Just how popular is Dick Grayson's butt?

Dick Grayson's butt is popular, but just how popular is his butt? Is it more popular than John Constantine? Is it more popular than the new, New 52 iteration of Azrael? Is it more popular than the second most recent new Green Lantern of Earth, Simon Baz? It can't possibly be more popular than Harley Quinn, can it?

These questions likely sound pretty absurd, and you're probably thinking "No, of course not...Well, maybe in the case of Azrael, but not those other guys..."

After all, Constantine has his own comic book. Baz is co-starring in a comic book with another Green Lantern. Harley has at least one book a month on the stands. But Dick Grayson's butt never has, and likely never will, have a title of its own. At best, it co-stars in whatever books Dick Grayson is appearing in. Most recently, that means the pages of the just-canceled Grayson, and soon it will be appearing alongside–well, right behind, anyway–Dick in a new volume of Nightwing.

But if that is the case, I can't help wondering why the cover of Grayson Annual #3 features a pretty generic image of Dick Grayson in front of a pink spiral–the same basic image that graced Grayson #1 and was used as the cover of the series' first collection, Grayson Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral–with his butt prominently displayed (That is, in fact, the only difference other than the artist between this image and that of the cover of Grayson #1; the posing).

The story inside features a handful of guest-stars, including Azrael, Green Lantern Simon Baz, John Constantine and Harley Quinn...oh, and Gotham City Police Detective and occasional Wrath of God, Jim Corrigan. But rather than a cover featuring any or all of those characters, DC went with the shot of Dick's butt. One might think that at least throwing Harley Quinn on the cover, which was actually a marketing plan for two month's of DC Comics, would increase the sales of this lame duck annual, but no. Dick's butt.

Based on the evidence provided then, I can only conclude that this mean's Dick Grayson's butt isn't just more popular than any of those characters, but that it is more popular than all of them put together.

Well, now that I've typed the word "butt" more often in one sitting than at any previous point in my life, how is Grayson Annual #3 beneath its cover? Not bad!

Entitled "Who Is Agent 37?", Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly's story features four individual team-ups between Dick Grayson and characters seemingly picked at random: Constantine, Azrael, Simon Baz and Harley Quinn. The four of them are summoned by mysterious invitations to a hotel room in Gotham City by Jim Corrigan to tell the stories of their team-ups as a way of answering the question in the title.

Artist Roge Antonio handles the art in this framing sequence, while each team-up features an artist. Natasha Alterici draws a story in which Constantine crosses paths with a mostly naked Grayson as he shuts down a coven of vampires (and this script sure works over time to remind us that a) Dick is very sexy and b) Constantine is very bi-sexual).

Christian Duce draws a story in which Grayson finds himself in a battle between Azrael and...The Order of St. Dumas, I think...? (I couldn't make heads or tales of this one, despite having read Batman & Robin Eternal, which re-reintroduced a New 52 Azrael; the first panel editorial box that tries to explain when this story is set and ultimately shrugs with a "You know what? Doesn't matter! Last issue! Just have fun!").

One-named artist Flaviano draws a chapter in which the undercover Grayson and the undercover Harley team-up to steal something Joker-related from a rich supervillain memorabilia collector (Pity all of the stuff in the cases was generic; would have been a good opportunity for Easter eggs).

And, finally, Javier Fernandez draws a chapter in which Green Lantern Simon Baz, portrayed here with a Guy Gardner-level of hotheadedness, is trying to exterminate Parademons, and Grayson lends a hand.

By the last pages, the gathered super-people are all able to figure out who exactly Agent 37 was nearly simultaneously, thanks to a push from Corrigan, and Grayson himself makes an unexpected appearance.

That made me laugh. In his defense, I think Baz was in space with B'dg when Forever Evil happened, and Grayson probably isn't a celebrity outside of Gotham City. 

I liked the art in each of the five different sequences okay, although that in the Green Lantern sequence was probably the weakest. The coloring and the scripting likely didn't help, but Baz's quirk of carrying a sidearm at all times (because he doesn't quite trust his ring and wants the back-up of a gun, because The New 52), is pretty confusing here because while Grayson calls him on the use of the gun, most of the time we see Baz using it it is a glowing green gun. It's unclear if that's his real gun, or a ring-generated construct of a gun. Either way it's weird, and either I massively misremember Geoff Johns' story arc regarding Baz in the pages of Green Lantern, or he's been written really weird and really wrong lately, as he is essentially being portrayed here (and in Green Lanterns) as the guy he was upon his first appearance during Johns' Green Lantern run, and not who he was by the end of the run.

I'd be lying if I said I understood the whole business with Grayson's secrt identity and his facelessness and the hypnos, but then, I've never understood that aspect of Grayson.

Over all though, this book featured a clever premise, a decent snapshot of various DCU characters at a particular point of time, as the "DCYou" era ends and the "Rebirth" era begins and stronger art than your average publication from the publisher.

The last two panels also provide about as perfect an ending for the Grayson series as one could hope; sure, Dick and Helena Bertinelli parted more formally and finally in the actual last issue of the series, but in this story set sometime before then, they get a nice little ride-off-into-the-sunset moment. Or jump-off-into-the-moonlight moment, I suppose.


Oh, and by the way...

Good on Dick Grayson, protegee of Batman, for calling out Green Lantern Simon Baz on killing Parademons. And good one Baz for sighting Superman's terrible example. But I call bullshit on Grayson's justification for the proto-Justice League killing so many of their foes in Justice League #1-6 (Which is what I assume Baz is referring too, unless I missed another story in which Superman mowed down Parademons).

Superman using his vastly superior powers to kill his opponents in any circumstance is about as un-Superman-like as you can get, and I found it really weird and wrong in the context of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's Justice League arc. "Aliens invade Metropolis" is kind of a weird definition for "war zone," and Superman and company's use of lethal force only got more bizarre as the story went on, as not only did Johns not write the pre-requisite "I can't detect any life-signs at all, whatever these monsters are, they aren't alive, so don't hold back!" line, but he then revealed that they were innocent civilians being turned into Darkseid's soldiers right before Superman's eyes. Gah.

Anyway, Grayson Annual #3 is a lot better than Justice League #1-#6, although I bet it won't sell 1/25th as well.