Whereas the previous Batman sidekick has spent the previous couple of years working for the worldwide spy company, Spyral, Dick Grayson is returning to DC comics for Rebirth.
What’s modified is that he is not a spy; he is again in Gotham and dealing with the Dark Knight as Nightwing. The brand new Nightwing collection begins July 13 with its Rebirth difficulty.
The comedian shall be written by Tim Seeley (Grayson) and have the artwork of Yanick Paquette (Swamp Factor). Seeley mentioned the upcoming collection and defined what’s in retailer for the character in an interview with GameSpot.
GameSpot: You’ve got taken Dick Grayson via plenty of adjustments the previous few years. Emotionally, the place is that this character at proper now?
Tim Seeley: We open Nightwing within the aftermath of the Grayson storyline the place he is glad to be at residence and have his id again, however he is confronted this speedy state of affairs the place the Court docket of Owls has threatened Damian Wayne. It is a Dick Grayson who’s conflicted. He is glad to be again with the folks he loves, however he is additionally conscious that his connection to them has endangered them.
The Rebirth difficulty seems like a transition between Grayson and Nightwing. Does that imply that this collection shall be extra a couple of ground-level hero, dropping the weather of espionage?
Seeley: We’ll use points of what we did in Grayson that labored rather well. One of many issues we established that I actually preferred was the concept that Dick grew up as a gypsy circus performer and did not have a house base. He is actually well-suited to the globe-trotting stuff. He will be primarily based out of Gotham within the first a part of the story, however we’ll see he is performing as Batman’s worldwide strike pressure of 1. I believe we did plenty of cool storylines with lovely surroundings, however he is again working for the pursuits of Batman to start with of the story.
Due to the whole lot that is occurred to him over the previous few years, did you are feeling scripting this new collection, below the Rebirth banner and attempting to attraction to new readers, to be robust?
Seeley: Yeah, for positive. It is one of many hardest issues I’ve written. It is a kind of issues the place it seems like I am going again to the place Grayson began however utilizing plenty of the weather we arrange that actually labored. It is a stability of determining what followers liked essentially the most and what match the character the most effective. There was much more analysis than I anticipated. There was plenty of looking in my very own expertise and attempting to determine what appealed most to me in regards to the character. I believe it was worthwhile. [The first issue] was, certainly, the toughest factor I’ve written.
How does it really feel to place him again in his iconic costume?
Seeley: To me, it is humorous as a result of I believe the best way followers react to it isn’t how I might react to it. The costume is only one a part of the character. Once I was a child, he was Robin. To me, he is been so many characters that he does not have to be within the go well with, however I like the best way followers react to it. It is such a cool and excellent design. It isn’t the unique, but it surely’s the most effective. Attending to see them have this very visceral, nostalgic response is fairly enjoyable and an schooling of the evolution of the character and the design.
While you’re working with Yanick Paquette and Javier Fernandez, what was your response once you first began getting the artwork pages again?
Seeley: I used to be so fortunate to work on Grayson with Mikel Janin. He would do that superb, iconic model of that character. I used to be a bit nervous that it might be exhausting to prime that, within the expertise of getting the pages again. However with the ability to work with Yanick Paquette, who’s one in all my favourite artists and a extremely nice man, we’re gonna survive this. I believe each these guys convey one thing to it. I believe folks shall be stunned with how cool Javier Fernandez’s stuff is and the way it elicits an old-school Scott McDaniel story. The artwork recreation is certainly tops with the Rebirth relaunch.
What are you able to inform us about Dick working with the Court docket and Parliament of the Owls?
Seeley: It is picked up from Robin Battle the place Dick has to secretly be a part of the Parliament of Owls, which is a spin-off [of the Court of Owls]. We choose the story as much as [Dick] being blackmailed into working for them, however all the time, attempting to determine a method to take them down. For them, the problem is making him a logo of their domination. The dynamic may be very totally different than what we arrange within the Spyral storyline the place it was Dick working for a grey group whereas sustaining his black and white morality. On this story, there is no doubt in our minds that they consider any of the issues these evil, bird-mask-wearing jerks, are saying, however we get to see him cleverly work out a method to take them down.
He is very cocky on this. Dick is in-your-face when coping with the Court docket of Owls.
Seeley: Yeah. There is not any phantasm that he is not into their beliefs, however their vanity makes them consider that they’ve actually achieved their job. That is one thing I wish to play with, the elitism of those guys.
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There’s additionally a brand new antagonist, Raptor. What are you able to inform us about him?
Seeley: Raptor’s going to play a pair totally different roles. That is what is going on to outline him. Dick’s opinion of who this man is and the way he ought to deal with him is the crux of the primary arc. As we introduce him, [Raptor] is a thief who’s been working for the Court docket to cease different thieves. As we’ll see, he is extra like Dick than Batman as his character, historical past, and background goes. He looks as if extra a match to Dick as a mentor than Batman.
You’ve got spent plenty of time constructing relationships round Dick. To that, followers appear to essentially love The Tiger and Midnighter. They’re within the Rebirth difficulty, however will we be seeing them once more?
Seeley: That is one of many issues we did not wish to abandon once we began Nightwing: these relationships to these characters and the way they assist outline Dick as a personality. We’ll see Tiger extra. With the world of espionage and Dick with the ability to work for or towards these guys, it might be a waste to not use them.
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