

[King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014. Pages 16 - 18]

Dick Grayson is a lot of things, and he has numerous qualities. He is a partner, a hero, and a friend; he’s good, he’s funny, and he’s brave. While all of those are important aspects of his character, they can also distract from one characteristic that is crucial to Dick’s genesis.

Before he was Agent 37, before he was Nightwing, before he was Robin, Dick was a survivor. Having survived violence, Dick used his compassion to transform his trauma into power. Grayson #05 isolates Dick from the world, putting him in a dangerous and revealing desert to expose his ability to survive through his compassion. This, the story says, is who Dick at the core of his being, when stripped away from the distractions of partnerships and superhero metaphors. This is who Dick Grayson is: He is a man who walks.

Bibliography:

Braxi, Steve, “On Superman, Shootings, and the Reality of Superheroes” Comics Bookcase, September 2021

Finger, Bill; Boltinoff, Henry; Schiff, Jack, writers. Moldoff, Sheldon; Boltinoff, Henry, illustrators. Robin Dies at Dawn. Batman. 156, e-book ed. DC Comics, 1963

Katzman, Gregg. "Interview: Tom King & Tim Seeley Talk GRAYSON." Yahoo! News, 4 Jan. 2015. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024

King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. We All Die at Dawn. Grayson. 05, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014

King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Mooney, Stephen, illustrator. A Story of Giants Big and Small. Grayson. Annual 01, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014

King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Mooney, Stephen, illustrator. Sin by Silence. Grayson. 07, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014

King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Janin, Mikel, illustrator. Nemesis Part Two. Grayson. 10, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014

King, Tom; Seeley, Tim, writers. Antonio, Roge, illustrator. Spiral’s End. Grayson. 20, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2016

King, Tom; Seeley, Tim; Tynion IV, James, writers. Janin, Mikel; Hetrick, Meghan; Garron, Javier; Lucas Jorge, illustrators. Setting Son. Nightwing. 30, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2014

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, I see the angle of the complaints but you all really should chill out: Z starts Tom Taylor's Nightwing run

I am exactly one story arc into Taylor's Nightwing and I wanted to pause right at the start and chart out my feelings, because I do try to avoid commenting on these things until I actually see them myself, and I want a record of my feelings right now, where I just finished the Ric Grayson arc.

The problem isn't 'this is a bad Nightwing run' or 'this is an uncharacteristic Nightwing run'. I've read those. This is not Bruce Jones with TentaTodd or Tony S. Daniels' frankly meandering DickBats run on Batman (or Judd Winick's overlapping 'what if this was actually about Jason not Dick' stories) or the multitude of 'this isn't right for Dick' problems with the Seeley & King run of Grayson, or the entire Ric Grayson saga.

Because look, from the opening moves of this story, Taylor's doing a whole bunch of things that signal that he knows the stories he's working with.

It's set in Blüdhaven. It's using existing supporting cast who should be around. It's reflecting on and referencing previous Blüdhaven stories and and parts of Dick's background and linking things up and picking up old stories to work with.

Even just take Nightwing #78, the very first issue of the run, the first issue of Nightwing under Infinite Frontier policies: we see Taylor picking up the threads left by Tim Seeley's run, and dumping in a decent selection of Chuck Dixon and Devin Grayson references.

The very first thing Taylor has Blockbuster do is twist someone's head off, which is the exact same beat Blockbuster had on his introduction as a Nightwing villain in Nightwing #6 1996. My instantaneous thought was "oh shit, are we going to run a Dudley Soames plot?" because that's preboot Blockbuster. That's the guy who haunted Dixon and Grayson's runs, with a level of very personal violence that wasn't as clear in Seeley's portrayal.

Dick immediately points out his apartment building, which he owns, and which by implication he plans to have as affordable housing. Dick's apartment complex is obvious important during the Dixon and Grayson runs right up until it blows up. His apartment is empty looking and sad, because Dick's just moved back in; because Dick's terrible at unpacking; because Dick doesn't decorate until he feels comfortable with his situation.

He also sets up the first indications of the Heartless parallels he's planning to build.

Taylor's calling out the falling-and-catching themes of Nightwing and explicitly building them in and acknowledging how important they are to ground a run in terms of Dick's motivations and his fears.

It's even, as one of the markers I like to point out, using a Flying-Graysons-In-Robin-Costumes reflection from Bruce Redondo, and the choice of which costume to put the Flying Graysons in does actually say a lot about the trajectory and beats of the plot. It means Dick is being reflective and looking back and relying on his background, not pushing Bruce and his childhood away.

