Tag: Dick Grayson

comics, comics criticism, dc comics, writing

Dark Crisis and the Looming Death of Everything

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In the beginning, there was darkness. 

And then there was light. 

And everything came from the light.

So began Crisis on Infinite Earths. A single speck in the dark became many worlds expanding forever into infinity.

So begins Dark Crisis. A single tongue of flame flickers. Dick Grayson swore an oath to carry on in his parents’ memory and the legacy Batman created. From that single flickering candle came everything.

Robin was not the beginning. But he was a beginning. The beginning of the ever-expanding legacy of those original founding heroes. Robin was the spark. And the legacy grew and continues to grow into, perhaps, infinity.

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comics, comics criticism, dc comics, writing

The Mud Pack, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Batman

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Like every child of the 1990s who ended up reading comics, my path was forged by Saturday Morning Cartoons. I discovered X-Men and Spider-Man through FOX Kids and still remember watching the premiere episode of the former, riveted by the high drama and mournful screams of Wolverine as he watched his funny little friend Morph fry by Sentinel fire.

I have less vivid recollections of my first experience with Batman: The Animated Series but Batman was the show that defined my childhood, the ultimate appointment viewing above all other shows, animated or otherwise. X-Men might have arrived with bombast and melodrama but Batman etched itself into my consciousness, becoming a part of my very sense of self in a way very few pieces of media could compare. Batman has been a part of my life from before my memory even begins. I wish I could say there was a lightning rod moment where the character etched itself into my life. But, really, Batman has just always been a part of it.

I can’t say that I remember the first comic book I ever read.

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comics, comics criticism, dc comics, marvel, Perspectives, writing

The Urbane Turtle 2021 Year in Review – The Comics

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In 2020, in the first couple months of this Urbane Turtle experiment, I posted a Year in Review of some of the various forms of media that got me through a difficult year. I was very explicit that it wasn’t a “Best-Of,” and I did not limit it to any medium.

But after a full year as a semi-professional comic critic, I want to share with you my Top 10 comics from the year that was. There is not much in the way of ground rules for how books qualify for this list. They had to release new issues in 2021. I’ve spent the last 2 weeks catching up on a backlog of releases and am happy to finally share this with you all.

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comics, comics criticism, dc comics, writing

Nightwing Recommended Reading

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After reading through every major Dick Grayson story for my recent piece, it seemed a waste to not to do more with my Nightwing knowledge. And lo, came more content: my recommended reading list of Nightwing comics. Here I tried to capture what I think are the best stories from each major run on the character.

If you recently read Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s fun first issue of their new run and looking to dive into more Nightwing, here are my recommended stories highlighting Dick at his best. I wouldn’t call all of these essential (I don’t think any of Dixon really is) but most are enjoyable or indicative of the creators they represent. Further context and comments below for each one. Most of these stories are available in various collected editions, and I’ve noted the names of those collections. All of them are also included in your DC Universe Infinite subscription.

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comics criticism, dc comics, Perspectives, Uncategorized, writing

Who is Dick Grayson? A Critical Retrospective of Nightwing

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I read every issue of Nightwing, every Dick Grayson solo series (including his time as Batman and a super spy) and 100+ issues of Titans and Justice League over the last two months, in search of the answer to one question.

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