Grayson's Titanic Plans
info courtesy of www.comicbookresources.com
Comic Wire by Beau Yarbrough posted July 13, 1998
Devin Grayson is a relative newcomer to the world of comics. But over
the next six months, she's about to become synonymous with one of DC
Comics' most respected franchises: the formerly teen Titans. Grayson
has three separate projects featuring former members of the Teen Titans,
culminating in a new ongoing series next January, called simply "The
Titans."
As opposed to the recent Teen Titans team created by Dan Jurgens, Grayson
is starting with familiar faces: Nightwing, Donna Troy, the Flash, Arsenal
and Tempest "are on the team for good - there is no conflict with Flash
being a JLA member, which he will continue to be, nor with Nightwing
and Tempest being key members of other DCU books," Grayson told the
Comic Wire this weekend.
"Eric Luke, the new Wonder Woman writer, is happy to let us use and
rename Donna (which we're attending to now), and Arsenal has been in
our editorial jurisdiction for a while now." In other words, the core
Titans members will be the same as when the team first debuted roughly
a quarter-century ago. Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Speedy and Aqualad
have gone through a number of changes since then, though, including
some of them getting bumped up to starring status.
Grayson has that covered as well. "Because many of these characters
can be expected to periodically need to bow out of certain Titans adventures
to tend to matters in their own books or what not, they themselves decide
to nominate what I've been calling a 'second tier' team - five additional
members with no serious prior commitments who can all be expected to
be on hand every single issue, as the 'originals' rotate through (not
the other way around).
The lineup of those additional five has not yet been announced (though
it has been established and approved), but will be revealed in 'The
Titans' #1 in January." The new series has been one of the most discussed
of any prospective project in recent memory. Along with that comes a
good deal of misinformation, which Grayson set the record straight on.
Of the five second tier heroes, four of them have been Titans at some
point in their histories, and the fifth is new to the family, as Grayson
likes to think of them.
That probably means several members from the Wolfman/Pérez "New Teen
Titans" era and maybe some from the Jurgens run as well. "Fans aching
to see the Titans of old, though, should definitely check out the three
part mini-series I'm doing with Phil Jimenez (due out in October): JLA/Titans.
Though we're doing everything we can to make it accessible and exciting
to new readers, I'll confess that it's really a fanboy wet dream, and
our biggest concession to the 'when are we gonna see [insert favorite
Titan here]?' crowd. I'm hoping older fans will be gorged enough on
guest appearances after JLA/Titans - which touches base with just about
EVERYBODY at one point or another - to allow me some time to introduce
new readers to our new core Titans group in the beginning of the actual
series. "
"Phil and I are having so much fun with JLA/Titans, I really think
readers will get a kick out of it." Donna Troy fans take note: Despite
a rumor that recently cropped up online, Donna Troy will not be reclaiming
her "Troia" name in the new series. And the vague power she apparently
received during the "Genesis" crossover last night will be defined as
well.
The last time Roy Harper, the former Speedy and now known as Arsenal,
appeared in the Jurgens Titans series, he received a new costume very
similar to the "Red Arrow" one he wore in Mark Waid's "Kingdom Come"
miniseries several years ago. "Roy will be undergoing (yet another)
costume change in the four-part Arsenal miniseries, 'Six Degrees,' (written
by me, with art by Rick Mays) which comes out, I believe, in August.
He will be keeping the name 'Arsenal.' Though I like the 'Kingdom Come'
look and definitely want to keep him tied in with his archery roots,
and I hate having to change his costume again so soon, I feel strongly
that it's too early for him, at this point in his life, to be running
around in a costume that is essentially a salute to Ollie.
There are things he needs to work out first. Maybe we'll see him return
to that costume again in the future, after he's finished proving himself
as his own man." Speaking of "Kingdom Come," although Grayson is loathe
to divulge too much at this point - "The comics industry is starting
to get "movie trailer fever:" we're always rushing to give major plot
points away, and what's the fun in that? - look for either Changeling
or Cyberion to take a big step towards their "Kingdom Come" incarnation
(either Menagerie or Robotman) in the JLA/Titans miniseries.
One of the perks of doing these Titans projects for Grayson is being
able to write the DCU's other Grayson, the former Robin, Dick "Nightwing"
Grayson. Her recent "Nightwing/Huntress" mini-series recently came to
an end, and she's already got ideas for other Nightwing stories.
She thinks his appeal is obvious: "I think the reason Nightwing is
so popular, though I do speak only for myself, is that he's an excellent
projection target for the animus. To contrast Batman's darkness, Dick
has always been portrayed as being warmer, more human, one could even
say 'sweeter,' than the typical male hero. He has some of the nicer,
more traditionally 'feminine' traits (like thoughtfulness, compassion,
and even a certain degree of innocence) wrapped up in a nonetheless
very masculine, potentially fierce, I-could-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands
package," Grayson said.
"Similarly, I think many males can relate to him, because, being a
better-balanced character, he's more real - though he is muscle bound,
he's also intelligent and wracked with feelings of inadequacy. And,
unlike many of our more prominent heroes, he's human. Easy to relate
to.
"Also, it's just plain cool that after more than fifty years of being
handled by innumerable creative teams and editorial administrations,
he, as a character, has managed to retain some core recognizability
and sense of individuality. Again I think we're seeing the power of
the archetype here - in every incarnation, he's been unique and in some
way consistent. The same is true for, say, Batman and Superman, and
it's part of what makes comics so exciting."
Grayson is relatively new on the comic scene, with her first publication,
in "The Batman Chronicles," coming only a few years ago. Her meteoric
ascent has meant she hasn't lost her sense of wonder at working on some
of comics' most prominent characters.
"You can't lose sight of the fact that it's a tremendous honor to be
working with these characters. I remember the first time I wrote the
word 'Batmobile,' as a professional, I just fell off my chair laughing
... and then I got back up and sat down again and just really felt a
PART of something, which as a writer is actually a very rare experience.
Most of writing is very solitary. One of the things I love about this
medium is that it's so collaborative."
Although she's already looking at a very full plate - Grayson is also
writing "Catwoman" monthly and will be doing at least one four-issue
story in the upcoming "No Man's Land" year-long story in next year's
Batman books - 1999 will also bring her very own creator-owned team
book from DC, the details of which she's keeping to herself.
"We've been referring to it in the press, for the time being, as 'Project
W' - just because we're deliberately being mysterious. Yvel Guichet,
who worked with me on the [just released] Batman Annual, is penciling
the first issue as I write this."