Also in the 'this is Infinite Frontier, it's all back baby!!!' category that I noticed: Dick's past as a cop is referenced; Barbara's law degree (though Dick having one as well is new-to-me); Barbara is tracking Dick and has eyes-on him (both the mask lens camera but also fond memories of Babs just having cameras all over Dick's apartment and him being perfectly fine with her 'watching'); Tim is the very second visitor Dick gets (after Babs) and the first thing they do is make terrible jokes and go train surfing; and Tim naming the dog a terrible pun (which he used to do to Dick's car and so on just to annoy him). And that's just stuff that immediately leapt out at me and not all of the layers and layers of artist and writer references layered in in the tribute way comics do.

He's even using the right villains, from Dick's actual rogues gallery: Brutale! Electrocutioner! Using the Maronis alongside Zucco for drama is clearly leaning into The Long Halloween and Dark Victory for a Dick origin! Dick does actually have the various Gotham crime families as an ongoing set of shared villains because Two-Face is one of his major enemies in his set of Gotham Rogues and all the themes around that.

The problem isn't that Taylor doesn't know what he's working with, or that he doesn't know where to pitch a Nightwing run, or that his writing sucks. It's that he doesn't deliver on the potential he's offering, and that's what is aggravating because it's close but not quite exactly what people want (but that's also the zone that generates some of the best fanfic, because the potential is there and people want to fix it).

My other immediate impression is that Taylor does, yes, fail to think through the implications of what he's just set up, in any meaningful sense. Which is probably why I've found his single issue stories and minis are generally fine to read; there's not enough space for the situation that's just been set up to come back around and whack the characters in the head; and in a longer run and some of what Taylor is setting up here, there are all sorts of threads possible to set up that you should expect to come back around and cause Dick problems later on, and from what everyone's said Taylor's had issues delivering on that.

Taylor gives Dick a fortune via Alfred's estate because he wants to play with the idea of Dick stepping into that role of philanthropist that Bruce is currently unable to occupy, and reflect on the differences between the characters. And it's a late delivery from the executor (Barbara) due to the whole Ric Grayson situation, so we don't actually see what other distributions Alfred made in his will: if he left anything for any of the other children he helped to raise; if he left anything for his own daughter Julia Pennyworth, and so on. (It's also a reflection of Bruce showing up and giving Dick his trust fund from his parents early on in Dixon's run to allow Dick to finance setting up as a vigilante, I will note)

It's a convenience for the plot. It's also clearly "Taylor hasn't stopped to think through how this would affect any other character". And look, he doesn't have to; he's writing Nightwing, not the entire Bat book line, and so a full discussion of probate is a bit silly in a book that does not and probably will not ever contain Julia Pennyworth.

It really feels like the problem is it's 'close enough but not quite' that the small aggravations build up on people, to the point that all they see is their frustration rather than the fact that at least 80% of the story is targeted in the right zone, where people want it to be.

(And hey! I will also say that, for instance, I find Tim Seeley's Nightwing run specifically to also fall into that 'close but not quite' zone where it gets Dick and it gets what a Nightwing story should involve, but tragically Seeley is more interested in elaborating plot beats that I would prefer to leave lying and focuses on things I would overlook in favour of more-interesting-to-me storytelling opportunities. It happens. Seeley's a huge fan of a bunch of elements of Devin Grayson's Nightwing stories that, while I am a Devin defender, are definitely not beats that I would be prioritising in terms of rescuing from her work)

It's just to me... "I really wish Taylor wouldn't tie off things quickly and neatly and solve situations within an issue or two" and "I wish Taylor was better at long term payoffs" and "that has a bunch of unfortunate implications that aren't played out" and "the characterisation is too nicey-nice and smoothed over" are accurate complaints from what I've seen so far, but they're also reflecting on how to take adequate or good to great, rather than "this is a title lost in the wilderness, please bring it home" like a bunch of people are acting that it is.

[wajjs]

What do you think about the current stories written by DC? You can be as vague or incredibly specific about this

I think DC Comics is hitting Absolute Stagnation 2: It gets worse!

I thought they were stagnant before, but honestly, that wasn't stagnant. That was moving an inch after 2 business days from the previous moving an inch. But now? Now it's like that Austin Power's scene where his car is stuck between two walls and he can't move either forward or backwards.

I think the main issue is that they refuse to let new writers in AND they stick to using the same writers who do not know how to a) tell a fun and dynamic story b) tell a story without destroying the characters c) all of the above.

