Dick Grayson is my absolute favorite comic book character. In the comics, he is bright, charming, funny, and interesting. He's a wonderful person with a good heart, who trusts and loves deeply. He's a wonderful detective and a true superhero.
In The Lost Carnival, written by by Michael Moreci and illustrated by Sas Milledge and Phil Hester, we get to see Dick Grayson before the trauma that he carries in the comics. Dick Grayson, like Bruce Wayne, has his story begin with the death of his parents. In this graphic novel, we get to see him growing up with Haly's Circus, and his interactions with his friends and family.
Haly's traveling circus no longer has the allure of its glamorous past, but it still has one main attraction: the Flying Graysons, a family of trapeze artists starring a teenage Dick Grayson. The only problem is that Dick loathes spending his summers performing tired routines for a dwindling crowd.
When the Lost Carnival, a wild and enchanting new attraction, opens nearby and threatens to pull Haly's remaining customers, Dick is among those drawn to its magical nighttime glow. But there are forces ancient and dangerous at work at the Lost Carnival, and when Dick meets the mysterious Luciana and her carnival workers--each stranger than the last--he may be too mesmerized to recognize the danger ahead.
Beneath the carnival's dazzling fireworks, Dick must decide who he is and who he wants to be--choosing between loyalty to his family history and a glittering future with new friends and romance.
I loved the characterization of Dick here. He's strongheaded and impulsive, loyal and kind. He's the kind of person who makes friends easily and trusts in the inherent goodness of people.
These characteristics are the reason I fell in love with this character in the first place. He's deeply good at heart, and that's what makes him a wonderful superhero. His friendliness and emotions are not a weakness, but instead, they make up his strengths.
I'm not going to go too deep into the plot here, because I want you all to be as intrigued and surprised as I was reading it. Still, I will say that you can expect all of strange complexities that we all adore in DC comics plotlines, and a story that honors the character of Dick Grayson and gives him even further complexity. This story is of course aimed at a slightly younger audience, but it delivers its themes well and in an interesting manner.
The author also slipped in a few references to the comics throughout, which were fun to pick out!
The new characters introduced are intriguing, sympathetic, and well fleshed out. I appreciated the care that went into crafting the love interest, and I especially adored his friend Willow, who was funny and rational and balanced him out in just the right ways.
The art style is also TO DIE FOR. I knew that from the cover alone, which I would personally like to stare at for at least an hour every day because of how beautiful it is. The art also did this very cool thing where it was in reds and yellows when centered on the Lost Carnival, and in blues and blacks (like the Nightwing costume!) when centered back on Dick himself.
The art is beautiful, seriously:
As a Dick Grayson fan, I can recommend this book with a 100%, resounding yes!! If you love Dick Grayson, you will love this graphic novel! Here's the goodreads and amazon links if you are interested!
What are your favorite comic book characters? Do any of you love Dick Grayson as much as I do? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!
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