Hey FPNYC Faithful! Today we’re going to look at Grayson Annual #2, also known as the comic that lead to a review that will definitely get me accused of being on DC’s payroll at some point in the near future.
Grayson Annual #2
Tim Seeley, Tom King, Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandex, Jeromy Cox
DC, $4.99
It hard to think of a comic that’s been unintentionally directed solely at me and my interests in recent history. Directly following up to the recent events in Grayson (as well as some recent shenanigans and revelations over in the Superman titles), this comic sees Dick Grayson encountering Superman for the first time since his “death”, and defining what their relationship is like in the current DC Universe. When this book was first solicited, the cover implied some fun team up times, which I’m about. But what I wasn’t expecting was a sly shout out to the Chuck Dixon/Scott McDaniel Nightwing run of the 90s, which was my first real exposure to the character. Schilling alert: This is where I start gushing about this comic.
Last week’s Grayson was light on the punching and heavy on emotional assault (the Feels, if you will). This time around, writers Tim Seeley and Tom King flip the script around a bit, giving us some pretty happy emotional beats, and ton of high octane action. There’s definitely a sense this book was written shortly after the writers saw the recent Mad Max movie, which is fine with me, as Fury Road is on my short list of things I’ve loved about this past year. And much like said week old comic, the pair of writers manage to establish a half-decade long history in the span of a single issue with ease. The book starts off with a fun flashback showing that Dick Grayson (as Robin) thinking Superman is the coolest thing, and Superman is definitely down with Batman’s little buddy. King and Seeley also put their spin on the whole “Nightwing got his handle from Kryptonian lore”, which is a fun little bit of comics history that I’m a fan of. Once again the writers incorporate a bunch of material established before the reboot 4 years again, and once again I am loving it. The dialogue is also fantastic, as King & Seeley give our heroes some fun back and forth banter, and absolutely nail the voice of the OTHER book’s guest star, who’s identity I won’t spoil here.
I’ve done a pretty crappy job of not mentioning the book’s art yet, so let’s change that. Mikel Janin, Grayson’s regular artist, only handles the cover on this book, which is a tad creepy dude to Clark and Dick suffering from same face syndrome. The interior art is actually handled by Alvaro Martinez, whose’s previous work I’m unfamiliar with, but has done a 
number of one shots and single issues for DC over the last 2 years. Martinez reminds me a lot of legendary artist Alan Davis, given how clean and straight forward his art is. Having to follow up to an artist like Janin who’s art reeks of sexy isn’t an easy task, but he does a serviceable job on putting his own spin on the characters. Ultimately, Martinez’s work is perfectly serviceable, although I wish he made Superman look a little older than Robin, and some of his poses weren’t as stiff as they were. But overall, it’s good stuff, especially with Raul Fernandez‘s inks being so clean and Jeromy Cox‘s colors being on point.
Grayson Annual #2 is the best issue of the Brave and the Bold we’ve gotten in years. It’s a fun book that ties nicely into the current on-going of the proper title, but it’s something you need to caught up on to enjoy. It’s old school execution, but feels fresh and fun. It’s a must read if you’ve been enjoying Grayson, Action Comics, or Superman, or just enjoy fun DC comics.