Tom Taylor and Tom King are, together, a big reason DC Comics stories feel underwhelming. Like a whole bunch of nothing. With the key difference being that Tom Taylor is absolutely BORING to read, nothing ever happens (like in his Nightwing run), and when something happens it doesn't matter because there are no stakes no sacrifices no repercussions or consequences. There's nothing. You cut out Taylor's run from the characters' publication history and nothing at all is missing. He's THAT inconsequential.

With King, he's not boring, sure, but my god he is UPSETTING. He thinks his shit doesn't stink and makes himself to be a really profound writer, when in reality he does not understand the characters he's writing about and even less so the genres he's trying to pay homage to. He tries to be subtle and his subtlety is the same one of a brick being thrown and smashing a window.

He breaks already well established characters to make them fit into tiny little boxes just so he can tell a story that is praised in huge part for the good art it's presented with. He would not be as popular if he didn't have excellent artists paired with him.

Not to mention what he did to Catwoman/Selina. He stripped her of her agency and gave her no say over HER OWN BODY when he wrote her to be pregnant with Bruce’s baby. She repeatedly constantly explicitly says she DOESN'T want it, she DOESN'T want to be a mom, but we are made complicit of Bruce smirking and acting like he knows best and coercing Selina into having that baby. For what? Literally. For what?

(WITHOUT MENTIONING HOW HE BUTCHERED BOTH GUY AND HAL IN INSULTING WAYS AND NO ONE SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT IT)

Anyway.

The main issue is that DC Comics keeps giving opportunities and praises to mediocre white cishet men when they do less than the bare minimum (tell an entertaining story). When there's someone of color writing, they actively sabotage it.

With the most current stories, like the GL ones, it just goes to show how they keep going for the most mediocre writers they can find. Jeremy Adams does not know how to write adults, women, and romantic relationships. I'm sorry but I'm not going to take as romance something that's built off of stalking, harassing, and punching down on decades of character history just to reduce the woman into a hormonal emotional insecure mess that all she wants to do is glue herself to Her Man(tm) and call it a day.

The recent events are also both entirely unnecessary and they will have little to no long lasting repercussions. All they do is clog the current on going comics and force the already mediocre writers into tight corners that only expose the mediocrity even more.

[fandomqueenlove]

okay but if I was in charge of dc comics, i feel like I would break up dickbabs. and if I entertained the idea of putting dickkory back together, I would assign writers to both their respective stories that actually cared about them both as individuals before thinking of going forward with a romance.

I would also give barbara a girlfriend. and retcon certain stuff because it feels like they want to erase her being disabled cause they think her being abled and running around as batgirl is more badass than her being oracle.

next, I'm getting rid of a bunch of writers that are hated. I can't remember the names of a lot of them but specifically the nazi, then tom taylor, grant morrison and tom king, whomever is writing the nothing butt nightwing comic.

i would also retcon lizzie prince, cause fuck tom king.

and, specifically, I would do certain background checks or ensure that the people being assigned to the characters understand the characters they are going to write for. because the three people stated above can't write for shit.

because there is a lot of mischaracterization within dc, cause some people can't write a number of characters and to name popular few: dick grayson, koriand'r, barbara gordon, jason todd, roy harper, bruce wayne, selina kyle, talia al ghul, damian wayne, etc, etc.

[mysterycitrus]

ur blog is making me want to get back into comics, i kno the latest nightwing run is trash (i think lol) but r u reading anything good rn ?

i have something to confess……….,,,…… i am a fake fan. i have many opinions but i very rarely read comics published post-2011 lol

tommy taylor (current writer for nightwing) is a pretty milquetoast writer who’s so afraid of any of his characters having opinions that alllll his books suffer as a result (nightwing, titans, jon kent, etc), so there’s a bit of a deficit for good nw comics atm

however! mark waid’s worlds finest batman/superman and teen titans are pretty good robin!dick comics. jeff lemire’s robin and batman was also exceptional, with art by dustin nguyen. i know some supergirl fans have mixed feelings about tom king’s woman of tomorrow, but ive never really read kara’s stuff so i thought that was pretty enjoyable (with amazing art by bilquis everly). for non-batfam characters, im enjoying dawn of dc hawkgirl, green arrow, and cyborg. im also tentatively interested in kelly thompson’s new birds of prey (even without oracle and huntress 👿)

if ur a big meanie (me) avoiding most modern batman comics means less of a headache so i hope this helps!!!

[pyroreadscomics]

What are your thoughts about Howard's Catwoman run?

