Devin Grayson Discusses
TITANS Departure
Wednesday, September 27, 2000
Writer Devin Grayson may have ended her long run on DC Comics' The
Titans, but that doesn't mean she still isn't a fan of everyone's favorite
team of twentysomethings. Although she's been replaced on the series
by friend Jay Faerber, Grayson would love to head up a project starring
the group's resident redheaded weapons expert.
'I'd love to develop a series for Arsenal,' Grayson says of the hero
about whom she has already written one action-packed mini-series. 'I
think he's unique in the DC landscape. He has the potential to become
a really lovable rogue, almost a James Bond-type adventurer. Creators
talk a lot abound finding a lesser-known character and really developing
them into something wonderful and cool, and I'd like to think I did
that to some degree with Roy [Harper, Arsenal's public identity]. I
feel extremely connected to him - he's sort of my male alter-ego. And
I honestly believe he has unique contributions to make to the DC Universe.'
Grayson's decision to quit The Titans earlier this year came as a surprise
to many fans. The Brooklyn-based writer says she had to leave the series,
which she helped launch in early 1999 and helmed for 20 issues, because
of several factors. A big one was the demand on her time created by
her newest project, Batman: Gotham Knights. Another was the dissatisfaction
she felt while writing about heroes that were also characters in other
comics - and therefore were being manipulated by other writers.
'Sometimes you find a character you're working with is having his/her
fate influenced by creators you don't like or trust, and you're expected
to play along, and it's really hard,' Grayson explains. 'I'm actively
working on this because I think I need to mature past it, but I still
sometimes have the reaction of wanting to put down all my toys and leave
the sandbox in disgust when some bully comes in digging a moat around
my sand castle.'
The die-hard Titans fans were sometimes a little hard to take, too,
according to Grayson. 'This feels weird to say because I was one of
them,' she says almost apologetically. 'They struggle with the same
frustration of loving - and in some cases really over-identifying with
- these characters while being wholly unable to influence their fate.
And they take that frustration out on anyone who gets anywhere near
the franchise.'
Speaking of franchises, you don't have to be a comics professional
to see that DC's biggest cinematic franchise, Batman, is in serious
trouble. Grayson says one solution could be a film about another of
her favorite Titans: Nightwing, the former Robin. 'I do fantasize a
lot about writing a Nightwing film for Tom Cruise,' Grayson says. 'I
think it's a brilliant match. Cruise as an actor would be eminently
capable of communicating Dick Grayson's passion and intense life force.
And he seems to be very attracted to dramas that revolve around difficult
father-figure relationships, stories of a young man's struggle and redemption
under the tutelage of an older male mentor. That's Nightwing's story,
man, and I would give anything to introduce Mr. Dick Grayson to Mr.
Tom Cruise. I've always had a strong feeling that they would really
like each other.'
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