The daring young man...

I used to say that I learned to read from Green Lantern. What does that mean? It means that I refused to read under any circumstances and drove my mom crazy with worry that I would never learn. When I happened to show a passing interest in a Green Lantern comic based on my interest in Super Friends, she bought it for me. This is the one:

Turns out I was wrong all these years. I was 8 years old by the time this issue hit the stands. I was a late bloomer, but not that late. This book hit news stands in August 1981, just before I started 1st grade:

This is really the one that changed my life. I didn't know any of the other characters at the time, but I recognized Robin from the cartoon. The rest of the story is the same as I always told it, but this is the book. Aside from actually becoming interested in reading at all, I became a fan of Dick Grayson [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Grayson]. I have stayed a fan my whole life as I watched the character grow from sidekick to leader of a team of kid heroes to solo badass hero. Plus, he does get all the ladies...

That's what The Knight Flier will be about. Every article will be my review/commentary on an issue of the New 52 Nightwing and Grayson series. I will eventually cover Dick Grayson's adventures from the 1995 Nightwing mini-series through Flashpoint. However, it would take way too long to reach the current day if I decided to go chronologically. A lot has happened to the character since he first debuted as Nightwing on 12 April 1984. So instead, we'll start with what he's been doing since the start of the New 52. Along the way (maybe between story arcs of the current series), I'll take a look at a variety of stories from the pre-New 52/pre-Flashpoint days. 

In fact, I'm feeling froggy right now. I will go on record and say that I also dig the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Earth-2 Dick Grayson [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_(Earth-Two)], mostly because I like the idea of Dick hooking up with the Earth-2 Huntress, Helena Wayne. This guy grew up to be a lawyer, ambassador to South Africa, and a member of the Justice Society of America replacing the deceased Batman. I cannot say that I am a huge fan of the Batman mash-up suit he rocked for a while, but I did love the more grown-up version of the classic red/green/yellow version he had.

Speaking of the Earth-2 version of Dick Grayson, I have been a fan of the DC's current incarnation of the character. He has no relationship to Bruce Wayne at all and still ends up assuming the role of Batman after the death of Thomas Wayne who'd taken up his dead son's mantle. I'll have to talk about this version of the character in The Knight Flier. I just dig the story too much not to talk about it at some point.

I know this intro is a little all over the place. There's just so much that I want to talk about with this guy and I think my enthusiasm may have gotten the best of me a bit. It's something that had to get out and just like the daring young man on the flying trapeze, this will be an adventure that starts by letting go.