The run being really gay doesn't save the writing from being really mediocre.

(More nuance below the cut)

Well that was snappy, unfortunately my thoughts are many and complicated and probably won't be entirely ironed out until a few months after she leaves the book or I reread the run again, or both. That phrase was something I said while reading through the series for the first time a some months ago that I still mostly stand by, but now feel the need to caveat and add nuance.

(Also, it feels weird that, because I put off answering this for months, the end of Howard’s run is just a few months away now, but I’m just going to assume the ending is neither so good it retroactively makes everything better or so bad it tanks the run with guilt by association)

When I say mediocre, I very specifically don't mean bad. I'm using mediocre to mean it's average, ordinary, of moderate quality. Not bad enough to hate, or even particularly dislike, but not good enough for me to shed a tear if it was suddenly canceled (which… seeing as it’s end is now on the horizon… I’m actually filled with anticipation as to what comes next.)

And like many multi-year runs, Howard's Catwoman has had it's ups and downs while it's low points are i think widely known: Her dialogue tends towards what i can only describe as AO3 generic, the plotting itself is sub-par, Gotham War disappointing even though there was no way to go into it with high expectations (joint effort i know, but even taking only half blame for it Tini Howard doesn't come out of that event looking remotely well), and I have an entire rant ready for how I dislike how Black Mask is used in that series.

1. The reintroduction of Eiko

But, that said, at this moment I do feel like calling out some highlights of Howard's run (or at least, the bits of it I really liked.)

Also yes, alot of this could be considered fanservice, but I’m at least acknowledging that things that make me happy don’t inherently make a run good. (but at least more enjoyable to slog through than Tom King’s batman or most of her New 52 stuff)

Okay, let me be clear, Eiko in this run is a shadow of her debut in Valentine's run but Selina's supporting cast has a worrying tendency to disappear without a trace after one, max two runs, so damn if it wasn't nice to see Eiko suddenly reappear in a major role in the Catwoman run after a 6 year absence and not have her confined to the dustbin of comic history alongside other Catwoman supporting cast members such as Gwen, Alice, Zee, Clutterbuck, Wilder, Arizona, and Cassandra Cartland (If you knew every single person i mentioned without having to check, I like you, and you like me also know too much about Catwoman)

If nothing else, if Eiko's appearances in this comic, and her guest appearances in other current Gotham stories (like Punchline: Gotham Game or Ram V's excellent Gotham Nocturne) manage to cement her as a persistent part of Catwoman's cast, this run will have done enough for me to earn a passing grade.

Also I like Eiko's new catsuit and not just because it makes it easier to tell her apart from Selina

2. Catwoman #43 & #44 (The Harley Quinn two parter)

Judging by the mood in the room, If anything gets me an angry response it's going to be this.

It's fun, it was a fun two parter, and honestly there are times when I wish more writers would stop trying to do the high drama stories they're kinda bad and instead write fun inconsequential side stories.

Also yes I do ship it. What of it?

Actually speaking of

3. The queerness.

It’s not a lot, but for a character who’s been out as bi since 2015 Selina is never written that way (at least in the main comics, I understand the HQ show and the recent movies have either explicitly or implicitly had bi Selina). Like it’s so bad Selina doesn’t even get pride tie in stuff, no appearances in the pride anthologies or even pride variant cover. JFC Nightwing gets one every year and last time i checked he was still canonical cishet. And… a bit like Eiko, but less important, it’s nice to have another run where Catwoman is canonically queer. Selina acknowledging Eiko as an ex, flirting with other women, that Selina and Harley sharing a bed scene. It’s just nice to have that part of Selina’s character acknowledged.

Also it’s so minor but the gay bar called Conroy’s got me just a bit.

4. Knight Terrors

On balance, despite me having criticisms of it, I did like it as a version of “What does Selina’s worst nightmares look like”. It’s not quite as good as Devin Grayson’s take on the matter (and ain’t that a sentence) but I’m a big fan of Selina’s mind dark fears conjuring force a lot of catholic imagery and doing something actually interesting with the Sister Zero concept. (It’s really just a shame that this story is clearly setting something up for Gotham War that never actually gets paid off, which is wild considering that was literally the month after Knight Terrors)

Lastly:

5. Valmont

Look, I really liked Valmont for two reasons, one of which is superficial, one of which actually had thought put into it.

Superficially: Selina deserves a whipped subby bisexual twink, as treat. Sure he's a cocky asshole, sure he looks like pirate au ghostmaker, sure he's ready to murder anyone who looks like a threat to his dom love (and honestly anyone in general), but honestly that's all part of the charm.

