Review: Nightwing #83
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo, Cian Tormey
Colors:Â Â Adriano Lucas
Letters: Wes Abbott
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Nightwing #83 – It’s a fight for the soul of the city! Now that Dick Grayson has inherited more money than he could possibly need, he has an idea on how he can help the city with it—and it’s time for him to announce it to the world!
But with Blüdhaven so beyond saving, what idea does he have that could possible save it?
Meanwhile, an unexpected figure comes into play with a plan to buy the city (and all the power that goes with it) from Blockbuster. Things are about to get messy for new public figure Dick Grayson, but maybe he can enlist some help from his “friend” Nightwing!
Positives
Tom Taylor’s work has quickly made him quite the icon and perhaps it is his optimistic calling that he has given us some real beacons of hope in the past few years with his take on characters.
In DCeased, he really placed Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne in a World’s Finest light that has carried over in his take on Jonathan in Superman: Son of Kal-El.
However, Taylor’s scripts and Bruno Redondo’s pens have set Twitter, Critics, and Fans on fire with their combo on Nightwing. There is something special about this story-telling and this issue is no different!
From Redondo’s renderings of Dick with his half-sister to an anxious “Bitewing” to that stolen shared kiss with Barbara (who has NOT been rooting for this to happen since 1966?), Redondo has captured our hearts with his interpretation of Taylor’s optimistic words.
Sure – there are some imposing circumstances that have always surrounded Dick, but let’s face it. We needed optimism. We needed Haley which humanizes Dick in such a way that we knew he was the greatest of the Robins. Finally, we needed Robin/Nightwing and Batgirl/Oracle to be a couple. Taylor has taken us down that road, and it is what we needed.
Positives 2.0
We do not have Alfred. However, we needed something after his passing at the hands of Bane. Readers have been through the darkest years with Alfred’s demise, the city of Bane, and the Joker War. I’m not so sure if Bruce is going to be able to handle his setback, but I do appreciate his call to Dick affirming that “Alfred would be proud”.
How about that conversation between Dick and Superman? Nightwing is coming full circle as we see Taylor cultivating a mentor/mentee relationship between Dick and Jon Kent…(wonder how Damian plays in all of this).
The beauty of it is that Taylor has readers like putty in his hands. It’s a fragile place to be as we seek for comics to escape. We realize there is going to be some very tough villains out there. Batman’s taken us to some really dark places. However, Nightwing is poised to place us in some really high places and we needed that!
Negatives (Are You Kidding Me?)
If there was one comic that doesn’t have one molecule of negative, it is this one. I’ll leave you with one more positive image – Barbara watching Dick at a pivotal press conference with Haley in her lap. Priceless. Tom Taylor, you are taking us to new heights of optimism.
Don’t rip that ladder out from under us!
Verdict
The story and art in Nightwing #83 is so rich in detail that you should be reading this already. If not, go back and pick up EVERY issue that Taylor and Redondo have done together! This duo is as perfect as Barbara and Dick are together!
