Grayson #3 review

Last month's Grayson: Futures End #1 was fantastic. If you haven't picked that up, go and do so. I thought it would have thrown a wrench in this series and really just set it off pace, but I was wrong. It carried with it big themes and creative writing. So this time going back into the main story I was afraid it wouldn't hold up to that issue. My worries were unfounded as this issue features some of that strong writing and big themes as the Futures End tie-in as well as building off the main storyline... and this time, some really great art!

I'm really digging the format of the series. Each issue incorporates the following themes: 1) A mission that pushes the envelope for Dick. 2) A body part that must be acquired for Spyral. 3) Some sort of love interest. 4) Spyral's overarching plan against superheroes. These are things you can count on each issue and I like it.

An Envelope-Pushing Mission — The morality of killing was discussed a great deal in the Futures End tie-in. Here we have the morality of gun use. Seeley and King open up the floor for debate over gun use by superheroes and it's interesting to see it in print. Dick is being trained to use a gun. He is even forced to draw it. But does he use it?

Show Spoiler

Hell no. Despite Dick apparently murdering that dude last issue (there are some naysayers to that point) he won't pull a trigger, at least not yet. He stands his ground based on a "that's not how I roll" mantra. Which is basically the only argument a professional spy/comic book character could use, though in debate terms that point would not stand.

In the course of completing the mission, Dick tries to use his personality and ability to relate to others. Most of the time it doesn't work and he just puts others or himself in danger. What this issue does is show how a person who tries to be understanding can't work effectively as a spy in Spyral.

Body Parts for Spyral — This time, it's eyes. Bear with me. A man whose eyes were damaged has his optical nerves directly tied to two guns that he uses to see out of. So, wherever this guy points his guns is where he sees. Now. This guy, Old Gun, has stolen Paragon's eyes and Spyral must retrieve them. Very odd. Very Batman Inc. Yet very fun. Speaking of eyes though, I have to say this comic looks amazing! Seriously, from layouts, to action shots, to the creative point of view of Old Gun, everything looks like it was given an incredible amount of thought. Mikel Janin and Jeromy Cox are fantastic here.

Love Interest — Have you read the free preview? Oh my. This might have been the most sexually obvious(?) issue I've read in The New 52. I'm sure some will find it distasteful, though, for better or worse it's an essential ingredient to this issue in particular.

Show Spoiler

It's something that James Bond fans will understand. Establishing attachment between Alia (Agent 8) and Dick quickly and early on makes what happens at the end more powerful and shocking. This is accomplished by an extremely long line of sexual innuendo and creative use of our lead character's name resulting in the reader understanding there is a connection between these two. It makes us care about a character we might otherwise not care about. Though, I'd be surprised if we saw any "Dick" jokes for awhile after this one.

Spyral's Superhero Secrets — Aquaman's identity is known. Spyral is aware of secret transmissions being sent using Spyral's communications. Perhaps they are on to Dick and Bruce chatting it up? There is some ongoing tension brewing. I wonder how Spyral can reconcile Dick's association with Batman with his refusal to shoot and his refusal (so far) to kill.

Recommended if:

You enjoyed Grayson: Futures End #1.
The thought of Dick Grayson using a gun blows your mind.
You like James Bond.

Overall:

This is an incredibly strong comic through and through. The writing is top notch. It's fun. It's shocking. The artwork looks terrific. If you're reading the series as a whole it really adds to the overall story. Tension is brewing. We care about the characters. Hot topic issues are addressed. Guys, it's a fantastic issue, and I highly recommend it.

SCORE: 9/10

17 comments

favre1fan93

October 2, 2014

I've read this from the beginning, but could someone give me a refresher on what the other body part items were from previous issues/mission? Don't have the ability currently to open up my back issues.

As for this issue, thoroughly enjoyed it! Agreed that it kept the momentum from the Futures End tie-in, and from the previous main story issue.

wingding86

October 2, 2014

Dude i loved Grayson fe and i know that i will love this issue. Hey everybody should check out the monster cover for this book. Totally wicked.

bat

October 2, 2014

Huh I was not sold on the previous two issues but this issue was really good.
PS does spyral know superman's identity

Nightwing
October 2, 2014
Not yet just batman,cyborg,flash and aquaman
1. Andres
  October 3, 2014
  Everyone knows Aquaman's identity, it's not secret.

