For starters, this comic does a fine job of picking up where the last one left off,even the aftermath of the horrifying torture scene is addressed, but first we need to get Grayson home. Nightwing has had a rough night and his suit is in tatters (tatters is always spelled with 3 Ts, by the way. If you come one “t” short and your sentence becomes instantly hilarious). He manages to sneak back into his new apartment to get some much deserved rest when suddenly we are introduced to his roommates. That’s right, roommates! Plural! And it’s a pretty startling introduction because, while Brett Booth’s artwork has been phenomenal on this series so far, the character is drawn to look far too similar to the “mimic” we saw in issue #19. It doesn’t help matters that the colorist gave her blonde hair as well. Perhaps by adding some highlights or something this could have looked better, but overall Booth’s faces have a knack for looking overly familiar. This single instance, was the only problem I had with the book’s art, though. It’s a stunning comic. But let’s get back to the surprise roommate!

Joey represents some good ol’ comedic relief, a possible love interest, and… a suspect. Not only does she look like the mimic, but she appears to have the same build as the masked Pranskter, too. Overall she makes a nice addition to the book, but a terrible roommate. As someone who has lived with multiple roommates in the past and argued over bills, I tensed up a bit when she told Dick that he could stay since he already paid but this meant that she wouldn’t need to fork over any cash during that time. Hold up! Make this woman contribute, Dick! She should still pay for utilities or something. Oh well, Dick’s lived with circus folk and billionaires, I doubt he gets uptight about finances the way many of us do.

Speaking of Dick’s money situation, as you would know from the last issue the character has taken on a kind of Peter Parker angle where he’s barely scraping by (is Peter still poor? Isn’t he a successful scientist now?). But if he’s poor and cut off his ties with Bruce, then how is he affording and manufacturing all the wingdings and other equipment? This hasn’t shown up as a problem yet, but maybe it can in the future. I’m pleased to see that writer Kyle Higgins and artist Brett Booth have already addressed suit damage. Look close at Booth’s pencils and you’ll see where Nightwing stitched various holes in his uniform. And man, does that uniform look fantastic! (Was the red trim on the eyes there before?) Sure, I still wish that the costume was blue instead of red, but getting beyond that the design is really great (and I’m starting to get used to the crimson. Took about 2 years, but I’m getting there). I especially like the mesh accents under the arms and behind the knees. It’s those little touches that make Nightwing’s suit one of the most believable (and breathable) outfits in the New 52. And if you ever find yourself in a discussion about how overly sexualized women are in comics and the other person says that that’s never the case with male characters, just show them Grayson’s buns in this issue right here. There are butt-shots aplenty in this issue.

But, again, back to the roommate drama, it’s all lighthearted fun and a good contrast to the more intense stuff rising up in the background. However, I do wish that Dick had used an alias when he moved to Chicago. In this day and age, when you get a new roommate the chances are very good that you’re probably going to give that person’s name a Google. I would imagine the first page of results would have loads of links to stories about Dick’s time with billionaire Bruce Wayne and that sort of info raises a lot of questions. But that’s just a very minor nitpick. The nittiest of nitpicks.

Of course, doesn’t turn into the superhero version of “Friends.” There’s a whole lot more going on. While the greater Zucco plot is approached for a moment, it’s far from being the center of attention. Prankster is an ever-growing threat and will need to be taken care of first, however Higgins found a clever way to keep Prankster relevant to the Zucco plot so we don’t go too far off track. AND the way in which Dick gets the necessary info on Prankster is a great nod back to the natural detective skills we saw in issue #0, and I thought that was a nice touch and laid out very well by Booth. There’s no wasted time in this issue. Every scene is there for a reason and it all works really well. It’s a good balance. The only reason I didn’t feel like taking the final score any higher is probably because, while the book is very enjoyable there’s no “oh snap!” moment to really push it over the edge and make it sear into the reader’s mind. But hell, anything I give over a 6.5/10 to is worth flipping through at the shop if you’re really into what the scores represent. But back to the baddie!