Because Bruce, as the whole wedding thing shows, is big on these concrete declarations of affection, even as he’s really bad at actually expressing his affection in more casual ways. And Eiko, as she says, is “comfortable with these declarations, names. Things like titles and vows.” So in dating either of them Selina would be consenting being put into a box and labeled, even if it's a box as unconstrained as “dating” and a label as loose as “girlfriend”.

But, putting a bit of thought into things, Valmont has this really interesting role in the story. He's the obviously incorrect choice in a love triangle, but also the one who Selina would pick anyway.

Like, the issue before he dies the story teases a bit of romance with Bruce and Selina, and earlier there were some teases (or.. maybe acknowledgement is the right word?) between Selina and Eiko. There's two existing love interests for Selina, Bruce, who's the moral and safe choice, the wedding bells and gaggle of step kids choice. And there's Eiko, who's a major crime lord, one who's conducting business with some of the worst in Gotham. If it was just the two of them (especially if Eiko was closer to her Valentine personality), it'd be a pretty classic "the good boy and the bad boy girl" love triangle but Valmont is here, and he adds an interesting angle onto that love triangle(?) (is it still a triangle when there's three potential lover interests?).

(A reversal on Eiko and Selina’s very undefined relationship in Valentine’s run, which could be seen as divergence for the character but also kinda makes sense. With Eiko ending that run by shedding Catwoman (and identity that embodied personal freedom and also rebellion against her father) to become the head of the Hagisawa family (an identity marked by responsibility to the family and her place as her father’s heir) that going forward she’d be a lot less likely to engage in a nebulous undefined relationship when her life is now, by choice, very defined. It’s still however one of those things that assumes a non-zero amount of character development happened off screen.)

But Valmont? Valmont doesn’t ask anything *of* Selina.

Sure he does initially, “hey here’s this cat, I know where you live, join my thieves guild”. But this tactic gets him shot down by Selina and at best relegated to “untrusted ally” status (and more likely “useful but dangerous”). But after this, and after a brief break during the CatQuinn two-parter, Valmont’s back with a new tactic called “I’ll do literally anything you ask of me, including stopping killing people, and ask for nothing in return.” Which… with Selina being somewhat adverse to long term commitment (or commitment in general depending on the writer) this works.

Valmont’s hardly a healthier romantic option (he might not be the worst person Selina’s ever dated, but he’s still at the end of the day an arrogant invasive assassin) but he puts a spin on himself that makes Selina let her guard down around him and they do eventually become some vaguely undefined item.

And then in his final issue, Bruce accuses him of still being loyal to the league of assassins and of manipulating Selina. Then he kills again in the process of undoing a problem he caused, and gets in a big fight with Bruce about it. And when Valmont goes to kill Bruce, she kills Valmont which… It’s a weird moment for Selina, she’s normally very reserved about killing people and while yes needing to save Bruce could theoretically push her far enough. But also, it’s the best thing this run could do with Valmont.

Because Bruce’s accusations (along with Valmont’s general sketchiness) lead to this question with Valmont: does he genuinely love Selina, or is he using her for some unknown end? Because he know what he’s naturally like (down with murder) and we know he’s changed his behavior, but we don’t know whether it was because he wanted to be with Selina enough to change himself for that chance (which… understandable) or, if he was on some deep cover mission to manipulate Selina towards and he changed behavior in order to further his own covert ends. And… imo the possibility of it being one or the other is more interesting than any story you could get out of committing one way or the other.

And by killing Valmont, the run gets out of having to answer this question, which, again imo, is the most intelligent narrative decision this run made aside from bringing back Eiko.

That said, If in the last two issues Howard answers the question of “what really was up with Valmont” I’m retroactively taking back all of this praise and will be downgrading this run to "of poor quality but at least Eiko's here"

[batbabydamian]

DC May 2024 Solicitations - Comics Featuring Damian! 🦇

BATMAN #147

5/7/2024

Written by Chip Zdarsky

Art and Cover by Jorge Jimenez

Variant Covers: Kendra “Kukka” Lim (1:25), Stevan Subic (1:50), Jorge Jimenez, Yasmine Putri

With no allies, no weapons, and almost no hope...can Batman fight back before Zur makes a true devil's bargain? The world is about to know Zur's true power! Him and.. his new sidekick? "Dark Prisons" continues!