TheFlyingGraysons

October 2, 2014

I thought this was another quality issue. They're steadily building all these elements and with the events of the last few pages, you can tell it's only going to get bigger and better from here on out.

Also, what about Tom King? If I remember correctly, he was announced as a consultant to add more to the spy side of things. But with the FE issue and now this, he's absolutely killing it with his writing.

Brione

October 2, 2014

I agree with this review 100%. This issue is awesome and so far Grayson has been awesome!

Jesse
October 3, 2014
Thanks!

Allen

October 2, 2014

At this point, I'm thinking that Spyral must be one of the stupidest spy organizations out there if they don't know that Dick is spying for Batman. Did they think he was able to fake his own death in the state he was? Especially in the presence of a multitude of heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman who have super hearing? I mean, they must know that Batman helped him.

Hoping that it turns out that Spyral is playing Batman and Dick, but if that's the case, then it just brings another question to mind- why would Bruce send Dick to Spyral when Dick is such an obvious mole? It's like sending a book of secrets to your worst enemy. Sure, there's a chance they won't open it, but...

I feel like all the editorial switches in Forever Evil really resulted in a lot of plot holes and gaps that probably won't be explained. Ugh if they're going to go the route of Spyral ~gradually figuring out that Dick isn't loyal to them. It just dumbs everyone down.

Ultan Schmultan
October 2, 2014
This bothers me too.... I was blaming myself for perhaps not fully understanding how Dick ended up in Spyral's employment and was promising to re-read the arc again, in case I missed a plot device that ties it all together. If someone wants to save me the bother and educate me I'm all ears. =)
Having said that, in terms of sheer story telling excellence and top notch art, I'm seriously digging what they're doing here (9/10 is fully justified) on a comic by comic basis. Super stuff.
Brian
October 2, 2014
I think that there's more to Spyral than meets the eye. Let's not forget that the person who is the Headmistress of Spyral is Kathy Kane who knows Batman very well.

Sean@BatmanNews

October 2, 2014

This might seem like total Red Hood product placement but I think it'd be fun for Spyral to bring in Jason, someone Dick pseudo-kinda trusts for his relation to the Bat-family to teach him how to shoot non-lethally. Whenever Jason is on a mission with a Bat-family member (most of the time) he sticks to knees, elbows, hands, not vital areas. I think that would be fun. Then again, maybe I just want an excuse to see more Red Hood.

Martinezxyz

October 2, 2014

I had fun with this book myself.

Brannahdel

October 2, 2014

I think that we have to look at it from the outside and not the inside. Those that complain about how Spyral should know that Dick is a mole or "do they think he could fake his own death" etc. They do not know how deep the relationship between DG and BW is. They know they worked together and that he was probably trained by Batman and in the N52 I believe Dick was never adopted by Bruce. Not even his ward! So, no, I cannot logically think that Spyral would be suspicious of DG, at least not as much as if I knew how strong the bond is between Bruce and Dick. Which is not widely known.

Captain DC

October 4, 2014

This doesn't make ANY sense! Why make such a big deal, out of Dick not wanting to use a gun, and yet on the cover of the last two issues, he's holding a freakin' gun! The no-killing rule, that he's adopted from Batman, makes sense. But either have Dick Grayson shooting non-lethal ammo, or give him his Escrima Sticks and Wing Dings!

Red Robin...Yum

October 5, 2014

I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. It had a perfect blend of action, humor, and emotion. And holy crap the way they did that climax, with the switching between the two and the kids walking up to the guy. That was some cinematic beauty right there.

