Review: Nightwing #119
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dan Watters
Art: Dexter Soy
Colors: Veronica Gandini
Letters: Wes Abbott
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
It’s a gang war in Bludhaven and Nightwing has to get to the bottom of real villain! It’s a new run with a new creative team!
Positives
Dan Watters and Dexter Soy come out of the gate with a lot good stuff in Nightwing #119. To their credit they don’t try to take the character in a new direction or reinvent the Boy Wonder. If anything, they go Bronze Age and just do “the next” Nightwing story that feels like it follows seamlessly from the previous creative team. Watters mentions just enough about continuity that make sure the readers understands where things are and maintains the characterization of Dick and Babs while adding just enough to tell it’s not the same writer.
Watters gets the relationship between Dick and Barbara, not just the importance of it, but how the characters interact with each other. Watters also utilizes the theme of Bludhaven as Dick’s city, a city he wants to protect/ work in. It’s not so much about finding his own space as it was back when Nightwing launched in his first ongoing series, but rather a city that he feels he has developed a connection to over time.
Positives Cont’d
Story wise, Watters sets up a familiar yet sellable premise of a gang war between the rival organized crime groups in Bludhaven. He makes it a little Bronze Age with the names of the groups and the more appropriately “comic booky” appearance of the different groups. The different gangs have been set against each other by an attack on all of them creating distrust in what was detente and cooperation. Watters reveals who the real villain is behind the attack on the gangs, and it’s a smart move because it’s fairly obvious. This takes away the standard “mystery” element and suggests we’ll get something different.
Soy and Gandini do a nice job with the art. It’s distinctly different from Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas, but not unfamiliar to previous runs of Nightwing. There’s also a very appealing Bronze Age look to Nightwing #119 that fits the story very well.
Negatives
With Green Lantern and Green Arrow getting Legacy Numbering with All In, this issue is remiss in not adding that to Nightwing. We got Legacy #300 with issue #113, so this would be #306…. Seems like a HUGE missed opportunity. It’s possible that some could complain that Nightwing #119 is “too safe” or just “ordinary” super-hero fare, but that is what actually makes this issue work…it doesn’t try to hard and leans into the characters with a solid story hook.
Verdict
Nightwing #119 is a very good start for Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. It doesn’t try too hard, but what it does works extremely well in continuing what’s been working for the character. There’s some throwback to the Bronze Age and to other eras of Nightwing without feeling derivative. Refreshingly, this issue is a solid “comic booky” tale that doesn’t forget what it is or why people like Dick Grayson (and Barbara Gordon!).
