The Flying Graysons

TITANS COMPANION 2

Continuing to demonstrate why they've cornered the comic history market, Twomorrows Publishing offers up Glen Cadigan's The Titans Companion Volume 2, which picks up where its 2005 predecessor left off. Through the usual comprehensive interviews that typify these volumes, readers are brought from the aftermath of the Silver Age version of the characters to the present day. Among those being interviewed are Marv Wolfman, Neal Adams, Chuck Dixon, Mark Waid, John Byrne, Peter David, Devin Grayson, Judd Winick, Geoff Johns and numerous others.
   Given the nature of this particular blog page, an important aspect of the book is that through the various interviews the evolution of Dick Grayson from his days as Robin to his becoming Nightwing is explored. For instance, writer Chuck Dixon, the first to handle the Nightwing series, was asked about the difference between writing a Batman story and a Nightwing story.
   "Nightwing's more well adjusted," he replied. "He's happier with who he is. He's more of a natural, as opposed to the self-made man that Batman is. It's like Dick Grayson was born to do this, and those are the biggest differences. Then [there's] the emphasis on action, and also the fact that Nightwing's private life, the way I wrote it, was more vital than Bruce Wayne's. Dick Grayson has a real life; Bruce Wayne doesn't. Bruce Wayne is just a total facade, but Dick Grayson liked being Dick Grayson as much as he did Nightwing.
   "I think he's just as good as Batman, he's just more human," Dixon added. "He's more likely to have a human failing and less likely to feel bad about it. In my experience, whenever Batman would fail or think he'd failed, he'd waste a lot of time beating himself up over it. Nightwing is more willing to shrug and move on.... In a lot of ways, Nightwing was far more beleaguered than Batman had ever been, because except for "Knightfall,' there was never aconcerted effort to take Batman down, whereas in Nightwing, his Rogues Gallery not only grew, but they also grew more united against him, so that every time he faced them, there were more of them and they were all on the same page about getting him. So the threat level increased over time."
   In a separate interview in that volume, Outsiders writer Judd Winick offered of Dick Grayson/Nightwing, "What Nightwing desperately did not want to become was Batman. I'm not talking about just putting on the cowl and the cape; we're talking about who he is. You know, the coldness that goes around Batman. I know that Nightwing doesn't want that. Dick Grayson doesn't want that. I think he's better than that, more tied to humanity than that, and that's why being in the Outsiders was this battle for him not to become like Batman."
   Then, when asked to compare and contrast Batman and Nightwing, he said, "They're alike because they're both the strategists. Dick Grayson grew up at Batman's knee. He was taught at a very young age to look at everyting from all angles. Batman's greatest ability is his ability to quickly strategize and figure out a situation. He's the master detective, he sees clues where clues aren't supposed to be; he sees guilt where guilt isn't supposed to be. He can immediately 'fess out a situation, and Dick is very much the same way. It's intuitive at this point, is the way I see it. He was raised with this; he was raised to think that way. He was also raised to treat his body like a weapon, very much like Batman. Everything that Batman does to be Batman are the very things that Dick Grayson does.
   "How they're different," Winnick continued, "is that I think Dick Grayson loves people and life a lot more than Batman does, and it's not a mystery to either one of them. I like the idea that Batman is, in general, happier with Dick Grayson by his side. I think one of the reasons why he has gotten sidekicks is because they lighten the load. It doesn't make him necessarily feel better, but it makes him feel something, and I think he probably, of all his sons, [laughs] has this special relationship with his oldest, the ittle smart ass who used to fight by his side, and who would make terrible jokes. I think that made Batman's life a little bit better."
   The Titans Companion Volume 2 can be ordered directly from Twomorrows over at www.twomorrows.com. The volume retails for $26.95, and given all that it accomplishes, is well worth it.
   

REFLECTIONS OF ROBIN: AN INTERVIEW WITH MARV WOLFMAN

by Edward Gross
With the announcement of The Graysons,  Dick Grayson and Robin are back in the news and if there’s a comic writer who has played an integral role in the character’s evolution over the years, it’s no doubt Marv Wolfman, who, along with artist George Perez, brought the character into the forefront with The New Teen Titans in the 1980s.
   Prior to then, Robin had been little more than Batman’s sidekick and didn’t seem to have the potential to grow. For his part, Wolfman saw things differently. “My view was to make him older and to make him more serious,” he tells The Flying Graysons. “Once you decide to do that, the rest is easy. You think of who Dick Grayson was, who he was raised by and work out his life from there. It wasn’t hard, but it was interesting to work out the details.  And over the years, he’s grown up. He’s learned to be independent. He’s learned that by being Batman rigid he doesn’t allow himself to grow. He still makes mistakes, because he sometimes can’t see the other side of issues, but when it’s pointed out to him, he may realize that fault. I think his evolution into Nightwing was important, because it allowed him, mentally, to go from being Batman’s kid partner to being his own person.”
   Although many people have responded to the announcement of The Graysons – and it’s approach – as confusing, he believes that there is definitely potential in exploring Dick Grayson’s background.
   “When Smallville was announced eight to nine years ago, they said it was the story of Clark, without his full powers, growing up,” Wolfman offers. “Everyone went, ‘Who cares?’ and they were wrong. They made the series a great one by concentrating on the characters and their stories. Hopefully they’ll do the same with the Graysons.”
   Dick Grayson has been presented in a variety of ways over the years in the comics as well as on television and film, but Wolfman has a favorite incarnation in mind.
   “Dick hasn’t been handled well in movies to date or on TV,” he says. “I’ve not seen enough of the animated episode to know how he was handled there. Personally, I think we did a pretty good job of making him unique in the Titans. After all, that’s the portrayal that’s still be followed 20+ years later.”

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"THE GRAYSONS" ON THE CW

Earlier this week Variety reported that the CW is looking to create a series called The Graysons, with Smallville executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson and director/producer McG. The show, according to the report, would deal with Dick Grayson prior to his trapeze artist parents being killed and his being taken under the wing of Bruce Wayne/Batman. "In the one-hour Graysons, which will be set in modern times, young DJ will face challenges involving first loves, young rivals and his family as he grows up. Souders and Peterson have come up with an original take on the character... The Graysons will follow the world of Dick 'DJ' Grayson before he takes on the iconic Robin identity and aligns himself with Batman."
   There was wide speculation that The Graysons was being eyed as a replacement for Smallville for next year, though Souders and Peterson subsequently issued a statement exclusively to grayson.kryptonsite.com which would seem to negate that theory: "As news and rumors swirl around the development of The Graysons for the CW, we have every intention of letting you, our fans, be the first to know the reality. Never have we been so committed to the continuing success of Smallville as we are to seasons 8 and 9. While we are extremely excited to be working hand-in-hand with Wonderland, Warner Bros. and the CW to create the origin story of Dick Grayston, it has never been intended as a replacement for Smallville, as is speculated in some media. The cast, crew, writers and producers are all working full-steam ahead on a story-line for Clark that allows for seasons of further trials and adventures for our favorite hero. As always, we all have you to thank for achieving eight years of this amazing show that Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar] created, and we're looking far beyond."

THE MAKING OF "GRAYSON"

While fans wait for more information on The Graysons, they can check out this behind the scenes article on the making of John Fiorella's fan film Grayson (the trailer and behind the scenes documentary on the film can be found elsewhere on this page.

Download the_making_of_grayson.pdf 

NIGHTWING TEASER TRAILER

Grayson Trailer

The Making of "Grayson"