BATMAN AND ROBIN #9

5/14/2024

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art and Cover by Simone Di Meo

Variant Covers: Gleb Melnikov, Howard Porter, Simone Di Meo (1:25), Ivan Tao(?)

Who will be Gotham's true protector? The people of Gotham will decide! While his father fights for his life, Damian now knows Shush's secrets, and it's only created more problems for him as a high school student and as Robin! Can the Dynamic Duo find each other before it's too late?

THE BOY WONDER #1 of 5

5/7/2024

Written by Juni Ba

Art and Cover by Juni Ba

Variant Cover: Cliff Chiang, Juni Ba (1:25)

The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins -to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City. As Robin, young Damian suddenly discovered he was merely one of a number of princes, preceded in the role by his "brothers" Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin...and Damian doesn't care to be merely anything. But when his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham's dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers- and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means! Visionary writer/artist Juni Ba makes his mark on the timeless story of Batman and Robin, synthesizing the characters' complex history into an accessible and heartrending fairy tale!

WONDER WOMAN #9

5/21/2024

Written by Tom King

Art and Cover by Daniel Sampere

Variant Covers: Julian Totino Tedesco, Stjepan Seijic, Irvin Rodriguez (1:25)

The ultimate test! As Sovereign's grip on Wonder Woman's psyche tightens, she retreats into the arms of Steve Trevor. Will their love for the ages prove victorious over the web of Amazon lies weaved in Man's World? Plus, Trinity lets the dogs out!

[doamarierose-honoka]

May is quickly shaping up to be one of the biggest months for new comic book releases in a long time. Marvel alone is going all-out this month, kicking off the massive Blood Hunt crossover and celebrating the milestone 50th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man with the return of Spidey's greatest nemesis. Elsewhere, DC has big stories planned for two of Batman's most important sidekicks, while Image is launching several promising new projects like The Whisper Queen and Grommets.

Read on to see all the biggest comics of May 2024, and be sure to let us know in the comments what you'll be reading this month.

Blood Hunt

Creative Team: Jed MacKay & Pepe Larraz

Publisher: Marvel

Release Date: May 1

As is tradition for Marvel, the first week of May brings with it the start of a major summer crossover event. Blood Hunt pits the Avengers and other assorted heroes against a resurgent vampire nation. For the first time, the many vampire tribes of the Marvel Universe are united under a common cause, and that's bad news for the human world. Expect some major heroes to be turned to the undead as this massive war unfolds.

Blood Hunt will unfold in the pages of the core miniseries by Jed MacKay and Pepe Larraz, but expect a lot of tie-ins to accompany that book. Most of Marvel's Avengers and Spider-Man-adjacent books will tie into the event, and several new limited series will also launch aside the main book.

Get Fury #1

Creative Team: Garth Ennis & Jacen Burrows

Publisher: Marvel

Release Date: May 1

Garth Ennis doesn't often write for the Big Two publishers, but we're always excited when he does. That's especially true whenever Ennis delves into the grim and gritty world of Marvel's MAX imprint. Get Fury brings together Nick Fury and Frank Castle, arguably the two characters on which Ennis has left his greatest mark. In this Vietnam War-era story, Fury is captured by the enemy, leaving the military to dispatch Frank to bring him back by any means necessary. We're getting strong Apocalypse Now vibes from this book, which can only be a good thing.

The Whisper Queen #1

Creative Team: Chip Zdarsky & Kris Anka

Publisher: Image

Release Date: May 1

It's hard to go wrong with a creative pairing like writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Kris Anka, and we're big fans of their work on The White Trees. At long last, the two are reuniting for a new story set in the Blacksand fantasy universe. In The Whisper Queen, a former assassin named Javro must hunt down the king's killers before her son is murdered by a ghostly threat known as the Dark Whisper.

The Boy Wonder #1

Creative Team: Juni Ba

Publisher: DC

Release Date: May 7

DC's newest Black Label series comes from Monkey Meat creator Juni Ba. The Boy Wonder aims to present a fresh spin on the origin of Batman's son, Damian Wayne, and his rise as Robin. In this limited series, Damian is forced to confront the realization that he isn't Batman's first Robin and embrace the idea that he's part of a legacy bigger than himself. It sounds like a great primer for the character, and a worthwhile read for anyone who simply craves more of Damian's crimefighting adventures.

