Writer: Kyle Higgins
Pencils: Brett Booth
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
With all the doom and gloom surrounding the Batbooks the past few months, I have to say Nightwing 19 was like a huge breath of fresh air. It has Dick Grayson in a new city, with a new mission (and also ‘new’ costume?) and a chance to start over. One of the things that had me grinning through the entire issue was some of Grayson’s humorous one-liners, something that I think has been missing recently wherever the character shows up. Even the minor characters introduced kept me interested, especially the character of Lisa/Mali. However, her effectiveness as a ‘mimic’ seems a bit lost since we can’t actually hear her speak. But hopefully both she and Johnny Spade make appearances in the future.
Even if I didn’t like what Higgins was setting up with the storyline, Booth’s art would have sold the issue for me regardless. The cover and first four pages in themselves were spectacular, so credit to the entire art team for the eye candy they created. And the style went perfectly with the bar fight/helicopter scenes. While I’m pretty indifferent to the modifications made to the Nightwing uniform in the New52, I found Dalhouse’s coloring of it fantastic. And man, does Grayson’s hair look great throughout.
I was just a little disappointed that there wasn’t more to do with the Prankster in this issue, given he was on the ‘WTF’-side of the gatefold cover and mentioned throughout the issue. But that’s just a minor thing, really. It is the beginning of a whole new arc, after all. I think I might just be being a little picky.
Overall, Nightwing 19 is something I think Bat-fans have needed for a while, not to mention a really great jumping on point for the series.
4.5 out of 5 nerds
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