Writer: Tom Taylor / Artist: Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas / DC Comics
Tom Taylor has the perfect formula for writing Nightwing: Heart, heat, and hands. He and the rest of the creative team find the perfect balance of this H-Factor every month and deliver what is my current favorite mainstream comic.
Heart
Nightwing #80 follows Nightwing as he tries to find and look after Elliot, the son of a man Dick got a hotel for in the last issue, only for him to wind up dead by the hands of Blüdhaven’s newest serial killer Heartless.
Taylor is such a damn good writer. Because yes, the plot needs to have Dick go after Heartless, and that puts him in the path of this kid Elliot, but Taylor does such a wonderful job conveying just how much Dick truly cares. It jumps off the page.
Heat
In addition to the warmth we get from Dick being Blüdhaven’s resident Nice Guy™, this man also drops some top-level superhero bars on his punching bags.
Nightwing is definitely up there with Spider-Man with the top-level quips, but the way they’re used in this book really helps to add some levity to a story that would otherwise be hella dark.
In a pivotal moment in Nightwing #80, Nightwing bounces his escrima stick off of a goons head and simply asks the question “Is this where you want to be in life?” Such a simple line, but it was responsible for a knee-slapping laugh from me. Bars. That’s all I can say.
Hands
What’s a Nightwing book without throwing hands? My guy has some of the best in the game. The action scenes in this book are really just the cherry on top of what’s already a fantastic story. Redondo is throwing hands too, in a different way, by making these fighting scenes and surrounding scenery so vibrant with purpose and life. I never thought I would describe goons getting their ass beat as beautiful, but here we are.
Nightwing’s gonna have to take a double dose of the H-Factor for his meeting with Heartless next issue. We still know so little about him, other than, you know, he takes people’s hearts. Can’t wait to see how Nightwing handles this dude. Check back for next month’s review where I have an over 60% chance of referencing Kanye West’s song “Heartless.”
10 Chain Wallets out of 10
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