Doom #1

Creative Team: Sanford Greene & Jonathan Hickman

Publisher: Marvel

Release Date: May 15

Jonathan Hickman's latest Marvel epic is quite the deviation from books House of X and G.O.D.S. In Doom #1, Hickman teams with Bitter Root's Sanford Greene for a very different take on the Fantastic Four's most iconic foe. This oversizedone-shot is set in the future, as Doom takes it upon himself to defend Earth from a ravenous Galactus. Can his mighty ego stand up to one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Universe? We're about to find out.

Nightwing #114

Creative Team: Tom Taylor & Bruno Redondo

Publisher: DC

Release Date: May 21

DC just celebrated the 300th issue of Nightwing, and now they're speeding straight ahead into one of the most important chapters of Dick Grayson's costumed career. This issue kicks off "Fallen Grayson," a story arc that explores what happens when Dick loses his ability to leap. Can he still be Nightwing when his city needs him the most? This is the climax of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo's excellent run, so it's definitely a bittersweet moment for fans of what has easily been one of the best superhero comics on the stands.

The Amazing Spider-Man #50

Creative Team: Zeb Wells, Marv Wolfman, Nikesh Shukla & Various Artists

Publisher: Marvel

Release Date: May 22

Thecurrent volume of The Amazing Spider-Man reaches the all-important issue #50 mark this month, and it's shaping up to be a big one. This oversized issue features several new stories, including new material from guest creators like Marv Wolfman and Terry Dodson.

But the real news is that ASM #50 features the return of the Green Goblin. For years now, Norman Osborn has tried to prove that he's reformed and can be a crucial ally to Peter Parker rather than his worst nightmare. That all seems to be at an end, as Osborn becomes consumed by his sins once again. But is this simply a return to the status quo for Osborn, or do Zeb Wells and Ed McGuinness have another big twist in store? Hopefully we'll find out in issue #50.

Blood Squad Seven #1

Creative Team: Joe Casey & Paul Fry

Publisher: Image

Release Date: May 22

Superhero deconstruction stories are nothing new in comics, but it's not often that we see them directed at the bombastic, gritty heroes of the '90s comic book explosion. That's what Joe Casey and Paul Fry aim to do with Blood Squad Seven. This new series focuses on a team of former superhero celebrities who flamed out after the '90s, leaving a new generation to try and take up the mantle in 2024. We're expecting a book that both pays loving tribute to the '90s and skewers the more over-the-top aspects of the era, and it should be loads of fun.

Grommets #1

Creative Team: Rick Remender, Brian Posehn & Brett Parson

Publisher: Image

Release Date: May 29

We're immediately on board for any new project from Rick Remender, but this one looks especially intriguing. Grommets pairs Remender with comedian Brian Posehn and Tank Girl artist Brett Parson for a limited series steeped in 1980's skateboard culture and punk rock. The series is both a throwback to that bygone era and a timeless story of two Gen-X outcasts who find a new home in this scene.

Fall of the House of X Finale

Creative Team: Various

Publisher: Marvel

Release Date: Various

We all knew the X-Men's Krakoan Age had to come to an end sooner or later, and that finale is now close at hand. May marks the end of both Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X, capping off a journey that began way back in 2019's House of X and Powers of X. Will the X-Men finally triumph over Orchis? What sort of future will there be for mutantkind when all is said and done?

May also marks the end of both the current volume of Wolverine and the Immortal X-Men epilogue X-Men Forever. We'll see Logan leap into his latest and bloodiest battle with Sabretooth in Wolverine #50, while X-Men Forever #4 promises to close out with even more startling revelations about Krakoa and its survivors. All of this paves the way for Marvel's X-Men: From the Ashes relaunch in July.

[because-im-freaking-greed]

so uh whos ric grayson? searching for it just redirects to dick and the wiki technically lists the name but no information? Is it some sort of fandom injoke I'm just curious

God I wish it was a fandom injoke.

In 2018, in Batman #55, Dick survived being shot in the head by D-List assassin supervillain KGBeast. Reportedly, Batman writer Tom King wanted him to recover in the pages of Batman so as to not interfere with the ongoing arc of Nightwing's solo title, but editorial insisted that it carry over. I might suggest that if you care about a character's arc in their title comic, having them get shot in the head in a different character's solo is a bad idea either way, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, ahead of this comic coming out, the writer of Nightwing, Benjamin Percy, suddenly announced he would be leaving with Nightwing #50 and notably didn't specify who would be taking over. Once the comic came out and Dick got shot in the head, it became clear that he had developed amnesia from the wound, and the arc of the Nightwing run would be based on that, as written by Scott Lobdell, famous for writing sketchy sexually charged storylines and misogynistic characterizations, as well as real life sexual harassment. Lobdell's arc ended up not only being as bad as everything I've just said, but also worse.

