Nightwing #140 – Dan Watters, Writer; Denys Cowan, Penciller; Norm Rapmund, Inker; Francesco Segala, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Dan Watters’ run has been easily the bleakest Nightwing run in ages, not only turning Bludhaven into a much more hostile place but turning Nightwing’s own mind against him. He’s wanted for manslaughter, his mental state is getting worse and worse, and he’s starting to believe something is truly rotten at the city’s core. Last issue saw him investigate a mysterious mass of corpses found in the river, which led him to the office of Doctor Sereika, an old ally of Batman’s. One by one, they investigated the cold cases, closed them all – except one, which became an obsession for Nightwing. Now, he’s tracked the last case to a potential murderer named Colm the Cannibal. But when he hunts the man down, he doesn’t find a sadistic killer, but a man who is far more scared of something even more dangerous than himself. And it all ties back to the construction of that new highway at the heart of Bludhaven.
Dan Watters isn’t always a writer who puts a lot of social commentary into his work, but this issue kind of ties together the whole run in a really interesting way. Colm the Cannibal, despite his…unusual tastes, is usually little more than a minor henchman for bigger villains, and he’s been working as a driver for the Mayor as of late. And the Mayor has been working with one of the most infamous villains in all of DC history, someone who was a cosmic player for a while – and has turned that mental power towards something just as nefarious. There are segments this issue that are a fascinating commentary on hostile architecture taken to the ultimate degree, but in the end, this is mostly a plot device to drive Nightwing up to and over the line of sanity, as Bludhaven continues to wear him down and he finally strikes back. It’s not as unique as some of the past issues, but it’s no less a brutal read.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
