Nightwing #106... it's finally over

[stealthwise]

Not a bad finale to what is essentially another typical Year One arc by Chuck Dixon. The art is sharp and I liked the tone that Dixon established, for the most part. Great move on his part by not having Bats swoop in and save the day, as a lesser writer might have gone for. I have to wonder why there was so much focus on Jason Todd, and normally I wouldn't suspect such nostalgia, except for all of the rumours that DC is thinking of having him return.

I had forgotten how much I liked the Nightwing character, in fact, when he's well-written, I think that I enjoy reading about the Dick Grayson character more than I do about Batman. However, now that Dixon is gone, I will be as well, though I'm interested if there are any older Nightwing tpbs covering Dixon's early run on the character?

[Sharcque]

Excellent post, stealth!!! Everything he said! :D And, also like you, I'm outta here as well -- dropping the book until Grayson's gone. :(

[kane]

I liked the year one, but i think 6 issues was to much.

I like that Grayson will now go on with her story. :)

[tony2074]

no, no, after seeing the real nightwing retur after a year + of him be toally out of character, i want chuck back. i loved the art but i love phil and ade equally as much. besides mcdaniels saving robin as of june.
really really fun arc and i hope dc keep hold of the ball and release trade sharpish. i thought there was plenty in there for 6 issues. a well woven tale. two tumbs fresh!!

[TJEscobar]

I agree with most of what was said. I think the length was appropiate to tell the story, the explanation of Nightwing's origins I think was very concrete and sweet. As far as the Jason Todd thing. You gotta think about how you would react if you found out that after all these years you were fired then replaced in such a short amount of time. I would have definetely felt the same way Dick Grayson felt and analyzed Todd with the same scrutiny. Plus the fact that he is dead would make an excellent reason to note him substanially

[Forsaken_One]

I liked the year one, but i think 6 issues was to much.

I like that Grayson will now go on with her story. :)
Eh, Batgirl Year One was nine issues long. This wasn't that long in comparison.

[kane]

Eh, Batgirl Year One was nine issues long. This wasn't that long in comparison.

Okay, i did not read it, so i did not know.

But as far as i know it was a mini-series. I would have not a problem with a 12 issue nightwing-mini-series. But in the monthly issues i don´t want 6 issues dealing with only the past, i want the heroe to go on.

It was an interessting read and 6 issues in 3 months are okay. I would just have prefered to read it in a mini, not in the normal series.

[Forsaken_One]

Okay, i did not read it, so i did not know.

But as far as i know it was a mini-series. I would have not a problem with a 12 issue nightwing-mini-series. But in the monthly issues i don´t want 6 issues dealing with only the past, i want the heroe to go on.

It was an interessting read and 6 issues in 3 months are okay. I would just have prefered to read it in a mini, not in the normal series.
Were I continuing to read Nightwing I'd be content with it personally in the normal series as I believe it gave the new art team time to get up to speed and create a buffer. In other words it helped keep Nightwing on time for the future.

Of course I won't be reading it because I dislike Devin Grayson's writing and direction. But, you know, if I were.

[Windbreaker]

I thought the issues were great - sometimes near perfect. My first reaction was that the parts may be greater than the whole, but I may be changing that opinion. If the overall theme of Year One was NW's reflection on Batman's mentorship/ teamwork/ father figure status, I think it worked well. I'm glad that NW had Batgirl deliver an actual tape, because if all that talking was just mental reflection by Dick, I'd be irritated. But Dixon was on the case -- I should've known better.

I will keep buying the monthly, hoping for the best. Hey, at least the art will be sweet.

[DLH1970]

I really enjoyed year one. It was nice to read a Nightwing that is fun again. I had no intention of picking up Nightwing once Grayson returned, but I'm afraid I might be too weak to pass it up because I like the character too much. I just have to hope she gets her act together to improve her work.

[Captain Jim]

I'm interested if there are any older Nightwing tpbs covering Dixon's early run on the character?

Yeah, there's a whole bunch of them. Maybe somebody else can give you the titles.

[tony2074]

dixon's nightwing:
1) knight in bludhaven
2) rough justice
3) love and bullets
4) darker shade of justice
5) hunt fr oracle
6) big guns

first four are by far the best and contain art by mcdaniel. and there are a few briliant team ups in there as well, with superman, batman but most ntably, tim drake. pure gold. and they're all pretty hefty too, 150+ pgs. get 'em in.

EDIT: theres also another one solicited for later this year, featuring some dixon ightwing. from the razors edge, i think. do not quote me on that though.

[Windbreaker]

dixon's nightwing:
1) knight in bludhaven
2) rough justice
3) love and bullets
4) darker shade of justice
5) hunt fr oracle
6) big guns

I need to get a hold of 3-6. For those interested, reviews for 1 and 2 are here (http://comic-reviews.blogspot.com/2005/02/nightwing-knight-in-bludhaven.html) and here (http://comic-reviews.blogspot.com/2005/02/nightwing-rough-justice.html).

[pennywisdom]

I've gone back and re-read Dixon's run on the title recently. It's as good as I remember. CLICK HERE (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=46826) to see some of Chuck's TPBs. :)

[Azrael52]

Nightwing is a great character, I can't wait to see what's next. I know it's gangster time and all, but I hope he can get back with Barb. I know that's partially up to Gail with BOP, too, though.

