Review: Nightwing 2021 Annual #1
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Daniel HDR, Cian Tormey
Colors:Â Â Rain Beredo ,John Kalisz
Letters: Wes Abbott
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Are you going to tell Batman what I did?” – Robin/Jason Todd“No..This is all pretty new to me..but I’m pretty sure brothers are supposed to keep each other’s secrets”– Nightwing/Dick Grayson
Nightwing 2021 Annual #1 – Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, the first Robins, both long ago stepped out of the shadow of the Bat and began walking very different paths on their respective journeys to becoming who they are today.
But now their paths converge and these two brothers unite for one goal. With escrima stick and a crowbar combined, Nightwing and Red Hood are ready for anything…anything except what they have to face next!
Don’t miss out on this explosive adventure!
Positives
Tom Taylor simply has turned Nightwing into his own character…meaning we have seen Dick through the ages and have really gone on an incredible journey with this character. However, Taylor’s touches on Nightwing make him out to be the perfect mesh between Bruce’s detective and combat skills, but with the heart of Alfred.
As an avid Bat-Family reader, I am waiting on the “shoe to drop”, but Taylor takes care of his readers. We see Barbara, Dick, and Bitewing settled down watching TV together. It’s the relationship we all crave out of these two as they have survived (insert everything from The Joker to all-out war here).
Taylor also has “softened” Jason Todd in the right ways…giving up the guns, but still a smoldering fire of vengeance on those that are in the wrong. Again, Taylor is arguably the comic writer of the year. Mr. Taylor…let Dick and Barbara have the time they need…no tragedies to the relationship. We get that enough with the Cat and the Bat!
Positives 2.0
Okay, I miss Bruno drawing this series and I want him back at the helm. However, there are some epic frames in this comic that are poster-worthy by Tormey and HDR, and inker Fernandez. So much so that I’d hang this comic on my wall for a bit as it contains some epic Robin panels as well as one heckuva explosion scene with Nightwing and Red Hood walking out of it! Great stuff!
Negatives Â
This year-end story is a great compilation of how Taylor has been evolving the character. Again, no Bruno equals a demerit from me, but this Taylor story is perfect! The art team’s great! No weak links are evident here!
Verdict
If you’re thinking about making this comic a permanent part of your collection, you need to backtrack and pick it up from when Taylor and Bruno took the book over. This annual sums the year up really really well for Nightwing and places him poised and ready for 2022. I cannot wait to see what Taylor has in store for Dick and Barbara (and Bitewing).