Garrett Steel

October 23, 2014

You woulda thought that between four spies, one of them could have figured out that a guy who actually has "gun" in his name would be packing heat when they kidnapped him from the men's room. Other than that, a really cool issue.

favre1fan93
October 2, 2014
I've read this from the beginning, but could someone give me a refresher on what the other body part items were from previous issues/mission? Don't have the ability currently to open up my back issues.
As for this issue, thoroughly enjoyed it! Agreed that it kept the momentum from the Futures End tie-in, and from the previous main story issue.
wingding86
October 2, 2014
Dude i loved Grayson fe and i know that i will love this issue. Hey everybody should check out the monster cover for this book. Totally wicked.
bat
October 2, 2014
Huh I was not sold on the previous two issues but this issue was really good.
PS does spyral know superman's identity
1. Nightwing
  October 2, 2014
  Not yet just batman,cyborg,flash and aquaman
  1. Andres
    October 3, 2014
    Everyone knows Aquaman's identity, it's not secret.
TheFlyingGraysons
October 2, 2014
I thought this was another quality issue. They're steadily building all these elements and with the events of the last few pages, you can tell it's only going to get bigger and better from here on out.
Also, what about Tom King? If I remember correctly, he was announced as a consultant to add more to the spy side of things. But with the FE issue and now this, he's absolutely killing it with his writing.
Brione
October 2, 2014
I agree with this review 100%. This issue is awesome and so far Grayson has been awesome!
1. Jesse
  October 3, 2014
  Thanks!
Allen
October 2, 2014
At this point, I'm thinking that Spyral must be one of the stupidest spy organizations out there if they don't know that Dick is spying for Batman. Did they think he was able to fake his own death in the state he was? Especially in the presence of a multitude of heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman who have super hearing? I mean, they must know that Batman helped him.
Hoping that it turns out that Spyral is playing Batman and Dick, but if that's the case, then it just brings another question to mind- why would Bruce send Dick to Spyral when Dick is such an obvious mole? It's like sending a book of secrets to your worst enemy. Sure, there's a chance they won't open it, but...
I feel like all the editorial switches in Forever Evil really resulted in a lot of plot holes and gaps that probably won't be explained. Ugh if they're going to go the route of Spyral ~gradually figuring out that Dick isn't loyal to them. It just dumbs everyone down.
1. Ultan Schmultan
  October 2, 2014
  This bothers me too.... I was blaming myself for perhaps not fully understanding how Dick ended up in Spyral's employment and was promising to re-read the arc again, in case I missed a plot device that ties it all together. If someone wants to save me the bother and educate me I'm all ears. =)
  Having said that, in terms of sheer story telling excellence and top notch art, I'm seriously digging what they're doing here (9/10 is fully justified) on a comic by comic basis. Super stuff.
2. Brian
  October 2, 2014
  I think that there's more to Spyral than meets the eye. Let's not forget that the person who is the Headmistress of Spyral is Kathy Kane who knows Batman very well.
Sean@BatmanNews
October 2, 2014
This might seem like total Red Hood product placement but I think it'd be fun for Spyral to bring in Jason, someone Dick pseudo-kinda trusts for his relation to the Bat-family to teach him how to shoot non-lethally. Whenever Jason is on a mission with a Bat-family member (most of the time) he sticks to knees, elbows, hands, not vital areas. I think that would be fun. Then again, maybe I just want an excuse to see more Red Hood.
Martinezxyz
October 2, 2014
I had fun with this book myself.
Brannahdel
October 2, 2014
I think that we have to look at it from the outside and not the inside. Those that complain about how Spyral should know that Dick is a mole or "do they think he could fake his own death" etc. They do not know how deep the relationship between DG and BW is. They know they worked together and that he was probably trained by Batman and in the N52 I believe Dick was never adopted by Bruce. Not even his ward! So, no, I cannot logically think that Spyral would be suspicious of DG, at least not as much as if I knew how strong the bond is between Bruce and Dick. Which is not widely known.
Captain DC
October 4, 2014
This doesn't make ANY sense! Why make such a big deal, out of Dick not wanting to use a gun, and yet on the cover of the last two issues, he's holding a freakin' gun! The no-killing rule, that he's adopted from Batman, makes sense. But either have Dick Grayson shooting non-lethal ammo, or give him his Escrima Sticks and Wing Dings!
Red Robin...Yum
October 5, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. It had a perfect blend of action, humor, and emotion. And holy crap the way they did that climax, with the switching between the two and the kids walking up to the guy. That was some cinematic beauty right there.
Garrett Steel
October 23, 2014
You woulda thought that between four spies, one of them could have figured out that a guy who actually has "gun" in his name would be packing heat when they kidnapped him from the men's room. Other than that, a really cool issue.

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Grayson #3 review

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