When it comes to the Prankster, he/she is making for a pretty formidable villain so far and the final pages of the comic are very exciting. While this is my 2nd SAW references of the day (see the Batgirl #20 review), there are some definite similarities between the new Prankster and Jigsaw in terms of their twisted form of justice in which someone guilty of wrongdoing is placed into a rather ironic death trap that highlights their evil deeds.  SHOW SPOILER ▼

I really can’t stress enough what a world of difference Booth, Rapmund, and Dalhouse have made on this book. Their style is EXACTLY what I’m looking for in a Nightwing book. Great movement, vibrant colors, creative page layouts, and a damn good looking outfit. The art and the writing have harmonized in a spectacular way to make Nightwing  a very fun ride. I sincerely hope it can keep this up and doesn’t dive back into the gloom and doom of earlier arcs or fall itself slipping back under the shadow of the bat. These past two issues have given this the feel of a Dick Grayson tale through-and-through.

I laughed for the first half, was on the edge of my seat for the 2nd half, and was wowed by the artwork the whole way. The future looks bright for Nightwing and this particular story has all the potential to be the best arc yet. By the way, I’m happy that the book you all most voted for me to review turned out to be one of the best of the month.

SCORE: 8.5/10

The post New 52 – Nightwing #20 review appeared first on Batman News.

Here we have an issue that will give fans a lot to discuss but I don’t really know how much I should give away because every page is something relatively new. It’s one of the best jumping-on points for any bat-title I’ve seen in some time.

One drastic change that you will already know about from reading last month’s issue as well as Detective Comics #19 is that Dick Grayson has moved to Chicago. He’s in the Windy City to hunt down none other than Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents. So the stakes are pretty high. And they go much higher than Zucco being a typical gangster and that was a really refreshing surprise. Add on a super villain and the fact that Chicago sicks a SWAT team or two anytime a costumed crime fighter is spotted and you have pretty intriguing new arc on your hands.

But I think the biggest element people will be talking about is the new artist, Brett Booth who is coming over from Teen Titans. His more animated style and flair for elaborate page layouts proves to be a perfect fit for Nightwing. I really liked Burrows’ pencils but I also always thought that he was better suited for drawing Batman than Nightwing because he always drew Grayson as being far more bulky and every scene felt incredibly heavy and grim. What Booth gives us is a more slender, acrobatic looking Dick Grayson. It’s an all around more energetic looking book that better fits the tone that a Dick Grayson story should have. And while the action and character movement are great, be sure to pay close attention to the backgrounds. The attention to detail on the architecture should be applauded.

It’s an already lively story made all the more fun by detailed, dynamic pencils and some spectacularly vibrant colors by Andrew Dalhouse. And that’s the key element here that I liked so much: it’s fun. Dick Grayson’s story has been awfully gloomy for a while and that’s not what’s appealing about his character. Sure, we need to put him through the wringer from time to time but the New 52 Nightwing hasn’t had a whole lot of adventure or heroic moments in general. Each of his arcs have ended in tragedy and issue #19 presents us with the possibility of bringing closure to the very biggest tragedy in Dick’s life with the hunt for Tony Zucco and a fresh start with a brand new setting and supporting cast. The Court of Owls and Death of the Family were Batman’s stories and yet Grayson was pulled into the mess and had to suffer for a bit. This, on the other hand, is entirely Dick’s story so hopefully we’ll get to see him ride off into the sunset for a change. Some elements like the inevitable roommate drama and the fact that Dick Grayson is now poor are going to bring on a plethora of Peter Parker comparisons will likely become a problem in the future but for now I’m hopeful.

In my recent review of Batgirl #19 I commented on how none of the bat-titles are particularly fun at the moment and now here this book comes! Nightwing surfing a train with a smile on his face.

My only real complaint about this issue is that it perhaps tries to do too much. It’s as if author Kyle Higgins was so excited about all the new possibilities that he tried to squeeze them all in a single issue and that just wasn’t necessary. Still yet, even with the introduction of a surprise super villain, a mimic, an “information broker”, Tony Zucco, political conspiracy, and battles with SWAT the book somehow manages not to become overwhelming. It comes close! But by the end I felt rather satisfied. I have a lot of unanswered questions, but I’m not frustrated so much as I am curious to see those questions answered in episodes to come.

SHOW SPOILER ▼

It’s an issue that every Batman fan should check out. Nightwing truly feels like a completely new book and it’s worth seeing if it’s your cup of tea or not. Not only does everything look more colorful and kinetic, but perhaps most importantly, Nightwing has broken free of the Owl and Joker crossovers of Gotham and moved to a different setting where he can have his own adventures. Come meet the new cast of characters, get a feel for the hero-hating city of Chicago and decide if a more Peter Parker-esque Dick Grayson is what you’re looking for.

SCORE: 8.5/10

The post New 52 – Nightwing #19 review appeared first on Batman News.

