Review: Grayson Vol. 4- A Ghost in the Tomb

Quick Summary

Pros: The spy adventures in this book are just as good as ever. More mystery is revealed about the true villain behind this entire series.

Cons: Parts of this book might be a little too silly for some.

Overall: If you’ve been enjoying this series so far, this book will not disappoint you. The action, adventure, and comedy are on par with what readers have come to expect, and even better in some places. Plus, this volume places a lot more focus on the overarching mystery that this entire series has been building up to. Overall, this is a must read for anyone who has read any of Grayson so far.

Review Notes

The first half of this book collects Robin War #1-2 and Grayson #13. These issues form part of the “Robin War” storyline and are generally unrelated to the rest of the Grayson series. For this reason we will not be discussing them in this review, rather, they will be included in our review of the Robin War collection (review coming soon).

This review will cover issues #14-16 of Grayson.

Story

As the penultimate volume in the Grayson series, Grayson Vol. 4: A Ghost in the Tomb does a lot in order to set up for the series’ conclusion in Grayson Vol. 5: Spiral’s End (Review). Mysteries are solved, villains are revealed, and plans are put into action which are sure to have significant consequences.

Normally setup like this requires some sacrifice to the quality of the current story being told. However, the setup in this collection is executed so well that it doesn’t even feel like setup; it simply feels like another fantastic installation in the series. Consistent quality has become a staple of this series and is not something that goes away with this volume.

(spoilers start here)

This book starts off with a brief mention of Robin War and then throws readers right into the action and adventure that they have come to expect from this series. Dick and his partner, Tiger, infiltrate Tiger Shark’s gang and sabotage his latest piracy attempt. It is a quick and fun story with all of the charm of a James Bond style spy mission.

From here, the collection continues right where the last volume concluded. Dick wants to know who is truly in charge of Spyral, and he is going to find out. This leads to the discovery that Dr. Dedalus created both Spyral and Leviathan as two parts of an endless war. One starts violence and destruction, only to have the other put a stop to it and rebuild, with the theory that this will make Dr. Dedalus stronger overall.

Overall, this is an interesting and neat concept. The spider behind the web is finally revealed, and he is an even more masterful and dangerous force than initially thought. His plan to live forever through Spyral and his disciples is twisted and makes him the perfect personification of evil for Dick to go up against. It is also a nice throwback to some of the themes and concepts established in Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated that anyone who has read that will be able to appreciate. No matter how the next volume goes down, Seeley and King made an excellent decision for whom to use as the series’ main villain.

The only problem with this book is that it might get a little bit too silly for some fans. Interactions between Dick and Tiger are designed entirely around being comical. For some, myself included, this is a great thing as it makes the book a little more fun. In fact this was one of my favorite parts of the book. However, others may prefer their spy books to be more serious, which is understandable as well.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Most of the artwork in this collection is, once again, drawn by Mikel Janín. This means that most everything looks fantastic and matches the theme and tone of the book perfectly. In particular, montage scenes at this book’s conclusion have the ability to convey a ton of information while looking beautiful. They also make the pages of a comic book feel like the opening of a James Bond movie, a thematic link which works perfectly here. We discussed the general aspects that make Janín’s art great in our review of Grayson Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral, so make sure to check out that review here.

The only issue not done by Janín is done by Stephen Mooney. Visually, Mooney’s art is very similar to Janín’s and tries to match the style. However, it just does not reach the same level of quality. For a more in depth look at our thoughts on Stephen Mooney’s artwork in this series, read the art section of our review of Grayson Vol. 2: We all die at Dawn here.

Continuity

This volume flows directly out of the events of Grayson Vol. 3: Nemesis (Review). The story then continues in Grayson Vol. 5: Spiral’s End (Review).

This volume also references the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.

• The main villain in this collection last appeared in Batman Incorporated.

Collection Notes

Every issue found in this collection can also be found in Grayson: The Superspy Omnibus.