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A review by captwinghead
Grayson, Volume 2: We All Die At Dawn by Steven Mooney, Tom King, Carlos M. Mangual, Mikel Janín, Jeremy Cox, Tim Seeley
3.0
Dick's thighs save lives!
3 stars.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one. It's complicated to rate because I really, really, REALLY loved the first issue but it kind of went downhill from there. What attracted me to the first one was Dick's characterization. Sure, most of my review was drooling over how gorgeous the art was but when I felt like the story was all plot and not a lot of Dick's feelings on everything, it waned for me. I read this books for Dick Grayson and this one seemed like it wanted to get at the root of Minos' plot and not a lot on Dick's development.
The first issue where Dick is traveling through the desert and trying to keep the baby alive was really touching. Dick has always been fantastic with children, it seems. When Midnighter is talking about studying Dick's moves, what he's really referring to is Dick's charm and his showmanship. Dick's such a dynamic character and he's so confident in who he is and what he believes in. So, when he's telling this baby a story about trying to do his best to save Batman, and he's telling them "You just have to remember: sometimes you stand on the edge and there's a monster on the other side. And you tell him... You just tell that monster: Come on... come on big boy! I'm still waiting for you." - he tells the baby this story to try to teach them to be brave, even when it seems hopeless. It's a clear parallel to what he's going through because Helena couldn't keep going and Midnighter is telling him to save himself. Dick says, "If we're dead, she's dead. So we're not dead." Dick's going to stubbornly lead this charge until he literally can't walk anymore because he doesn't believe in giving up.
One thing I'll say about this book, it kept up with the whole Dick doesn't like guns thing until he was kind of required to use one. I liked that although the inclusion of the schoolgirls bugged me this time. I hate the whole "X is gay, isn't that a waste" thing. It's really offensive.
The plot in Israel was... questionable. Also, boring villain. It was a little CW-y for my tastes that Dick's goodness saves the day but I liked the bit where he tells Batman about what happened. Dick and Bruce sharing their feelings is rare but I love seeing it!
The bit where Dick played an Irishman was fun! The majority of the plot was boring but clearly Dick had a lot of fun pretending to be Rock.
So, the first issue was great. Then the volume waned until the last issue where things picked up a bit. the ending with Minos was... an ending. I'll pick up the third volume because I hope it gets better from here.
The art was gorgeous as ever! Seriously, Dick and Agent 1 are freaking gorgeous. It's annoying.
3 stars.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one. It's complicated to rate because I really, really, REALLY loved the first issue but it kind of went downhill from there. What attracted me to the first one was Dick's characterization. Sure, most of my review was drooling over how gorgeous the art was but when I felt like the story was all plot and not a lot of Dick's feelings on everything, it waned for me. I read this books for Dick Grayson and this one seemed like it wanted to get at the root of Minos' plot and not a lot on Dick's development.
The first issue where Dick is traveling through the desert and trying to keep the baby alive was really touching. Dick has always been fantastic with children, it seems. When Midnighter is talking about studying Dick's moves, what he's really referring to is Dick's charm and his showmanship. Dick's such a dynamic character and he's so confident in who he is and what he believes in. So, when he's telling this baby a story about trying to do his best to save Batman, and he's telling them "You just have to remember: sometimes you stand on the edge and there's a monster on the other side. And you tell him... You just tell that monster: Come on... come on big boy! I'm still waiting for you." - he tells the baby this story to try to teach them to be brave, even when it seems hopeless. It's a clear parallel to what he's going through because Helena couldn't keep going and Midnighter is telling him to save himself. Dick says, "If we're dead, she's dead. So we're not dead." Dick's going to stubbornly lead this charge until he literally can't walk anymore because he doesn't believe in giving up.
One thing I'll say about this book, it kept up with the whole Dick doesn't like guns thing until he was kind of required to use one. I liked that although the inclusion of the schoolgirls bugged me this time. I hate the whole "X is gay, isn't that a waste" thing. It's really offensive.
The plot in Israel was... questionable. Also, boring villain. It was a little CW-y for my tastes that Dick's goodness saves the day but I liked the bit where he tells Batman about what happened. Dick and Bruce sharing their feelings is rare but I love seeing it!
The bit where Dick played an Irishman was fun! The majority of the plot was boring but clearly Dick had a lot of fun pretending to be Rock.
So, the first issue was great. Then the volume waned until the last issue where things picked up a bit. the ending with Minos was... an ending. I'll pick up the third volume because I hope it gets better from here.
The art was gorgeous as ever! Seriously, Dick and Agent 1 are freaking gorgeous. It's annoying.