[Forefinger]

After reading an interview of Grayson, and hearing that Hester and Parks are coming on board, I'm hopefull that Nightwing will turn around and get better. Grayson mentioned that she wants to return Dick to his former glory. I guess I don't even need to mention how awsome Hester and Parks have been on Green Arrow the past couple of years, and how great they will probably be on Nightwing. So I'm going to keep buying in the hopes that Devon will do what she says she's going to do, and Nightwing will start acting like Nightwing.
I loved the Year One arc. I was glad that it was 6 issues long. I would have enjoyed a full year of Dixon and McDaniels. I enjoyed seeing an explanation of the high collared costume, the interaction between NW and Robin. The only thing I didn't like was how much of a jerk Batman was.

[Mister Intensity]

At least Killer Croc was redeemed.

I'm waiting for a writer who will treat Dick with the respect that someone with his skills and experience deserves, and no, Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty aren't those writers, since they are the ones who are associated with the trend of treating Dick as an also-ran.

Mister Intensity

[Forefinger]

"also-ran"? In the early issues of Nightwing, 1-15 or so, it was very plainly established that Nightwing had come into his own, and was an equal to Batman. Chuck Dixon did that.

[Mister Intensity]

No Marv Wolfman did, everything that happened in Nightwing's title has been a step backward for the character. People on the DC Board always joked that Dixon's Nightwing always got knocked on the back of the head.

Mister Intensity

[Windbreaker]

No Marv Wolfman did, everything that happened in Nightwing's title has been a step backward for the character.
Do you have any specific examples to back that up?

[Captain Jim]

No Marv Wolfman did, everything that happened in Nightwing's title has been a step backward for the character. People on the DC Board always joked that Dixon's Nightwing always got knocked on the back of the head.

Y'know, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I don't think I could disagree with a post anymore strongly than yours. If you ask me, nobody really even knew who Nightwing was before Dixon, despite Wolfman's excellent early work on the Titans.

[Mister Intensity]

The whole Prodigal storyline, where Dick takes over as Batman, he was upstaged by Robin at each and every turn. And the whole Two-Face retcon took a lot away from the character. You expect me to believe that Dick spent his entire career as Robin he was afraid of Two-Face. Wasn't Two-Face the villain that Robin took on all by himself in The New Teen Titans preview in DC Comics Presents #26?

Mister Intensity

[Forefinger]

I think that the whole Prodigal storyline just made the point that Dick is more than just Batman's partner or stand-in. He's his own man, and is an equal to Batman as Nightwing. Also, if it were soo easy for Dick to be Batman, why would Bruce Wayne need to be Batman?

[RedBaron]

I hated the whole run. Although I like the specifics of how Dick was inspired to take on the Nightwing role, I thought that A Lonely Place of Dying did the return-to-the-circus better, I hated all the puns in the first issue even though they were supposed to be corny, and Batman's characterization (even if he is a dick) seemed way too out there. What was with the gauntlet and the encorporation of Alfred of Two Face. That didn't make any practical sense at all.

[Forefinger]

I hated the whole run. Although I like the specifics of how Dick was inspired to take on the Nightwing role, I thought that A Lonely Place of Dying did the return-to-the-circus better, I hated all the puns in the first issue even though they were supposed to be corny, and Batman's characterization (even if he is a dick) seemed way too out there. What was with the gauntlet and the encorporation of Alfred of Two Face. That didn't make any practical sense at all.
I didn't hate the run, but I understand your complaints. I would have liked to have seen him do something other than go back to the circus too. But I liked that he had a reason for the costume with the high collar, it being a homage to his Dad. So, I guess he had to go to the circus to see the old poster of his Dad. The last couple of issues kind of lost steam for me with the whole Robin/gauntlet thing. Too much attention was paid to Jason Todd and Batman being a dick. But, other than those minor gripes, I enjoyed the arc. I'd love to see Dixon come back to the title at any time.

[barbgrayson]

why is it like there's this renewed interest in jason todd?

[Forefinger]

why is it like there's this renewed interest in jason todd?
Probably because of the reappearace of him in the Hush storyline in Batman. It turned out to be Clayface posing as Jason, but the explanation of him being around made as much sense as anything else in comics. And his body went missing. So it's open for DC to decide that he should come back ala a Lazerus Pit. There was also quite a bit of speculation recently that the new Red Hood was actually Jason Todd. (I haven't gotten a copy of the Batman where it was revealed who the Red Hood is, so please don't spoil)

[stealthwise]

I hated the whole run. Although I like the specifics of how Dick was inspired to take on the Nightwing role, I thought that A Lonely Place of Dying did the return-to-the-circus better, I hated all the puns in the first issue even though they were supposed to be corny, and Batman's characterization (even if he is a dick) seemed way too out there. What was with the gauntlet and the encorporation of Alfred of Two Face. That didn't make any practical sense at all.

Blame current DC Editorial for the gauntlet and the "Batman is a dick" attitude that they've been propagating the past ten years or so.

The circus thing was bad? Come on, we got to see DEADMAN.

Hot damn I love that character.

Btw, thanks for the info on tpbs, guys.

[Forefinger]

Dick going back to the circus fit well into that story, but it was just something that we have seen done over and over again with Dick every time he is going through and emotional hardship.
Batman being a dick, I'm hoping that after whatever the big Crisis is, they will turn it back a notch and have him act like any other person crazy enough to dress up like a bat and fight crime.