Nightwing #109 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Stephen Byrne, Sami Basri, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Tom Taylor pulls double-duty on this issue, writing both the main story and the backup, with a Beast World tie-in in the latter. But the main story wraps up the wildly entertaining pirate saga, which last saw Bea stabbed by her evil brother Dirk and left to fall to a watery grave. Taylor has done a great job plumbing Nightwing’s past for interesting details, and the little flourish that he has an intense fear of heights that he overcomes every day is a fascinating one. I also love the way Taylor keeps Alfred with a huge presence in this title, even though he’s long gone—the segment where Alfred insists on teaching Dick field medicine, something Bruce apparently neglected, is excellent.
This story has been a really unique mix of pure fun with more serious issues, as Nightwing gets to have the pirate adventure of a lifetime. But the undercurrents of Bea’s fear that she’s not a worthy heir play in nicely with Dick’s own history as an adopted son. It’s great to see how Taylor has leaned in on the idea that Bruce and Alfred were Dick’s parents as well, rather than muddying the water the way some writers do. Dirk is a fairly generic villain, hissable but without any real nuance, and that works for this story. It’s interesting to see Taylor essentially take the character of Bea, who was a bit of a throwaway, and turn her into a character with her own unique story and the gateway to a fascinating new world in Bludhaven.
Nightwing isn’t in the backup at all—instead, Damian Wayne takes the lead as he investigates the animal plague in Bludhaven. Why is the city seemingly free of beasts? He investigates the old zoo, which appears to be abandoned—and finds a terrifying secret, as well as a mysterious new villain who is actively trying to spread the spores. The cliffhanger is darkly hilarious, and would have been even funnier if DC hadn’t spoiled the big reveal in the cover! This is a great series, but I’m hoping the cliffhanger of the main story will be followed up on quickly.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
