Nightwing has been one of my favorite characters ever since Dick Grayson donned the blue and yellow costume, disco collar and all. His existance in the DCU has been a tumultuous tale of thrilling highs and tragic lows. The many eponymous ongoing series have attracted A-list creative teams including this most recent foray into the life and times of Nightwing, however currently he is going by the hipster pseudonym Ric Grayson. I have been fairly vocal about my displeasure with the current state of the Bat-Family books and have made no bones about placing the blame on bloodthirsty editorial decisions and equally sinister machinations of a certain, let’s say, “Batman Writer in Crisis”. This less than dynamic duo have spelled the almost certain and complete demise of Dick Grayson. That is why I am happily surprised to report that Nightwing #57 is not terrible, in fact it’s a pretty darn entertaining read.
Okay, let me back pedal just a bit, Nightwing #57 is an enjoyable enough read, but it’s still a far cry from what this book should be. Scott Lobdell has earned the reputation of a cleaner, like Winston Wolfe in Pulp Fiction; by that I mean that Lobdell has been in the unenviable position several times of saving characters from being painted into corners by unfortunate narrative circumstances, like being shot in the head, in someone else’s book. Here Lobdell does an admirable job of telling an engaging story while weaving in some of the less terrible elements of Dick’s current circumstances, the team of rouge cops turned Nightwings is still there; Detective Sapienza offers Dick a spot on the team after last issues events. This scene is one of the best in the issue, it skirts the comedic while maintaining Dick’s current off kilter persona. The main thrust of the issue is built on Ric and Bea’s budding relationship which Lobdell handles with capable chops without collapsing into a pile of tired rom-com tropes and outdated pop culture references as happens to so many of these types of story beats in the hands of less capable writers. The problems arise here with Zack Kaplan’s dialog as it does in other scenes particularly when Joker’s Daughter is speaking. I’m not familiar with Kaplan’s work so I cannot say with certainty that he just doesn’t write these types of characters well or if dialog just isn’t his strongest element. However, the Joker’s Daughter has some downright painful lines, for example when she shoots up Pollard’s car killing the driver and passenger, presumably a bodyguard, she delivers this beauty, “I’m so Trigger Happy you stopped, Councilman!” I mean come on, I cringe just typing that line. There are a few other clunkers, but Lobdell’s story is strong enough to pull Kaplan’s bacon from the fire and deliver a solid issue, warts and all.
The real star of the issue is Travis Moore, this guy can draw! I have always loved his work, but he seems to have elevated his game on this issue, particularly when it comes to facial expressions. His characters are so expressive they enhance and heighten the emotional stakes of Lobdell’s narrative. The organic element of his sequential storytelling is at an apex here as the plot unfolds through his images. Moore is as solid a storyteller as you are likely to find and he just gets better with every book. The dynamic posing adds an extraordinary element of excitement to the action sequences. In fact the fantastic splash page of Joker’s Daughter firing her machine gun into the oncoming car of Councilman Pollard represents the best and the worst of this book in a single page. It is a perfect piece of storytelling unto itself, however it contains one of the most unfortunate bits of dialog ever to fill a word balloon. Tamra Bonvillain’s vibrant colors works extremely well here, bringing a kind of Silver Age feel to Moore’s images that really seals the deal visually.
Overall, this is a major step in the right direction. I can only hope that this is an indication that Nightwing’s course is being corrected and smooth sailing is in the stars. As a huge fan of Dick Grayson, as Robin, Nightwing and as Batman I believe he deserves better than to be reduced to a shadow of himself by a sniper’s bullet to further the fall of his mentor. Dick Grayson is more than a plot device, he is a beloved hero and hopefully we will be seeing that hero again very soon. 3/5
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Plot- Scott Lobdell
Script- Zack Kaplan
Art- Travis Moore
Colors- Tamra Bonvillain
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