Nightwing #125 - Wolfman era begins...

**colossus34** · 10-05-2006, 10:29 AM

Just got my hands on it. Best issue in a LONG time.

The Good:
-Nightwing on his own solo adventure, kicking ass and taking names. No Mary Sues. No supporting character upstaging NW. There's hints of humor, action and very little angst. I really enjoyed reading this book again!:)
-The internal monologue is confident and cool. Dick is THINKING again. He's planning a strategy and executing it with flair.
-Nice plot execution. Immediate action that builds into an obvious mystery arc that Marv has said will show why Dick is one of the "best Detectives in the DCU."

The Okay:
-Dick looking for another job. Nothing as bad as a catwalk model, but we've seen this done before. Although, interestingly Dick sees an ad that asks for police recruits, but rejects it because he needs a job to ground him--to take him AWAY from crime fighting.
-More new supporting characters. Hard to fall in love with a cast when new writers throw in a new supporting cast every run!
-Jurgens art is very "classical" panel by panel storytelling. It looks well drawn but may turn off some fans not into old-school 80's comics and want a more dynamic page layout etc.

Overall: B +

It's going to take at least a few arcs to rebuild NW to glory and fix Devin and Jones crap and this one is headed in the right direction. Thanks Marv-- NIGHTWING IS BACK!

**Autonomy** · 10-05-2006, 11:37 AM

I was wondering when someone would do a post on it, because its such a big issue.

I really enjoyed it. Good story so far and he seems like he can do something on his own now.

**Forefinger** · 10-05-2006, 11:45 AM

I may check it out. Jones did me in for Nightwing, but I've always really liked the character. I hope that the rest of Wolfman's run is good.

**Sandtiger** · 10-05-2006, 04:28 PM

Finally!!!! I hope this gives Dick a real chance to show what he can do....

**Mia** · 10-05-2006, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by Forefinger

I may check it out. Jones did me in for Nightwing, but I've always really liked the character. I hope that the rest of Wolfman's run is good.

You need to do so and now! I was a bit skeptical when I heard that MW would be on NW again. I thought that I would be treated to the uber/perfect character as he was written as in 'Titans'. But Marv's take really reminds me of Chuck Dixon's. In that he is a formidable athlete/martial artist/detective. But who does fall on his behind sometimes. Oh and he's still likeable and down to earth. Like a cooler more confident version of Peter 'Spider-man' Parker. I am so happy that Marv has not ignored (the better parts) of what has happened in NW life over the last 10 or so years. I liked it how Dick actually contemplates joining the police department in NY. But nixes it saying he wants to stay away from crime. That is not ignoring continuity and the meaning something has had on a character. My God what a switch for a change!

One thing I really dug is how, in NW inner monologue he says he doesn't want to be like Batman. I never thought he wanted to be so in the first place. I don't know where some readers came up with the notion that Nightwing was 'Batman light'. When he was as far from that as you could get.

Anyway I really am excited about this. Something I haven't been able to say for a long time. Nightwing and Supergirl are definetly keepers and the bright spots in the drab books on the market. Yipee!

**aukevin** · 10-05-2006, 07:31 PM

I haven't read it, but I'm excited too. I've been with Nightwing since the beginning and I'm not gonna give up on him, but man that Bruce Jones stuff just didn't work for me. I hope Wolfman does awesome.

**Merey** · 10-05-2006, 08:07 PM

I really enjoyed this issue. And damn, we've had to endure some schlock to get to this point.

I'm not a big "old school" art fan, but Jurgen's style just seems to fit Nightwing. Also, and on a completely superficial note, I like Nightwing's hair again. I don't mind that it's grown out, but those last few artists made him look like a greasy 1993 grunge king. Ack!

Wolfram, kept it simple, but nonetheless, it was a just a solid start to an arc that, I think, will build up to something satisfying and unexpected.

**ChthonicSpirit** · 10-05-2006, 08:18 PM

I picked this up yesterday.