Lobdell quickly established that Dick Grayson had had a complete personality overwrite and was calling himself Ric Grayson for some fucking reason. He was now afraid of heights (hence my referencing the arc on that post) and inexplicably homeless. He stopped being a superhero, became a cab driver, and started squatting in people's houses. Also, the gunshot left a really dumb unsubtle scar shaped like the Nightwing symbol on his head.

He was a smarmy jackass, he constantly rebuffed the rest of the batfamily's attempts to help him as though the whole deal were a life choice instead of complications from a gunshot wound, he got a new girlfriend in a weird bad love triangle with Barbara, and also Scott Lobdell decided that instead of the 3 issues editorial wanted it should be extended indefinitely, asserting that it would be as important as Barbara Gordon as Oracle. He ended up getting 8 issues. Also, while this was going on, a group of cops found his old costumes and decided to be the new Nightwings. Because cops circumventing the law is good!

This arc also ruined several other ongoing titles, including robbing Titans of its narrative momentum (I really liked that comic too), and permanently marring Alfred's funeral in Detective Comics with lots of "I don't know Dick but if he were here he'd say..."

[dailycass-cain]

I really tried to like this run, I really did. The seeds were planted in the Failsafe arc, then there was a tiny bit with the next arc (Red Death), and the way this one began.

Yeah…

This is just my preference, but I enjoy a comic book story if the writer clearly has a passion for all the characters involved.

When it comes to Batman?

I just ask if you're gonna use Cass. Use her wisely.

Don't use her as a "prop".

It's why I left Tom King's Batman run after Batman #81 because that's what Cass was in that run.

I came back to Batman because I truly did enjoy James Tynion IV's style in his Tec run. Yes, he played it safe but it was a FUN kind of safe.

Even if they were cheesy, Tynion's Batman and later Joshua Williamson's runs were fun. So was Mariko Tamaki's Tec run. They treated the characters involved with respect and gave some standout Cass moments. They didn't seem like a "prop" and somehow always figured into the story.

Why I SOOOOO checked out hard when Future State: Gotham did this too (so much so I totally have forgotten who wrote the story). Cass wasn't a character in that (among others). She was just a prop to showcase how "far" Nightwing had gone.

Now, this current Batman run by Chip Zdarsky has done this too. I really did give this run a fair chance. For his "Failsafe" arc the ideas were there but---

There was never any follow-up. No payoff to the ideas introduced in the arc. Cass jobbed but it made sense. Because at the very least "Failsafe" was made to be counter to Bruce and the Family. But…

We got zero payoffs to Cass/Duke doing anything in the arc or anything out of Gotham being lorded over by a machine.

Compare this to what's going on in Detective Comics by Ram V.

Yes, Cass is a minor presence but the writer pays at least some payoff from plots that he introduces the character too. There's consistency.

I see 0 consistency from Zdarsky from point A to B. Take today's #137 issue for example. We spent a setup with Cass getting zero motives as to why she (and Duke) are siding with the rest.

They just are.

0 characterization and 0 payoff from point A to B. What do we get for Cass in the issue? She jobs hard to Bruce. I just don't see any reason why as a fan of Cass I should care about this run?

I mean yeah, Zdarsky dangles the "happy" family in front of us in #136, and also tells us that bad things are coming for Bruce and the Family.

Buuuuuut… where's the characterization? The panel that tells us what Cass sees?

You could've easily had Cass in #136 just a mere two panels glance at Bruce and him back at her. Him knowing she knows something is wrong.

Nope. We don't get that. Just cute fun (we get that via Dick instead).

It would bridge to her being against him in #137. If that was the case I probably wouldn't be angry over the issue. Cass doesn't feel like a character in the story, just a prop. And when a writer goes that route I CHECK OUT.

The other problem I've been having with this Zdarsky run is the "word play" as well. Dick, Tim, Jason, and Damian all get name-dropped as "sons" to Bruce. Note who isn't mentioned.

AND YET...

But that is me just being picky and fandomy. But the other stuff I can't overlook. I will miss this run. I really REALLY love Jorge Jiménez's Cass. Like he understands the assignment ANY time he's asked.

Just that, good art has to accompany a fun or thrilling story. We're getting none of that from my point of view. Maybe this changes in a few issues. Maybe it'll be longer.

I just can't read this comic any longer. It's not a read I enjoy. So until then bye Batman. It was fun.

Anyway. I said my peace. I just want to vent this out of my system. 🙏