Nightwing, Vol. 1: Better than Batman

This plot has a lot of potential to be something that could be really interesting but kinda falls all over itself. I'll give it a 2 star for story plus a star for the artwork. I thought the plot felt similar to hush in the since that a man from his past is stalking him for YEARS (and somehow batdad never picked up on it? I find that hard to believe knowing nothing about his Raptor past or abilities..I don't believe for a second he is better than Batman) Anyway, Nightwing is still a charming cutie but I doesn't shine through a lot of the time. He just kinda feel like an idiot in this one being trained by Batman I expect him not to instantly feel trusting of a bounty hunter type character and not to get beaten every time he tries to fight. He is still easily his own character but I'm tired of these tricks he obviously shouldn't be falling for. Raptor could have been a really good frienemy type character, Like a character that is just as charming and cocky as he is but plays by his own rules. A reoccurring character that Nightwing could have been conflicted about bringing to justice or Having deeper discussions of what justice is about. Maybe still make him a from the circus but from a rival troupe...how fun would that be? I feel they missed a good opportunity.

So, the plot was kinda meh...while trying the slowly get the pieces together I had a lot of time to think about the characters. The things I really like about Nightwing was him being a safety net for others (I've read this a few times myself because there's fan of Nightwing online that have talked about this) and the fact that Batman jumped and not fell to escape because he knew Dick would catch him. <3 ~Ashley

Listen, is it subtle? No. Is this version of Dick Grayson presented as a complex individual? No, he's basically a platonic ideal of Good and Just and everyone loves him. But does it feature an adorable doggo that Tim Drake (my beloved) refers to as Bitewing? YES!


also lol @ Babs and her A+ shirt

But at any rate, I often find that I enjoy superhero comics the most when it's just a Good Person wanting the world to be a Better Place. Realistic, flawed people facing the evils of the world can make for an incredible story, but sometimes it's refreshing to read about an idealistic person doing nice things. Art-wise, the vibrant colors and energetic panel layouts complement the story and it's really easy on the eyes. Much like the titular character, amirite?? DC really loves its buff, blue-eyed, dark-haired pretty boys.

Overall, this isn't something I would normally pick up but I'm glad that the PopSugar Reading Challenge prompted me to read something with “leap” in the title, because this was delightful and I wouldn't mind continuing the series. 3.5 Bat-family groupchats out of 5, rounded up for Bitewing Haley.

This is the best Nightwing story I've read in years! Heard a lot about how great this run has been by Tom Taylor so I finally got around to picking it up.

The story is small enough and I love that he's back in Bludhaven. The new villain is interesting and the art is great.

My issue is the sister they introduced. Stuff like that is always weak. No reason to always change up character histories.

Oh 90s comic book art. Overly detailed and sexualized. You'll know a comic is from the 90s once you see it.

I've heard that Nightwing was supposed to be a superior hero to Batman. After reading this, I still don't see it. I'm willing to attribute the lackluster quality to its age however as it falls into many familiar tropes that I'm tired of seeing, but made worse by trying to make this seem like the most cool and dangerous thing as the 90s loves to exemplify.

However, I am interested in seeing more of the setting. There are many things that in concept could work really well, just here were not executed as well as it should have been. It goes out of its way to distinguish itself from the Batman mythos by only having small appearances from Drake (Robin III) and Wayne as an integral part of the story without overstaying their welcome. If I do have to commend this for something, I appreciate it trying to be its own thing without resorting to needless fanservice. Maybe it improves later on - but I'm not interested in continuing this series specifically. Perhaps I will become a Nightwing fan later on in my life.

I now understand why everyone adores Dick Grayson, yes I realize that makes me slow to be uptake. But I disliked the Spy 37 arch so much I ended up disliking him but Nightwing? More please!

Kyle's take on the original boy wonder takes you back to the loud mouthed Robin and the fun he bought to the Batman comics. The POV is very good and the plot pretty decent. And that it links up with the court of owls storyline is also nice. But it borders on repetition making it a tad of a drag but there is not too much I would change. Nice