Crushing Krisis

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Nightwing

New For Patrons: The Definitive Guide to DC’s Nightwing, Dick Grayson

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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. [Read more…] about New For Patrons: The Definitive Guide to DC’s Nightwing, Dick Grayson

Teen Titans, Titans, & Young Justice – The Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order

The definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and trade reading order for Teen Titans, Titans, & Young Justice comic books in omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback collections. Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated February 2019 with titles scheduled for release through June 2019.

In 1965 the Silver Age of comics was in full swing, with all of DC’s iconic heroes starring in their own titles as well as in the the Justice League.

One element that DC generally lacked at the time was the youthful energy of Marvel’s Silver Age titles, which included hip young heroes like Spider-Man and The X-Men alongside more iconic DC analogs like The Avengers or Thor. It wasn’t that they lacked for young characters. It seemed the every DC hero had a teen version of sidekick. They  hadn’t been assembled all in one place.Teen Titans by George Perez

That changed with The Brave and The Bold (1955) #54 in 1964, which combined Golden Age creation Robin (Dick Grayson) with the more recently-made sidekicks of Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad. Their next appearance in issue #60 added a formalized version of Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) and gave the group a name – “The Teen Titans.”

After just one more anthology series appearance (in Showcase (1956) #59), the Teen Titans graduated into their own title in 1966. While many other teen heroes appeared, only one became a more permanent member – Speedy, Green Arrow’s sidekick. The team-up was revived in 1973 and then shuttered in 1978 as the heroes felt they were growing too old to be “teens.”

Marv Wolfman and George Pérez reawakened the franchise in 1980. In an astounding act of creation, they introduced team mainstays Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven in a preview story in DC Comics Presents (1978) #26, where they also reintroduced Beast Boy as “Changeling.”

Wolfman and Pérez would become synonymous with the Teen Titans for the next decade in the same way Chris Claremont was with the X-Men, who the Titans rivaled in popularity. Along the way the co-writers introduced Slade Wilson as Deathstroke and changed Dick Grayson to Nightwing. Their characters made it through Crisis on Infinite Earths relatively unscathed as DC chose not to rock the boat of their most-popular team franchise. [Read more…] about Teen Titans, Titans, & Young Justice – The Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order

New Comic Guide: All of the Robins!

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This is the final of four weeks of Bat-Guides before we switch to a a more “universal” theme for the next few weeks. And, you can’t have Bat-Guides without The Definitive Guide to Robin(s)!

Yes, that’s Robins – plural.

This guide tracks each Robin for as long as they bear the title from Dick Grayson debuting in Detective Comics (1937) #38 to Damian Wayne’s current reign as the Boy Wonder.

Before starting this guide I knew there were four distinct Boy Wonders (and one Girl Wonder), but I was confused about who was Robin when. It seems like Grayson has been Nightwing since time immortal – I’ve never read a story with him as Robin that wasn’t a flashback! When did he get upgraded?

Plus, I remembered Jason Todd dying back in the 80s (and coming back in the 00s), but when did he initially arrive? And, while I’m now a Damian Wayne expert from working on the Morrison Batman guide, what exactly was a Red Robin and when did Tim Drake start calling himself that?

I untangle all of those questions in this guide. It’s Robin-centric, so it does not follow Nightwing and Red Hood into their post-Robin adventures (they will be covered by future guides).

What it does do is track every Robin title, plus all of the many Robins’ appearances in Batman flagships and Titans titles from the Golden Age through present.

Plus, the Robin(s) Guide has a few new elements, including collapsable sections for lengthy issue lists and links back to the top of the TOC.

Okay, now it’s time for the tough question: Who is your favorite Boy Wonder? Post-Robin careers don’t count (a-hem, Nightwing). I’m talking about who was the best Robin?