Interview: Seeley and King De-Knight GRAYSON

The big bomb drop on DC fans today is the arrival of Grayson #1 — to astonishingly positive reviews — as the classic character who was once Robin, Nightwing, AND Batman starts a new life as an international spy. Behind the mask now are writers Tim Seeley and Tom King, who took a few minutes out on this momentous day to talk about the next stage in Dick Grayson’s evolution and what we can look forward to with the series as a whole!

Grayson_Vol_1-1_Cover-1_TeaserMatt Santori: I’ve got to get the most critical piece out of the way first. Dick is now a blonde? Arrow to the heart, sirs!

Tim​ Seeley: Or, IS he? COMICS!

Tom King: I was going to say that! Why do I always have to go second in these things? It’s because Tim has more hair, right? You don’t right off just throw the bald guy the hair question. I get it.

MSG: In all seriousness, a lot of things have defined Grayson over the years — his role as Robin, his leadership of the New Teen Titans, his ascension into Batman — but none of those are at play today in the New 52. What to each of you defines the man that is Dick Grayson?

TS: I think all of those things are at play in the New 52. But to me, Dick is the guy who turned tragedy into heroism. He’s the guy who learned from someone who balances precariously between the light and the dark, and managed to stay firmly on the side of the light. He’s sort of the ultimate “legacy” superhero.

grayson_1_coverTK: Two things. First, Dick and Bruce have parallel origins. They’re both witnesses to their parents’ tragic deaths. What differentiates them is that Bruce was raised and trained by a variety of people both in Gotham and overseas. Dick was raised and trained by Bruce. The reason Dick is not the deeply scarred man Bruce has become is a tribute to Bruce’s success as a parent, to Batman finding a way to connect Dick to a world beyond that one moment of horror. To me Dick is the superhero Bruce wants to be.

Second, I always think of Dick Grayson as the Paul McCartney of the DCU. You see McCartney today and you respect him for the life he’s lived, but you always have that sense in the back of your head: HE WAS A BEATLE! It’s a curse and a blessing to be defined by an amazing experience in your past; you want to be your own person, but you also don’t want to lose what was essential from that period. Dick is the same. Whatever he does, Dick will always be the guy you see and say: HE WAS ROBIN! He can’t escape that shadow, but he doesn’t need to escape that shadow. He needs to find his peace in the shade.

MSG: Placing Dick into the role of international James Bond-like spy is a big departure from his previous life. What motivated taking the character risk for you, and what style choices are you making to create the sense of transition in the story?

GRAYSON_2TS: Well, DC came to me with the idea that Dick would be a spy. It was up to me (and then with Tom) to figure out the whys and the hows. We decided it all had to come from the character first…it had to be about the man in the story, and not fitting the man to the story.

TK: I’m a fairly whiny traditionalist when it comes to comics, and I love Nightwing, so I think I was perhaps skeptical at first. It was Tim who pointed out to me that Dick is an incredibly charismatic man who came up traveling the world; furthermore, as Batman’s heir, he’s a master of gadgets and self defenses, and he’s a man experienced in disguise and taking on different identities. Really, the perfect spy. The way I started to think about it was Dick Grayson can never be the world’s greatest detective, that title is taken—but he may be the world’s greatest spy.

MSG: Grayson is, of course, a joint writing effort between the two of you. How are you dividing duties or working together on story? What do you think the other one brings to the process that you don’t?

TS: Basically, Tom and I talked out the BIG picture, and figured out all the important character beats. Then, so far, we write out individual chapters alone, with input form the other. I think Tom not only brings a wealth of CIA experience, he brings a passion and hunger to the project. He wants this to be HUGE.

3825410-3945059172-38246TK: The Batman stories I reread into pulp as a kid were the stories of Frank Miller and Alan Moore. Whenever I write in this world, my first instinct, almost unconsciously, is to go dark and meta-textual. Anyone who has read Tim’s brilliant Hack Slash and Revival series knows that Tim is an expert at finding the spots of humor and light in solemn and dark subjects. As such, Tim helps pull me out of my gloom spirals, reminds me Dick Grayson may be surrounded by terror, but he is a fun character and Grayson should be a fun read.

MSG: Helena Bertinelli’s return and role in the story was a huge surprise for fans, and seems like a strong pairing given her meta-history with Dick Grayson. How has working with Helena’s story been, and what do you think her particular personality does to support or challenge Dick’s character specifically?

TS:  ​I think, in a lot of ways, Helena shares similarities with Bruce Wayne.  She’s revenge-driven, she’s angry, she’s emotionally distant. So, Dick knows how to deal with her to a degree, but there are other aspects of her that are wildly different from Bruce, and that intrigues him.  She’s more passionate, she’s less beholden to a distinct moral code…she’s dangerous, and he can’t help but like that. And, I think Helena sees in Dick someone who she could have been if she had had the right mentor…she sees a means to control her darkest urges, but also someone who understands them.

TK: Tim said it perfectly. Damn him. And his hair. I’d only add that as the series begins, Helena is the better spy, putting Dick into the mentee role. This creates a natural tension for Dick, a man who came up as Batman’s mentee and worked hard to graduate from that role.

HELENA_v2MSG: Re-envisioning Helena Bertinelli as a woman of color is a really interesting choice, partly because so few people recognize that Sicilians can be dark-skinned, and partly because it adds another lead character to an increasingly diverse Bat-Universe. Has the reaction been what you expected, and what are your thoughts on the landscape of diverse representations in comics today?

TS:  It hasn’t been quite what I expected, and there does seem to be some confusions or assumptions I guess. She’s a dark skinned Italian woman. There’s already Helena Wayne, and I thought our Helena should be her own unique character. We’ll get more into her background and origin in the near future!

MSG: Mikel Janin’s pencils are unquestionably another reason fans are jumping up and down in anticipation for Grayson #1. How has the collaboration with Mikel been working, and what do you see as his defining style for the series?

TS: ​The guy is incredible…one of the best action storytellers I’ve ever seen. I was more “experimental” with my Grayson scripts than I’ve been with previous scripts and Mikel accepted the challenge and exceeded our expectations.

TK: ​Getting Mikel on this book, I felt like Claremont when Jim Lee was put on X-Men. You can’t lose. To me the magic of his style here is how realistic and grounded it is while still maintaining a sense of movement and grace, which is essential for a comic about an acrobat.

MSG: Any final thoughts or special teases for the first issue of Grayson you can share with the Comicosity audience?

nightwing30_coverTS: Tom and I love and respect all of these characters and their histories as much as anyone else, and we’re doing our best to synthesize a great, fresh take with the purest, and best versions of these iconic characters. I do it with love, and I can tell ya, all my collaborators on the book; Tom, Mikel, Jeromy, and Mark, are all on the samepage.

TK: I think it’s important to remember that this is not a book about a spy whose name happens to be Dick Grayson. This a book about Dick Grayson, a character with a seventy-four year history, a man who is and was Nightwing and Robin; this is a book about Dick Grayson being sent by Batman to infiltrate the world’s greatest spy organization, to save the world by betraying his colleagues. This is a book about the fun in the gloom spirals.

Also, by issue three Dick has rainbow hair. Shhhh. Don’t tell the Internet.

The first issue of Grayson arrived in comic shops and online today! Run to get your copy and don’t forget to read our review on Comicosity!

 

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