Bruce Wayne may have lost out on his fortune, but an inheritance of investments from the late Alfred Pennyworth has made Dick Grayson a billionaire. With longtime ally and one-time paramour Barbara Gordon by his side, Nightwing is trying to figure out just what to do with his billions, but in the meantime? There’s pizza and the taking out of overconfident goons. Written by Tom Taylor, art by Bruno Redondo, colors by Adriano Lucas and lettering by Wes Abbott.
I was underwhelmed by last month’s issue of Nightwing, and this new creative team’s debut. There was much about it that I loved, but there were some major parts I didn’t, and with all the necessary set-up going on, it was a book that for me stopped just short of soaring.
It turns out that last issue was just the first graceful swing of the trapeze, because this issue absolutely soars.
I’ve thought a lot about why I enjoy Tom Taylor’s work as much as I do, and what I think it comes down to is that he is excellent at knowing what he wants a moment to achieve, and then going all in on that moment, subtlety be damned. He wants to show Nightwing will defend the helpless not matter what it costs him? Throw in a three-legged puppy who literally bites the hand that feeds it. Nightwing has no plans for what to do with his newfound billions but will take every opportunity to help people? Impromptu pizza party for as many people as he can get the word out to, and some hotel bookings aside. The humor and relatability of a Batfamily text chat that will forever make fun of Dick for getting his wallet stolen. Taylor is forever asking, “What speaks to the heart of this character the most, and what’s the simplest and most effective way to show that?”
As I try to figure out how to describe why the art thrills me so, I realize that it’s because Bruno Redondo does the same, only with a creativity and dynamism that leaves me breathless, page after page. Take the opening pages to this issue, a montage of Nightwing’s long history mingled with him acrobating (Google tells me this is not, officially, a word, but if I’m to review a Nightwing comic, it’s going to have to be) his way through the present. There is so much cleverness in these three pages alone, as Redondo uses a panel grid to mix that past in the present – some images conform to that grid, some don’t. A glimpse of Batman’s cape is laid over the grid; his presence will always loom large over Dick’s present. His parents, in their Flying Graysons heyday, do the same. Panels mix, parts go over the grid, parts confined by it, because memories are never just confined to the past – until we’re drawn fully into the present on the next page, the distracting grid gone, the deep pinks and blues of a Blüdhaven night drawing the reader away from a splash page of history to one single moment at a time. Take any panel, any page of this book, and you can tell exactly what Redondo is going for there, and can appreciate how beautifully he does it. Do I want do a panel-by-panel review of this entire issue? I kind of do, but this review is late enough already.
We can’t talk about the art, though, without discussing how gorgeously Adriano Lucas sets the mood. It’s intense, and while Blüdhaven may not be the kind of city I’d like to live in, it’s one that’s beautiful to behold. Lucas brings an intimacy to this issue, in the quiet alleys, in Dick’s spartan apartment, in the neons of the city’s night lightning and the softer, more natural blues from its night sky – not to discount the excitingly bright supeheroic colours he brings to the issue’s opening pages, of course. Still, it’s the lighting of the city that catches my eye the most, bringing us a romantic evening of pizza, punching and parkour in Blüdhaven. Let’s get into what actually happens this issue.
Nightwing’s new enough to his fortune to not have any clue as to what to do with it – he hasn’t even gone far enough as to buy a fridge and stock it with food. A night out with Barbara and some pizza leads to him throwing an impromptu pizza party for a homeless man and his son, and anyone else who needs a meal for the night. It’s an impulsive, but earnest move – the art does a marvelous job of selling that boyish earnestness that makes Nightwing so endearing. A free lunch (or dinner, in this case) just isn’t enough for some, though, and a few kids make off with his wallet, much to the delight of the Batfamily text chat. Those same kids, though, get in over their heads when they lift the wallet one of the major mob bosses of Blüdhaven, leaving it up to Nightwing to have to save the day – and realize that the homeless of the city need the kind of safety net he’s always been fortunate enough to have. Oh, and Heartless shows up to (quite literally) steal a heart – though it’s too early to really tell what their deal is.
I love the relationship between Barbara and Dick. She brings out the best in him: teasing him when he needs it, a great sounding board for him to open up to – much more engaging than him monologuing in captions, as is traditional – and as much as I regret her being unable to Batgirl it up, I have missed her as the Oracle. While I’m still not sold on the billionaire aspect that the story is going in, it hasn’t gotten in the way of a good Nightwing tale. The story is lighthearted, charming fun – and I cannot talk enough about how gorgeous it is to look at. Nightwing #79 cuts right to the heart of what makes Nightwing special, and it’s every bit as thrilling as it ought to be.
