Nightwing #91 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Geraldo Borges, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Ever since Dick Grayson became public enemy #1 for his philanthrophy, we’ve seen his friends from across the DCU come to his aid. This has been a great way to show just how deep his roots go among the hero community—and it’s also provided some hilarity. His team-up with Wally West over the last two issues have been the best of the lot, particularly the opening segment where Wally basically dismantles KG Beast and makes clear that he’ll never be allowed to hurt Dick again. In only a few pages, Taylor manages to get more genuine emotion out of the whole “Ric Grayson” era than the actual storyline did. But while one threat—and a secondary terror attack—are quickly foiled, Dick gets a heads-up from his sister that an even more deadly assassin has been contracted to target him—one who has been killing for decades, and has never missed a target.
That sends Dick and Wally abroad to Costa Rica—which has been getting a surprising workout in DC Comics recently, between this and Joker. There, they find an assassin compound, a masked villain, and some surprisingly close escapes. The dialogue is top-notch, as the two old friends battle enemies and banter about things like pets, the future of Dick’s relationship with Barbara, and how to put this assassin gang down for good. The resolution is one of the most clever superhero moves I’ve seen in a while, and makes me think Dick has been taking some notes from his girlfriend. A surprising figure shows up at the end to give Blockbuster a warning—which may just escalate the war next issue. Taylor is playing on a lot of old themes here—Blockbuster has tried to dismantle Dick’s life before many times—but somehow this feels completely fresh. Nightwing has needed a run like this for a long time.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
