Getting out from under the cowl of Batman has Dick Grayson back into the swing of things, quite literally.
What They Say:
Dick Grayson flies high once more as Nightwing in a series from writer Kyle Higgins! And as he embraces his destiny, Haley’s Circus, the big top where Dick once performed, returns to Gotham City–bringing with it murder, mystery and superhuman evil!
The Review:
Back when Nightwing had his own series before, it was one that I got into briefly as singles and then followed to trades as I’ve always liked Dick Grayson and the way the character, after far too many decades, managed to escape the mantle of Robin in a meaningful way and became his own character. With the storylines taking place prior to the relaunch though, he abandoned his own identity that he forged after being Robin and took over as Batman when Bruce Wayne went missing. While I haven’t followed that story at all (here’s hoping for it to be a Comixology sale at some point), it’s one that made sense in having Dick go back in that direction, even with the compression that’s gone down for the overall continuity timeline.
With this new series, penned by Kyle Higgins with some solid and well laid out artwork from Eddy Barrows, Nightwing is all about being back in his own skin again and how good it feels. The time spent being Batman is a part of what’s brought to the table here, thankfully, as it has changed him and his perceptions of how to act. When you take on the role of the big guy and all that comes with it, you see things in a different light. But Dick and Bruce have always had differences as well, some that kept them from talking for quite some time after he became Nightwing, but there is always that mutual respect. What being Batman has taught him though is that he is very, very good at what he does but loves getting back into the more connected and in the streets role that Nightwing is all about. And being back in Gotham helps as well.
There’s two focal points to the book here beyond that as it goes to set up the opening storyline. The first, and rather interesting one, is that the circus that he used to be in has returned to town after several years away and he’s circling it himself as to whether he can really go and see all those people again with all the memories. There’s some good material to be had when he does finally go there, showing the nervousness that he does have about it all, so having him ease up with it after spending some time there shows a real humanity to him. As does the way he casually thinks about his affinity for redheads and one there in particular. The other and less detailed focal point is the arrival of a mysterious new hitman in town that’s after him. Him being Dick Grayson though and not Nightwing, and that adds a curious tone to it that even Dick is surprised by. There’s no real meat to it, it’s all style and action, but it again lets Eddy Barrows artwork shine really well with how he handles the fight choreography.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Nightwing contains the main cover as seen with the print edition with no variants or other extras included.
In Summary:
There’s just something about Dick. Similar to Catwoman, he’s a character that has been a key figure to varying degree for decades and in different forms and I just enjoy reading about him. I lamented the loss of his previous book as he became Batman for awhile which is why it made me glad to see him getting his own with the relaunch. He has a different take on Gotham and a younger and more playful feeling at times as well. There are some twenty-something elements that can make the book feel a bit out of place with the whole Batman universe itself, but that’s actually part of the appeal for me since he does want to have a life, girlfriends and experience things beyond the mask and banter. We get some flashes of that here, ties to his past and how he’s looking at handling his future. It’s a good introduction overall, though new readers may not get all the nuance of course, and it has me wanting to see more of where both Dick and Nightwing will go as time moves forward.
Grade: B
