Art by: Stephen Mooney
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 3, 2014
Future Past
It's five years in the dark, gritty world of Futures End (you have to say "Futures End" in a deep voice for effect) and Dick Grayson is at the end of his rope. Actually, he's hanging from one...by his neck. Yep, every one's favorite Spyral agent is being hung as a traitor by his partner/now lover Helena Bertinelli. What? A lot has happened to Dick in five years and Tom King and Stephen Mooney are going to show it all to us, by going backwards.
You read that right, King is giving us a flashback based story in an event set five years in the future. It's a bit odd to wrap your head around at first and while it is a pretty good story, I think King tried to be too clever for his own good. That and the fact that it really seems unnecessary for fans of Grayson and/or Futures End make this book easy to pass on.
Tom King gives fans of Dick Grayson a lot to like in this issue. I said "Dick Grayson" mind you, not "Grayson" Yes, we get some Spyral action with Helena and Dick going through some missions, but this is more the story of Dick. We see how Dick was shaped all the way back to the faithful night his parents were killed. We all know that story, but it's the stuff that happens after that I liked. A brief scene with Dick complaining about his Robin outfit to Batman was so good, but that isn't the only highlight. Batgirl makes a touching appearance and it all comes together (in the beginning?!) to show that the scenery around Dick may change, but the man is still the same.
While I enjoyed some bits, this issue is such a weird choice for the Futures End event. I don't blame King since the actual Grayson book is only a few issues old. What can we learn about Grayson and Spyral in the future when we hardly know anything in the present? In this case, not much.
Stephen Mooney does an okay job on art. `I'm not a huge fan of Dick's look and Mooney's style is a bit too pencil heavy from my usual liking, but it doesn't ruin the book. Like I said, it's okay.
Bits and Pieces:
Grayson: Futures End #1 is an odd book. It's a flashback story in an event happening five years in the future and is more a Dick Grayson story than anything else. Grayson readers won't get much here and Futures End fans can skip it entirely.
5.8/10
You really have to go back and reread this one. I hated it at first too and then I read the Comic Vine review here showing me what to look for. It completely blew my mind. Now it's one of my favorite issues. I have to really congratulate Tom King for pulling off the best trick story telling I've ever seen in a comic.
ReplyDeleteI looked for a ComicVine review and actually couldn't find it. I just didn't like the issue at all. First, as a Futures End book I thought it was forced and unnecessary. As a Dick Grayson fan, I liked it a bit more, but it still felt off to me.
DeleteI meant this one...
Deletehttp://www.comicvine.com/grayson-futures-end-1-only-a-place-for-dying/4000-463944/user-reviews/2200-44148
It's totally fine if you still ultimately decide that you don't like the issue after reading this. I just want to make sure you caught everything.
I've been looking at a lot of major reviews for this issue and many of them seemed to have missed important details showing that the first panel was not what it seemed. It makes sense because they have to read the comics very fast to do the reviews.
As a person who missed the details myself and originally hated the issue. I just really want to share with you what changed my mind about it.
Regardless of what you ultimately decide about the comic. I really appreciate your taking the time to review the issue a lot.
Actually love the first panel...ties into everythign Dick went through and shared with Helena. I actually read it 3 times to review it (it is one of those issues that demands multiple reads), but in the end I may have reviewed it as a Futures End issue the most since it was part of the major event. I did like a bunch of things...Batgirl, Batman talking about Dick eventually taking over as Batman, the acid (hint, hint)...but in the end, I thought it failed in what it was trying to be. I had the same issue with Action Comics this week. It was a nice little issue that had no business being shoved into the Futures End event. I am going to check out the comicvine review now, however. Thanks for getting back with it.
DeleteNo problem.Thanks very much for elaborating your reasoning and taking the time to read the other review too. Yeah I agree that in terms of a Futures End tie-in, there's really a very limited connection to it. I think the issue itself is very tricky to review because it's difficult to discuss the issue's best feature without spoiling it for readers. Yeah It is definitely one of those comics that requires multiple reads to get everything and I'm happy to see that some of the important elements of the issue weren't lost on you. When I first read the issue I missed almost everything and my enjoyment of the issue really suffered because of it. In any case thanks again for taking the time to review and respond to me.
Delete