Nightwing 1: Leaping into the Light

Product Information

Along with Adriano Lucas’s vibrant colouring, Redondo brings a fluidity to his action with his panel layouts, as well as the double page spreads that uses intricately detailed collage work that show off Nightwing’s acrobatics. I've often said that Nightwing should be used to tell Batman stories that probably wouldn't work with today's version of Batman and this feels like it's going in that direction. I saw a couple editing mistakes, and I already know the kind of corporate production these comics go through, vetted by everyone, so I was put off on page two already a bit.

This is honestly going to be a modern classic I highly recommend reading it because it will blow your mind.

Dick’s complaint about not wanting to just “punch bad guys” is a common retort thrown by people who don’t like superhero comics, or by characters who don’t like vigilantes.

To be fair, I like the on again/off again Barbara Gordon-Dick Grayson struggle through friendship/romance, though it apparently has been going on for a long time. She drops off the will of Alfred Pennyworth to reveal that he’s left his large sum of money to Dick.My little nitpick about this is that the billionaire charity foundation is not a good model for saving the world. I think this approach often creates problems, which is why he has Dick mention his aspirations to do more than just punch people. Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics. Newly rich Dick decides to help his adopted city of Bludhaven, first by feeding and housing the homeless. No doubt that the creators were inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja’s run on Hawkeye, which was more about showing the domesticity of its hero than actually showing the spandex-wearing heroics.

In general I don’t read current DC comics, but Taylor does a wonderful job of not making you feel like you’re missing out on anything. Although they could’ve easily made Batman a main player here, Taylor is very conscious of telling a story of Dick, who is looking back on his history, which includes reacquainting with the current Robin, Tim Drake, and more importantly, a possible romantic rekindling with Barbara Gordon. And in the end, we are supposed to be really moved when Dick gives a speech we hope our current spate of billionaires would listen to, as if they would give most of their money to healing the world (okay, a couple billionaires are in fact giving a ton of money to charity). As part of his will, Alfred, who was secretly a billionaire, would give his fortune to Dick following his death.Tom Taylor does a great job juggling all these things and Bruno Redondo does a awesome job on art duty. This is why Dick’s new struggle of inheriting vast wealth is an equally intriguing and troublesome angle. But Taylor is also, luckily, self-aware enough to wrap this bluntness in candy-colored art from Bruno Redondo and tons of action, which is breezy and fast-paced, so that you almost don't see the heaping portions of moralization thrown at you.

On top of that, fans of Barbara Gordon will be happy with her prominence in this series, especially in regards to her romantic relationship with Dick. Since Taylor gives him a problem that can’t be solved by punches, this allows the series to reset itself and reflect on what type of hero Dick can and should be.With the Bat-Team s comms unreliable, Nightwing heads to Gotham to find the source of Anti-Oracle s transmissions. Depending on how long this storyline is going to be, so far this is a perfect jump-in for anyone wanting to read the solo adventures of Dick Grayson. The new character’s like Melinda Zucco and Heartless are intriguing, and Blockbuster plays as a badass brute protagonist. Batgirl and Nightwing accidentally get hit with something that reveals their deepest fears and it involves each other.