Grayson #2

Gut Feelings

Writer / Tim Seeley
Plot by Tim Seeley & Tom King
Artists / Mikel Janín & Guillermo Ortego & Juan Castro
Colorist / Jeromy Cox
Letterer / Carlos M. Mangual
Cover / Mikel Janín
Assistant Editor / Matt Humphreys
Editor / Mark Doyle
Batman created by Bob Kane

The cover of this issue is so much better than issue #1, it's not even funny. Not only does this have the epic look and feel of a noir movie poster, but it actually shows us what the inside art is going to look like. DC should have trusted Janín from the get-go, instead of using that ugly pink thing to launch the series.

Well, just as with the last issue, this issue only gives us a quick glimpse of the Flash on a computer screen at the very end. So I'll just touch on the highlights here. We get to see more of Dick talking to Batman, who tells him about his fake funeral. And Dick says he hopes to quickly take down Spyral so he can return to his old life.

As Agent 37, Dick is sent out on his next mission, this time to England. Once again, he's after an odd, mechanical body part — a stomach that has given this lady super speed but also made her a cannibal. Once again Dick completes the mission rather sloppily, and we return to Spyral headquarters, where we see an update on their wall of superheroes.

So this super crazy secret organization has correctly identified the Flash as Barry Allen, although they are only 87 percent certain of it. Apparently they used Central City Police blood records to determine this match.

The Good:

I did like this this issue more than the first one. The conversations with Batman were really helpful, especially in establishing that Dick Grayson is officially dead to the world. But I still would have liked more explanation as to why, exactly, does Dick have to infiltrate Spyral. Also, the series still seems to be struggling with trying to decide how much of a superhero book it really wants to be.

The Bad:

Little to no Flash. The prospect of someone like Spyral discovering the Flash's identity is very exciting. But what are they going to do with it? So far, nothing has come from this shocking revelation, and I doubt anything will. Just another seed to be sown and never reaped.

Final score: 4 out of 10

Next time, we'll wrap up this passive appearance diversion with Grayson #6.