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bjoernschneider1's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
indeedithappens's review
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, Gore, War, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Sexual harassment, Child death, Classism, Death, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Stalking, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
unladylike's review
3.0
Somehow, this 4th volume of Grayson struck me as considerably better than the first three. The strangest and most telling thing about that is that Dick Grayson himself is hardly in it, and when he is, he's really, well, just a dick. This takes place alongside the Robin Wars, and includes a few issues from that miniseries/event/whatever. I still have no idea why Robin Wars happened, and find it rather incredulous, even in the world of Gotham and DC. Tons of untrained kids get inspired to be part of a movement, in the vacuum of a proper Batman, who at this time is played by Gordon in a mech suit, making Batman more directly an arm of the police force rather than a rogue and transcendent element. Remember the Court of Owls? They're the centuries-old illuminati-esque secret society that has been pulling the strings of Gotham unbeknownst to the Bat-Clan until relatively recently (2011). They're comprised entirely of old names and old money with some mystical resources - the Waynes, the Pennyworths, and the Graysons are all connected to them going way back, and at this point, they're trying to fulfill some prophecy or complete the circle or something by coercing Dick into being their "Gray Son" (i.e. joining them in exchange for some peace on the Robin War front).
There were plenty of silly parts to this whole plot, but the art, character voices, and story-telling were on point in a way that made me see King and Seeley's strengths and weaknesses better. It's still the truth that the issues scripted by Tom King are far better than the ones Tim Seeley handles.
And I still don't like what they seem to be doing with Helena Bertinelli. But I'll wait until I've finished the final volume before making a judgment about that.
There were plenty of silly parts to this whole plot, but the art, character voices, and story-telling were on point in a way that made me see King and Seeley's strengths and weaknesses better. It's still the truth that the issues scripted by Tom King are far better than the ones Tim Seeley handles.
And I still don't like what they seem to be doing with Helena Bertinelli. But I'll wait until I've finished the final volume before making a judgment about that.
jennifermreads's review against another edition
4.0
I’m giving the stars to the Grayson issues. I’m, like, “Whatever!” on the Robin Wars issues included in the beginning of this volume.
I think I have my husband to thank for seeing bits of Archer and his snark coming through Grayson’s character in this volume. I mean the assassination scenes and the song? I was hearing Archer … and I never would have watched that without hubby going “You have GOT to see this!”
Regardless, at end of volume 3, I said “I will give volume 4 of Grayson a chance but it better not be a repeat of volume 3 and better take me back to what I liked it volumes 1 & 2: getting to know a character who had a previous superhero history but has a new life within a spy organization. If I don’t get that from Volume 4, well, I’m just not sure I’ll invest the time in volume 5.” So I got that in volume 4 and will read volume 5. I was glad to see I wasn’t expected to know the entire canon of the DC Universe in order to enjoy the novel. See, writers, it is possible to gain new fans if you give us a chance to enter the world without having to know the entire back story of the Universe!
I think I have my husband to thank for seeing bits of Archer and his snark coming through Grayson’s character in this volume. I mean the assassination scenes and the song? I was hearing Archer … and I never would have watched that without hubby going “You have GOT to see this!”
Regardless, at end of volume 3, I said “I will give volume 4 of Grayson a chance but it better not be a repeat of volume 3 and better take me back to what I liked it volumes 1 & 2: getting to know a character who had a previous superhero history but has a new life within a spy organization. If I don’t get that from Volume 4, well, I’m just not sure I’ll invest the time in volume 5.” So I got that in volume 4 and will read volume 5. I was glad to see I wasn’t expected to know the entire canon of the DC Universe in order to enjoy the novel. See, writers, it is possible to gain new fans if you give us a chance to enter the world without having to know the entire back story of the Universe!
neon_capricorn's review against another edition
3.0
This is a cobbled volume with Robin Wars crossover material that didn't engage me much. However, I did like Dick's spy theme song and seeing him and "Tony" start developing something of a friendship.
zenarae's review against another edition
2.0
This was a fairly disappointing volume. I felt that adding in the Robin War issues was unnecessary, considering the entirety of Robin War has been collected on its own, and the 3 issues of it we got here were just weirdly disjointed.
groblinthegoblin624's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve realized I really like this series when it’s doing Mission: Impossible adventures. What I didn’t really enjoy was the detour back to Gotham for the Robin war, kind of a drag of a storyline
tearbear20's review against another edition
4.0
This storyline was a bit confusing, but the Robin War issue was awesome having the whole batfam together.