With 8 Batman related comics up for review today I’m going to try and keep all articles at around 300 words in length. I think if I went for the usual 1000-2000 word piece it could very well kill me. So here we go. Short and sweet:

First of all, you’re probably wanting to know if author Kyle Higgins devoted more than 2 pages to Damian’s death. Dick Grayson arguably had a stronger bond with Damian than Bruce did so really this entire comic should be Damian-centric. Well I’m happy to say that the book does go beyond 2 pages, but sadly it doesn’t really extend further than 8 pages worth of Damian remorse. The pages that in which we see Grayson’s heartache are well done and quite touching but in the end there simply isn’t enough.

As you’ll recall from the last issue, The Dealer returned to Gotham. That was really exciting and I was greatly looking forward to seeing Dick face that foe once again. However, the time and place for that confrontation isn’t here or now. In the aftermath of Batman, Inc. #8 I think we all wanted to see more of a personal story like the one we had immediately after Death of the Family. The loss of Haly’s Circus took up about 2/3 of that book if not more whereas Damian’s death is only a little over 1/3 of the material in issue #18. Losing Haly’s Circus and all his circus pals was a major blow, but Damian’s death should have felt far worse. Again, the scenes that did focus on Damian were done well but there should have been more and the Dealer should have been saved for a time when we could have focused on him entirely and got a good story out of it. Here he’s kind of a throw-away villain and his appearance echoes the same scenes from Black Mirror all over again. I would also add that it would have been nice to have seen more flashbacks. The story opens with a page directly from issue  #17 that’s quite sad to look back on now but it would have been fantastic to have seen Dick look back on his adventures with Damian when they were Batman and Robin as well.

SHOW SPOILER ▼

It’s good, but it’s obvious that the potential was there for this issue to be so much more.  Another “good but not great” is the artwork from Juan Jose Ryp. I very much like his attention to detail with the backgrounds and he does figures and fight scenes, and page layouts and basically everything looks good except faces. The worst of all has to be Dick Grayson himself who I called out as looking too round and cherub-like in the previous issue but here he looks like he looks extremely old. It’s clear he was going for a more tired look because of Dick’s emotional state, but the guy looks like Eric Roberts for the bulk of this comic and that’s not right.

Were my expectations a little too high for this one? No. I won’t say that. I truly believe that Nightwing #18 should have been as heartbreaking as Batman & Robin if not more. Does that mean that this was a bad comic? Heck no. It’s quite good and I recommend you pick it up. The time we do spend with Dick’s grief is powerful and there’s some great action plus there’s an absolutely thrilling finale that will have everyone talking. I know I was incredibly shocked by it and I can definitely see it leading to one of the most memorable Nightwing stories to date. It’s simply that I came into this comic looking to have a good cry but I left it feeling more excited than sorrowful.

SCORE: 7/10

The post New 52 – Nightwing #18 review appeared first on Batman News.

Death of the Family is over and all of the Bat-titles that took part in the crossover event are going back to business as usual. All of them, that is, except for Nightwing. Of all the members of the batfamily, no one got hit harder than Dick Grayson. I would argue that even Batman himself wasn’t as affected by the Joker as Nightwing. The Amusement Mile project Dick was working on? Destroyed. It’s nothing but ashes now. His friend Jimmy? Dead. His ex-girlfriend Raya? Dead. And Nightwing himself took quite the beating too.

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The post New 52 – Nightwing #17 review appeared first on Batman News.

Nightwing #16 is a book that I’ve read twice both because I enjoyed it and because it few by so quickly I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

Let me ask you: how many Joker vs. Dick Grayson throw-downs can you name? Not many I suspect. I’m sure the Joker’s Last Laugh comes to mind, when Nightwing “killed” the Joker only to have him resuscitated a minute or so later, but I can’t say I liked that story much at all. The Death of the Family Joker vs. Nightwing conflict on the other hand was a success in my book and a confrontation that I won’t soon forget. Not only does it have some fine Hamill-esque dialogue coming from the Joker but it’s a very important moment for the New 52 Dick Grayson.

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When a creative team takes off for 2 months to give a cross-over tie-in their full attention it’s understandable that fan expectations will rise. Thankfully, Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows have exceeded expectations with Nightwing #15.

