Nightwing is back! Okay, sure, he came “back” a bit ago from his amnesia after getting shot in the head by KGBeast. That lead him to deciding to call himself “Rick” instead of Dick, becoming a taxi driver, and trying to destroy any connection to his past life as Nightwing. It’s good to have stories that shake up the status quo from time to time so we can rejoice when things revert back to where we want them to be.
Now after the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal and a couple months of Future State books, we’re able to check back in on Dick Grayson. What better way to celebrate his official return as Nightwing than with a stellar new creative team?
That’s exactly what we get in Nightwing #78.
Tom Taylor has been given the reigns as the writer of the series. Taylor is absolutely on fire. His outstanding recent books include Suicide Squad, DCeased, and Injustice: Year Zero at DC Comics and the awesomely amazing Seven Secrets (at BOOM! Studios). One thing that I love about this new “era” for Nightwing is the fact DC kept the recent numbering. They could have easily relaunched the title after the recent mini hiatus to try to increase the hype and sales. It seems the fact that Taylor’s name on the book is all the hype that is needed for comic fans. It shows the trust and faith DC has in Taylor.
This issue is obviously a great “jumping on” point if you haven’t read Nightwing lately. Taylor starts out with a brief flashback to show or remind us just how good of a person Dick is. This allows us to see Dick in his younger days as well as his first meeting with someone extremely important in his life. We also get to see how deep and important his relationship with Alfred was.
What makes these moments even greater is the brilliant art and colors by Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas. You won’t be able to resist stopping and taking in the two-page spread of Nightwing zipping over the city. This art team is simply killing it on these pages.
In the present, our first glimpse of Nightwing in action shows him defending what could become a very important character. This opening further shows what kind of hero Nightwing is. He’s always been known to have a big heart. Not only is he determined to stand up to some bullies, he shows absolutely no fear when a gun is brought into the situation.
Nightwing might be dealing with some dopey bullies. It does feel important to see that the sight of a gun doesn’t even phase him. You have to remember he got shot in the head. There is no shellshock or fear. Nightwing is back and full of confidence because he has the skills to back that confidence up.
As you can see from the preview pages, Nightwing does easily save the dog. Unfortunately he doesn’t get much in terms of thanks. Even after getting bit, Dick continues to do the right thing by taking the poor three-legged dog to a vet rather than just leave it. How great of a guy is he?
If you’re concern this is going to be the adventures of Nightwing and a pooch, don’t worry. Taylor is also setting up major trouble that Nightwing will have to deal with in Bludhaven. If that wasn’t enough, Dick also gets a visit from someone who we’ll hopefully see more of in the coming issues.
I do have to admit there is one thing I didn’t like in this book. There is the fact that Alfred is still apparently dead. There was some hope for his return in Dark Nights: Death Metal. Clearly this disappointment is of no fault of this book’s creative team.
Nightwing is now officially a must-read title. The character has sometimes been a punching bag with the various hardships he’s had to go through. It’s almost as if DC is rewarding the character and fans by giving us a fantastic creative team with Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas. Taylor has been known to pen some tragic moments with his stories, but there is so such a feeling of hope and exuberance. That’s what Nightwing is about. Bottom line, I love Nightwing, and I love this creative team on the book. I cannot wait to read more. This is what Nightwing fans want and deserve.
What the Heck is going on?!? 