Reviewed by Chris Fenn
Since going on a Grant Morrison binge I’ve been more into Dick Grayson than usual so I was excited for this month’s Nightwing. I’ve not been enjoying his time in Chicago as much as I thought I would; the Prankster stuff was pretty good but I wasn’t so hot on the Mad Hatter.
Now I don’t recognise Spinebender, so I don’t know if he’s a new or an existing foe but I really liked how he utilised his power over people from Dick’s past instead of going all Clayface and just smashing things with mace arms. I thought the banter between the two made the fight interesting and also added some lighter elements to the issue.
Now if you have or will read my Justice League 3000 review you’ll notice I say that the DC Universe seems particularly bleak at the moment. Typically Nightwing is a lighter character, especially in comparison to Bruce, but with the pursuit of Tony Zucco he has had a spell of being more solemn than usual. This issue does contain a fair amount of drama, but it doesn’t feel dour, it simply adds an emotional edge and investment to the plot.
I found the exchanges that Sonia had with her father and Dick were quite touching. She seems to truly be a victim in all of this; she did lie to Dick about her father, but part of me feels like she did it to try to protect someone, not to gain some advantage for herself.
I found the final segment of the story to be particularly well written. I love how Jen asks to be Dick’s sidekick. The beauty of this scene is how little Dick says; it allows the reader to think of what must be running through his mind. Of course he’d say no to such a thing, but he himself was Bruce’s sidekick, and he saw others take his place when he lead teenagers into battle before finally coming full circle and leading Damian – like Bruce lead him. It may seem odd to say the writer is brilliant by not writing anything, but the depth of this thought process would be ruined if it was expressed with words.
I quite like how the murderer is revealed to be Zsasz too. Something about the fact that it is a Batman villain appeals to me, but also that he would have no hesitation of killing Jen if Nightwing couldn’t get to her in time. Will Nightwing arrive in time? Can he prevent Jen from following in his footsteps?
Tune in next month for the answers in; Nightwing #29!
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on February 16th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Chris Fenn, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Dick Grayson, Nightwing #28 Review, Zsasz