Today’s new guide for Patrons of Crushing Krisis fills in one of the major gaps in my DC coverage and brings my collection of Bat-Family guides a little bit closer to being complete:
Nightwing, Dick Grayson – The Definitive Reading Order and Collecting Guide
Dick Grayson occupies a distinct spot in both DC and Marvel history as a rare hero who had a long-standing, in-continuity early identity to which he will likely never be reverted.
That’s because Grayson was the original Robin to Bruce Wayne’s Batman in the Golden and Silver Ages – but, he’s spent the entire Post-Crisis modern age of comics as Nightwing (except for those few years he was Batman).
As a reader of primarily Marvel Comics, the first time I encountered Dick Grayson was during his time as Batman in Grant Morrison’s epic run with the caped crusader. I really didn’t know a thing about him other than that he was the first Robin, which made him seem pretty boring to me – like a character DC kept publishing just out of habit. It seemed like a dull gimmick to turn him into Batman.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Grayson was new to wearing the cowl, but not to being a hero. He wasn’t as foolproof as Bruce as Batman, but he was more emotionally complex and pragmatic.
After Bruce retook the mantle, I was eager to read Dick Grayson as himself in DC’s New 52. It was there I fell in love with him as his own hero. He was like a cross between Batman and Daredevil – detective and acrobatic, experienced but imperfect, and also a hopeless flirt. All of those traits were emphasized when his series transformed into the brilliant Grayson, which made him a triple-crossing super-spy in the mold of TV’s Alias.
Nightwing’s guide should have been an easy one to create – he has only one pre-Flashpoint ongoing series, plus three tidily-collected series in New 52 and Rebirth.
Of course, I don’t know how do make an easy comic book guide.
The lack-of-ease began with realizing that I ought to make the Teen Titans and Outsiders guides before completing this one, since Nightwing’s guide would reference them both heavily.
Then, I hunted down every Dick Grayson appearance as Nightwing. There were way too many for me to summarize each one, but I did break them into chunks of Bat-Title Appearances, Team Appearances, and general Guest Appearances and then intersperse them through the years of his solo title. Plus, I listed all of Grayson’s appearances as Batman and where to find them in other Crushing Comics guides.
The result? A complete, issue-by-issue guide to Nightwing’s complete history in DC comics!
Want access to this guide today? It’s available in exchange for covering $1.99 a month of CK’s hosting expenses.
Current $1.99/month Patron Exclusives: 22 Guides!
DC Guides: Animal Man, Batman – Index Ongoing Titles, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Flash, Justice League, Nighwing, Outsiders, Teen Titans & Young Justice
Marvel Guides: Alpha Flight, Champions, Darkhawk, Dazzler, Gwenpool, Marvel Era: Marvel Legacy, Moon Boy / Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Ms. Marvel: Kamala Khan, Scarlet Witch, Sentry, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Venom