So. Much. Love.

It was a breath of fresh air, honestly. It contained many of the things that DC has been missing ever since Indefinite Crisis. The hero could think. The villain was interesting. There is a mystery to be pursued. It didn't have to rely on Grim & Grit or any other cliches of writing.

I have high hopes for this title. :D

**The Xenos** · 10-05-2006, 09:51 PM

This is weird. It's.. it's a good straightforward Nightwing comic. It can happen!! Finally!

That opening monolouge was quite nice. You can tell Wolfman gets the character. I know that going without saying knowing who the author is, but if you didn't look at the credits on the cover, that monolouge told you that.

I admit I'm a longtime fanboy of the character. Of course, he's changed. Hell, I used to watch reruns of the 60s TV show as a kid. Still I want to see the character maintained. I don't want to see him killed off because one editor thinks he's pointless in the Batbooks. (Oh and who wants to bet that evil shadowy figuring saying Dick should be dead isn't a monitor, but actually DiDio himself?)

On my door I still have a few things from when I was a kid. One is my name carved in wood. Above that I still have a mock street sign that reads Robin Road. It's got an old pic of Robin from the 80s. I was looking at that the other day and thinking.. wow. I've been admiring that character for all those years. I must have been like 5 or 7 when I got that. Sure, he's a whole lot different from what I knew of him when I first saw him on the old goofy cartoons and 60s TV show. Though when I saw him on the 90s toon and then in the comics, I somehow knew him.

That crap that was in the last few issues? That just wasn't anyone I knew. So it's quite good to see the book back on its feet for me.

Originally Posted by colossus34

The Okay:
-Dick looking for another job. Nothing as bad as a catwalk model, but we've seen this done before. Although, interestingly Dick sees an ad that asks for police recruits, but rejects it because he needs a job to ground him--to take him AWAY from crime fighting.

I acutually liked that. The whole Dick trying to be a cop didn't work out. It was a mistake, even if an interesting one. It made the book too complicated. Well, to be fair to Devin, it would have been very interesting if a ton of other things didn't already complicate the book.

I really think Devin was a good writer for Nightwing, it's just what she tried just wasn't working out and it sounded like stuff outside her control made her rush or change the story for the worse. Ok, Tarantula was just bad, but other than that I don't think the crappiness was too much her fault.

**Mia** · 10-06-2006, 02:20 AM

Dick looking for a job, or trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life and moving into an apartment. Did seem like a minor re-tread of old stories. However you can sort of chalk it up to MW trying to make the book more accessible to new readers.

**aukevin** · 10-06-2006, 06:50 AM

Originally Posted by Mia

Dick looking for a job, or trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life and moving into an apartment. Did seem like a minor re-tread of old stories. However you can sort of chalk it up to MW trying to make the book more accessible to new readers.

I liked Dick's job as a cop mainly because it really irritated Batman. Any hopes for him wanting to do that again?

**Murrocko** · 10-06-2006, 11:59 AM

Great issue. The first comic up in about 4 months. This story looks very prommising. The art is meh. Some panels looks pretty good, but then others look dated. I'm not feeling the whole comb over long hair thing. Just have it pushed back or dropping down at the sides. Alright I'm nit picking, awesome work thus far.

**** out of 5

**Guts/Batman** · 10-06-2006, 02:11 PM

Great issue.

I haven't gotten Nightwing since #120 and was considering dropping the title but this has me for a few more issues at least.

**The Xenos** · 10-07-2006, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by Mia

Dick looking for a job, or trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life and moving into an apartment. Did seem like a minor re-tread of old stories. However you can sort of chalk it up to MW trying to make the book more accessible to new readers.

Well, I think it's also that he's been tossed back to that point in his life.

Originally Posted by aukevin

I liked Dick's job as a cop mainly because it really irritated Batman. Any hopes for him wanting to do that again?

Nope. I think he summed it up nicely when he was looking for jobs and I like the reasoning.