Grayson

 Issue #1

Crazy good first issue. Fun spy hijinks and a deeper mystery going on as well. Dick’s voice is always so clear and strong. I’m getting the sense that Helena will be a fun secondary protagonist as well. Shockingly ambitious to this other world within the DC universe but it’s already proving to be something of great interest.

Issue #2

It’s sad/a good choice narratively to have Dick’s death really effect him. As such a relationship oriented person you can see how it’s crushing him to have to take a leave of absence from his loved ones’ lives. Also nice to see more of the layers of motivation be revealed. 

Issue #3

Pretty solid issue. The use of repetition was just beautiful. Good explanation of no kill and anti gun rule. “What’s the damn rush?” That’s the approach I feel like is being taken with this comic. It’s funny seeing Dick go undercover and not embracing the Agent 37 role at all. Side note: I wonder if the numbers hold any significance or are just a James Bond reference.

Issue #4

Helena is an interesting figure here. So many whys surrounding her, which makes you want to pull in even more. She got a good read on Dick. Weird how this issue could be described as cute.

Issue #5

That’s the real indomitable human spirit. Dick outlasting Midnighter out of straight force of will because he had a job to do. It’s beautiful to really think about how much he and Batman go through to protect others. 

Issue #6

Classic shadow leader puppeteering behind the scenes. This is a spy comic after all, you can’t trust anything. Israel’s strongest soldier: Dick Grayson.

Issue #7

I like this Batman. A very chill figure. Everything with Dick circles back to his family and the chance he was given. A new situation for the character as Agent 37 but the core is the exact same.

Issue #8

Explosive cover. I didn’t even think of the organs as connected to any particular character. Wonder Woman being the heart is awesome. I really thought that was Helena in the flashback. So OG Minos was killed long ago and secondary Minos was killed now? I guess this allows The Spider In The Web to move more openly now that Dick and the other spies are no longer concerned about the “head?” Is this Spider related to Spyder? Who’s leading the organization now, why even continue to run it? So many questions now. 

Issue #9

Not much to say about this one. Enjoyed it, and it seems like we’re really getting into the weeds of all the spy stuff. 

Issue #10

Still so many Helena questions. I feel like it’ll be a while before we get into the big why. 

Issue #11

Doctor Netz was someone I didn’t really focus on before. That was clearly my mistake. This issue proved that maybe Dick really does talk too much. There’s new questions every time we think we move forward.

Issue #12

Power of the family. A beautiful, heartwarming issue. I’m glad they put off Dick interacting with the others for so long because it felt so rewarding to get all of these authentic reactions. It was also like a mini capsule of history seeing Dick as the first and looking at how his relationships grew.

Issue #13

I feel like more could be done with Helena as the head of Spyral. I just think she’s been relegated to a C level mystery and her doing her little moves in the shadows got repetitive and hasn’t led to much narrative change or visible development for her. 

Issue #14

I need to think more about the thematic depth of the spiders and spirals, but it is some good stuff. I wonder what the twist with Tiger will be. 

Issue #15

I have to say I absolutely love the Duke prop. “You’ve got it, Duke. Everyone sees it.” Best co-sign ever. Dick pulling a classic loving manipulation masterclass. 

Issue #16

Pretty drastic change in tone for this issue, we’ll see if it carries over. Still enjoyed it, Dick’s charm is a great anchor.

Issue #17

I feel like these last issues have felt kinda…meandering? Like they’ve lost the original punch. The sauce of the hidden organization is kinda gone when we see that Grayson is still doing spy like activities but isn’t a part of them. His method of operation at this point just seems strange, acting as an agent without really being one anymore. It’s an enjoyable enough issue still, but it’s not adding to anything larger, at least not in the same way this comic used to. I thought Maxwell Lord was a coverup for Alia actually disguising herself as Dick way back when. I guess I misunderstood.

Issue #18

Yeah the peak was great while it lasted. I don’t care about the Netz’ which is a problem. This just got too tangled and spread thin. The mysteries were good, but not dived into in a substantial way that made you care for them when more got revealed. 

Issue #19

Decent issue. Liked the chess match between Netz and Maxwell Lord and liked seeing Dick being a hero again, trying to save everyone.

Issue #20

Helena and Dick was a weird yet fun romance. This was a fun conclusion. The multiple Dicks reminded me of the multiple John Stewart’s that fought Hal in Green Lantern: Mosaic. A beautiful sense of self, which a lot of this book has been meditating on. After a slump, we are back on track with a good ending. Grayson becoming a spy and fighting to keep his old sense of self while “dead” was such an entertaining process to watch. A lot that kinda got lost as we continued, but I’m glad we were able to put a neat bow on everything. Very fun book.

Annual #1

 “Only we can win with a story.” Nothing more to say other than that was a good story. Cool spy thriller things. 

Annual #2

Yeah give Superman his trunks. Lowkey this is team-up slop. That’s too harsh, but, yeah, this was just a forgettable story that’s a little dated due to the changes of the status quo.

Annual #3

Nothing to say at all.