A Sense of Doubt blog post #2294 - NIGHTWING and other GOODIES - Comic Book Sunday for 2105.30
NOTE: Often copy and paste works better for these COMIC BOOK ROUND UP links than clicking them.
Nightwing is arguably my favorite super hero.
T-shirt #62: Nightwing
And then came a new creative team starting with Nightwing #78.
I love this new direction.
I am a WINGNUT.
Often copy and paste works better for these COMIC BOOK ROUND UP links than clicking them.
https://henchman4hire.com/2021/03/20/hench-sized-comic-book-reviews-3-20-21/
Comic Book of the Week goes to Nightwing #78! I’ve decided to give it a try and it was nice. Nothing spectacular, but such was this week in comics in general.
Meanwhile, I very much enjoyed the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier! Great starting point, great introduction to the characters and hopefully the launch of another fun show! The next bunch of weeks should be a hoot!
Comic Reviews: Iron Man #7, Justice League #59, Nightwing #78, S.W.O.R.D. #4 and Thor #13.
Nightwing #78
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Wes Abbott
So this is a nifty new one on me! I can’t tell you the last time I read a Nightwing comic! But I do enjoy Tom Taylor, and as I’ve said, I’m going to give some of these DC comics a try. Considering my love for Dick Grayson, you’d think this would be a lock for me…
We open with a flashback to the first time Dick met Barbara Gordon. Both of them intervened to stop a bully and his goons from picking on a kid. After Detective Jim Gordon drove Dick home, Alfred assured Dick he was proud of him for standing up. Now Dick is back to stopping bullies and bad guys in Bludhaven, including stopping some thugs from killing a puppy. Dick gets bitten when he tries to help, and he ends up taking the puppy home to his apartment — where Barbara is waiting. She is the executor of Alfred’s will, and it turns out Alfred Pennyworth had a billion or so dollars of his own through Wayne stock and wise investments. He has left it all to Dick, along with a letter detailing how proud Alfred was of “Master Grayson”.
Meanwhile, Blockbuster has a secret meeting with the mayor of Bludhaven and kills him. The head of the city council is also there, Melinda Zucco, the daughter of Tony Zucco. She is now the acting mayor through the line of succession, and she has plans…possibly involving Dick Grayson.
Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
I worry I get too nitpicky in my reviews, so let’s get those out of the way quickly. First of all, I hope Alfred didn’t leave everything to Dick…he has a daughter of his own, plus a couple of other Robin sons. Second of all, Tony Zucco already has a daughter, named Sonia Zucco. She appeared in a couple issues of Detective Comics back when Scott Snyder was writing Dick as Batman. So I hope that gets explained. And that’s it for my nitpicks! Other than this issue also feeling really short for some reason. Don’t know why that is, but it was over pretty quickly. I would say the issue accomplishes everything it sets out to do, so that’s fine by me!
We’ve got stories getting set up. We get a lot into Dick Grayson’s headspace. The comic isn’t beholden to everything that came before. I know a lot has been going on in Nightwing comics for a while now. There was that whole “Ric Grayson” thing. But I’m glad Taylor isn’t forced to make that the whole issue. He’s free to bring a clean and refreshing look at Dick Grayson to this comic, and that’s a good way to start a new jumping on point. I like Dick, I like the story developing around him, and I hope this makes for a fun series.
One last nitpick: has it really taken this long to deal with Alfred’s will? Or were they waiting for Dick to get his memory back? Also, if you’re going to do a big Bat-Family shake-up where they don’t have the Wayne fortune anymore…why immediately give Dick a billion dollars? Why not let Dick also deal with being cash-strapped for a while?
TL;DR: Enjoyable kick-off to a new Nightwing story, with a strong focus on the main character and some gorgeous artwork.
Nightwing #78 Review: Back in Blüdhaven
Writer: Tom Taylor / Artist: Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas / DC Comics
A new era in DC Comics is here, and it’s called Infinite Frontier. It’s a fresh beginning without retconning the past. In short, everything that’s happened before matters, even with a new direction on the horizon.
