Nightwing #102 – Tom Taylor, CS Pacat, Writers; Travis Moore, Eduardo Pansica/Julio Ferreira, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Tom Taylor continues to deliver with this series, even as the story takes some seriously strange turns. Dick has pulled the Titans into his quest to protect the young Olivia—Blockbuster’s daughter—from the forces of Neron who are determined to drag her down to hell. There’s only one problem—Neron has sent a shape-shifting agent after her, and that demon has taken Nightwing’s form. When we pick up, Nightwing wakes up in the morgue, placed there to suffocate by the shapeshifter. As he tracks down his doppelganger, we’re treated to another version of the “pointing Spider-man” conflict that’s only solved by the most important clue to someone’s identity—dog trivia!
The new villain, the Grinning Man, has a genuinely creepy design—but he’s also kind of hilariously incompetent. The origin story for him, that reveals just how he wound up working for Neron, has a great twist. It’s impressive just how many deep cuts from DC continuity Taylor is using here. It’s a great issue, and much of the credit for that goes to guest artist Travis Moore. As Taylor will be taking over the Titans soon, this issue is sort of a backdoor pilot giving us a hint of how he’ll handle them. The bond between Dick and Wally, Beast Boy’s kind and compassionate side, and just how scary Raven can be when she gets righteously angry all make me think these characters are in good hands.
The backup, continuing the team-up of Dick and Jon, finds the two legacy heroes investigating an attempted murder at a circus—one that parallels the death of Dick’s parents in some frightening ways. Dick turns this into a teachable moment, guiding Jon through the process of investigating a crime. The team-up is a lot of fun, and the mystery is suspenseful due to the stakes—although the last-page reveal makes us wait for next month to see how the heck this cliffhanger will make any sense.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