A major complaint that I have with tie-in books is that many of them suffer from a lack of consequence. Guest appearances by Joker or the Owls serve little purpose other than being a gimmick to hopefully attract a few new readers. Nightwing #15 however is shaken up completely by the Joker’s arrival and you really get the sense that Nightwing is in over his head. It’s been rather aggravating in many of the other Death of the Family books so far to see Joker monologue while torturing the titular hero until they get free and beat Joker up for a few pages until he ultimately escapes so that we may see him again in Snyder and Capullo’s Batman. Higgins and Barrows’ book casts aside that formula and instead we see Joker actually make a strong attempt to tear Dick Grayson’s world apart. Over the past year this series has amassed a whole cast of characters and we’ve been invested in Dick’s campaign to revitalize Amusement Mile and here we see that all of that is now in danger. It’s a comic with an overwhelming sense of dread about it much like you feel when you read the main Batman title. It’s a tough review to write without going into too many spoilers. The first death has already been given away in free previews at sites like Newsarama and Comic Book Resources so I will chat some about it (pretty surprised that DC willingly gave up those pages as a preview though) and then say a few things about the book overall.

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The post New 52 – Nightwing #15 review appeared first on Batman News.

Here’s another quick Thanksgiving Day comic review!

Is Nightwing #14 worth buying? No! Not at all. It’s a boring and predictable issue. This two-part story was nothing more than filler while Nightwing‘s true creative team took a breather and recharged for the upcoming Death of the Family tie-in.

How was it boring and predictable? Nightwing and Shiva fight on a rooftop while talking about how good the other person is at fighting. There’s no resolution, either. I predicted how this issue would play out in this week’s Upcoming Comics article and was right on the money. They fight, Shiva escapes, and it wraps up with a one-page teaser for Joker’s return.

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The post New 52 – Nightwing #14 review appeared first on Batman News.

DC’s schedule for TPB releases is rather odd and highly unfortunate for fans of Dick Grayson. Those readers who skip monthly issues in favor of collected trades are going to find themselves very far behind the rest of the crowd. The New 52 Nightwing has been running for over a year now with 14 issues under its belt but the very first TPB collecting issues #1-7 only came out two weeks ago. Ouch. To add insult to injury, Nightwing was only given the softcover treatment rather than a sexy hardcover. Oh well, at least it’s cheaper this way and that should attract more readers.

So for those of you checking out Dick Grayson’s New 52 series for the first time, what’s different?

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The post Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes review appeared first on Batman News.

Well that was…kind of boring, actually. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t that good either. Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows have taken a two issue break and Tom DeFalco and Andres Guinaldo (whose work you’ve seen before in this series) are filling in for a brief adventure before all Bat-titles dive head first into the Death of the Family insanity. Issue #13 is the first installment of a 2-part story and it never quite gets up off the ground. Nothing happens in these 20 or so pages that isn’t conveyed on the cover. Lady Shiva is coming to Gotham and everybody is scared! That’s about it. So if you’re excited by what you see on the cover, you can totally skip this and come back next month. You never find out why she’s coming to Gotham or why she now looks like a cross between Shredder and Predator. What you learn is that Dick’s Amusement Mile project is still struggling to find traction, Batgirl is intimidated by the Joker’s return on a very personal level, and did I mention that Lady Shiva is coming to Gotham? The issue is loaded with scenes in which characters such as the Penguin (who is getting downright over-used these days) elaborate on how scary Lady Shiva is and how she is indeed coming to Gotham for some reason. There’s an awful lot of hype, but that’s all it is. Issue #13 is all about telling and not showing. Lady Shiva herself never even makes an appearance until an all to predictable final page reveal.

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The post New 52 – Nightwing #13 review appeared first on Batman News.

2012: The year characters figured out Batman’s identity just by looking at his face.

This issue focuses entirely on Dick Grayson’s Robin origin and leaves the Nightwing transformation for another day. It uses quite a few elements from the animated series, sets up the next storyline with Lady Shiva, and even nods to its previous story arcs by including childhood pal Raymond. Eddy Barrows is back at the pencil and he does a great job for the most part. Some of the facial expressions look kind of creepy. Happiness and sadness in particular aren’t conveyed very well, they don’t look natural and sometimes look kind of frightening. But besides the critique of character faces from time to time the book is quite gorgeous. A full page shot of Robin at the back of the book is truly stunning and one of my favorite images all year. He looks so iconic and there are so many great details in the background like the dead guy, the street on fire, and Batman picking himself up off the ground. It looks incredible. The final shot is beautiful as well. With so many great shots I feel bad for pointing out the odd facial expressions because otherwise the book looks phenomenal.

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