That’s why this Nightwing book hasn’t started over at #1 even though it has a new creative team.
In this new run by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, Nightwing is back in Blüdhaven to shine some light on the dim and dingy city.
This issue was a reintroduction to Nightwing after he regained his memories and to Blüdhaven after being gone for so long.
As stated in the issue by some narration by Nightwing, Blüdhaven is a cruel city. And cruelty breeds more cruelty. Taylor masterfully played out that lesson time and time again throughout the issue
But though the city might be cruel, Nightwing is an agent of compassion, and if anyone can do some good in this here, it’s him.
But he’s got his work cut out for him. Blüdhaven’s biggest crime boss and giant Steven Segal cosplayer Blockbuster is still running the city, and he just appointed the daughter of Tony Zucco as the new mayor by crushing the previous one with his left hand.
Nightwing is really going to be tested before he can make a difference. And I’m here for it.
Bruno Redondo brings something special on art duties, and I’m so glad he’s attached to this book. Speaking of compassion, Redondo has the ability to balance that with some of the cruelty of the action scenes and grim backdrop of Blühaven. My guy has that varied style, and this book is better for it. Shoutout to Adriano Lucas on colors as well. The vibrancy of those hues bring the city alive in a way that makes me want to book a flight to the city as soon as the pandemic is over.
This is set up to be an all-time run if you ask me. Taylor and Redondo are two of the best talents in comics, and Nightwing is a fan favorite who needs a little TLC. I’m so excited to see where this story goes.
10 Puppy Bites out of 10
Reading Nightwing? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
Nightwing #79 Review: Dick Grayson Soars to All New Heights
Dick Grayson is back and he's better than ever—literally. After more than a year with a different creative team plotting a story where Nightwing was removed from the role, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo have swooped onto the scene, taken the reins of the Bat-family's most popular character, and are making something very special with his world.
This time last month, Nightwing #78 set a new status quo with the character deciding to again become the ultimate protector of Blüdhaven. Not only that, the recently departed Alfred named Dick as an heir of his estate, suddenly turning Bruce Wayne's sidekick into a billionaire.
Naturally, that all spills over into the second issue in this new run as the eponymous character struggles to decide what to do with his newfound fortune. The sophomore issue from this creative team goes to great lengths displaying the internal struggles in how Grayson operates, especially with a life-changing inheritance. It's here the team really knocks it out of the park in characterizing the series' our lead.
For virtually his entire existence, Dick Grayson has largely been as naive as he is charismatic—a character who leaps into action first, asking questions later. A hopeless romantic and eternal optimist, each one of these traits is explored in this single issue, and by the time you get to the back cover, you know exactly who Nightwing is. Thanks to a combination of a stellar script and excellent pacing, this single issue is about as complete as one comic can be.
That's what's so unique about this comic so far—Taylor and company have returned Grayson to the basics while elevating him at the same time. Maybe it's a case of the age-old adage where "less is more," but it's been quite some time since Nightwing has felt like the character he's always supposedly been.
Here, we get the street-level character fans have come to know and love, but he isn't grounded for the sake of being grounded. There's a methodology and reason behind Grayson's latest development, and that's the cherry on top of this whole affair.
Luckily for fans of the character, Nightwing #79 is much more than an excellent story—it comes with dynamite artwork that takes the title to a whole new level. Between Redondo's crisp line art and Adriano Lucas's neon-drenched colors, this might be some of the most complete artwork you see this week. Redondo's work here in this issue is a master class on facial expressions, adding some levity to create a needed balance with the grimy Blüdhaven scenery. The styles combine to create something unique you don't often see from superhero comics, helping it stand out further in a very crowded world.
Nightwing is back and arguably better than ever, and it only took this creative team two issues to get it there. This series has an incredibly bright future before it, that much is given.
Published by DC Comics
On April 20, 2021
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Bruno Redondo
Colors by Adriano Lucas
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2105.30 - 10:10
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- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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