DC Comics Turns Batman’s Robin Into A Secret Agent In Tim Seeley & Tom King’s ‘Grayson #1"

Robin trades in his mask and cape for a gun and a license to kill in his new upcoming solo series from DC Comics. Batman's former sidekick takes on his toughest mission yet on in Grayson #1.

As reported here, the DC Universe is killing off Robin and bringing him back from the dead as a 007 secret agent. In the Forever Evil story arc, Dick Grayson was captured and tortured by the Crime Syndicate. While the whole world presumes Grayson is dead, including Bat-Girl and Alfred, Batman is the only one who knows his adopted son is really alive. The ex-Boy Wonder has to keep everyone thinking he's dead while still fighting crime.

Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) joins co-writer Tom King, a former CIA counterterrorism officer, and artist Mikel Janin as they enter the Dark Knight's famous sidekick into the world of espionage. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, the writers discuss their new solo series, which is an homage to FX's hit series, The Americans.

King explains how he will be taking a novel approach to the comic, "With Grayson #1, we're taking out the captions. There will be no interior monologue. I come from a novelistic background, and of course 'show, don't tell' is what every novelist gets banged into his or head as they're going through school." The former CIA agent continues, "We're really going to go with that. Mikel is a beautiful artist, and we'll let the pictures tell the tale and have the dialogue reflect his inner being."

Seeley discusses how the series is both a spy and superhero book, "We don't want to drag it down and make it realistic for the sake of being realistic but we want to hit the emotional beats that come with what it's like to be undercover, what it's like to travel the world and be a part of your family. All of those things are informed by reality, but again, it's a DC Universe superhero book." The Revival writer adds, "It's proud of the legacy of Robin. It's proud of the legacy of Nightwing. It's not embarrassed about it. It's not trying to escape a superhero series."

Before Independence Day, Grayson #1 will be available in stores on July 2. Readers, are you excited to see Batman's sidekick turn into a secret agent?