DC have announced “The Boy Wonder,” a five-part Black Label series starring Damian Wayne, by writer/artist Juni Ba, colorist Chris O’Halloran, and letterer Aditya Bidikar. Starting on May 7, the series will reimagine the start of Damian’s time as Robin, and explore his relationship with his predecessors Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin. “When his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham’s dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers — and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means!”
Ba, a Senegalese French cartoonist whose credits include “Djeliya,” “Monkey Meat,” and “Mobilis: My Life With Captain Nemo,” describes “The Boy Wonder” as “an accessible book that anyone can enjoy regardless of prior history. And I chose to do this with my favorite little gremlin Damian, for who better to teach us about heroism and family, than someone who, deep down, fears he’s not a good enough person to deserve either? The story will be fun, but tug at your heartstrings, too.” Ba’s previous work at DC includes “Batman: The Audio Adventures Special,” “Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder,” and “Truth & Justice,” where he actually created a Damian story with writer Andrew Aydin.
In other (former) Robin news, DC revealed Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s “Nightwing” run will end this year with a five-part arc, ‘Fallen Grayson.’ Starting in issue #114 on May 21, the finale will see serial killer Heartless’s machinations culminate in Dick Grayson losing his ability to leap, sending him and Bitewing on a quest to recover his abilities. (Redondo quips, “I was really looking to draw a bearded Nightwing since we started. Our very last arc on Nightwing gives me that chance.”)
Taylor comments, “I’m very proud of our whole team on our 40+ issues of ‘Nightwing.’ Everything we’ve worked on since issue #78 has been leading to this story,” adding, “Bruno and I wanted to put Nightwing on a pedestal. We wanted to show how high this flying Grayson could soar. Now, it’s time for him to fall.”
Redondo adds, “It will make many people sad, but it’ll also build. One last ride, full Tom and Bruno. If we are gonna end this (and every long arc needs to find its end), we are gonna make it in a big way.” Taylor concludes their statement saying, “‘Nightwing’ really is in a great place to go forward. As our time with [the comic] sadly draws to an end, Dick leads the DC universe with the Titans, and has been the front man for two massive events in ‘Dark Crisis’ and ‘Beast World.’ I couldn’t be happier.”
Head to the links for more from both series, and to DC’s newly released solicits for May 2024 to check out all of the month’s releases. (Though please be aware — especially if you have a sensitivity to such material — that the solicit for the new edition of “Death of the Family” shows the gruesome cover of Joker without his face.) Stay tuned for our full analysis of DC’s reveals for the month in our Soliciting Multiversity column, which will be up soon.
