Grayson returns to Gotham.
By Jeff Lake
Following a year’s worth of man of mystery antics, a Robin at last returns to roost. It’s a moment long in the making, and with a ticking clock deadline and a whole slew of “my bad” mea culpa’s to deliver, Dick Grayson’s return to Gotham is as emotionally investing as it is narratively complex.
Given last issue’s mind bending, narrative altering reveals, at first glance issue #12 is about as tonally different as you can get. Dick, at last given the freedom to reveal his continued existence to his Bat family in Gotham, has a lot of making up to do, and writers Tom King and Tim Seeley do an excellent job ensuring that the stakes, and feelings, of such a reunion are well measured. Dick has been gone, well, dead, for a long time, and the writers take careful care in how each member of the Bat team reacts to his sudden resurrection. King and Seeley have written some great character beats in their relatively short run, but issue #12 may stand apart as the most assured. Each moment, from Tim and Jason’s angry incredulity to Barbara’s cold disappointment to Damian’s pure, unfettered joy, feels appropriate to both the moment and the histories they share.
This sense of history is further reflected in the issue’s unique presentation. With each reunion the writers include a host of quotes from past Batman, or more specifically Robin, adventures, highlighting the variance in bonds Dick shares with each Bat member. It’s a surprisingly affecting approach that hits on many of the key moments of character development we’ve seen over the years. It also makes for a heck of a “How Well Do You Know Your Batman” quiz, as many of the quotes are as familiar as they are impactful. Seeing as how it’s been forever and a day since we’ve seen these characters together, this presentation goes a long way in refreshing and enhancing the relationships they’ve so long shared.
The trip down memory lane alone would have made this issue worth reading, but King and Seeley also mange to use Dick’s farewell tour as a way of advancing his fight against Spyral. Utilizing a clever narrative tool first established way back in Grayson: Futures End #1, it’s revealed that all of Dick’s heartfelt apologies also serve as carefully worded calls to action. It’s an excellent sneaky spy move from an excellent sneaky spy, and it helps give the series some solid forward momentum to go along with its numerous warm fuzzies.
Of course, you can’t talk excellence and warm fuzzies without discussing Mikel Janin’s contributions to the read. Even in an issue decidedly lighter on daring-do (or derrière-ing-do) the artist still manages to captivate, his realistic pencils both touching and exciting. His ability to convey kinetic motion, a consistent selling point of the series thus far, is again apparent, Dick’s run in with home decor wrecker Agent Zero a lesson in stylized action. Much like the script, however, his strongest moments are in those shared with the rest of the Bat team. He really captures the myriad emotions these scene brings forth, adding a lovely collage of flashback images to each individual interaction. The color work by Jeromy Cox only enhances these scenes, his normally vibrant hues made simple and nostalgic.
Whether in tights, behind a holo mask or in plain old stage makeup, Dick Grayson remains an effortlessly investing character in the hands of Tom King, Tim Seeley and Mikel Janin. A reunion long in the making is given a real and satisfying weight, in turn propelling the series into new and exciting spy-tinged territory.
With so much emotional kindling we expected Grayson’s return to be good, but by hitting the heartstrings and advancing the plot, King and Seeley have delivered something special. With new wheels in motion and the Bat family at long last repaired (sort of), Grayson continues to be just as surprising and entertaining as its eponymous lead.
