Nightwing #141

The best read of the week goes to "Nightwing". The combination of writer Peter J. Tomasi's excellent script and Rags Morales outstanding art makes for a very good book. I was never much a fan of Nightwing's monthly series, but Tomasi has peaked my interest. He has taken Dick's character and given him a new location, new job, and a new outlook. Tomasi firmly establishes Nightwing's prominence in the DCU by having cameos by Superman and the Flash. Superman treats Nightwing as pretty much and equal and the Flash harkens back to the character's rich history. I have been very impressed with this book over the last two issues. I'm hooked.

The future looks bright for this title.

Nightwing #140

The first thing that struck me about "Nightwing" #140 is the art. Penciller Rags Morales and inker Michael Bair are top notch talent and really shine in this issue. With bringing on this new team, DC looks ready to push "Nightwing" to a new level in the DCU. Writer Peter Tomasi makes this issue an excellent jumping on point for new readers. He firmly establishes Nightwing in Batman's realm while giving him a distinct/separate agenda. I hope that DC can keep this crew on this title for a long time as Dick Grayson has been a favorite character of mine since the "New Teen Titan" days. Although I was never felt compelled to try the "Nightwing" monthly, the new team has me hooked for the near term.

Nightwing #139

Writer Fabian Nicieza is stuck with cleaning up the mess from part 5 of "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul". We left off with Robin about to join Ra's side to get his deceased family and friends back. This issue picks up the ball with Nightwing confronting Robin. I like Nicieza's characterization of Nightwing here. Even though Robin is acting extremely irrationally Nightwing is sympathetic to this and works as best he can to resolve the situation. Nicieza puts Nightwing in a defensive position through out the combat and you can tell that he is biding time to reason with Robin. Nightwing captures my feelings about this story when he ponders "...we're doing all of this for Damian--?" The art team did an excellent job this issue. Pencillers Don Kramer and Carlos Rodriguez capture the differences between Robin and Nightwing. You realize this is definitely a man fighting a boy.

Towards the end of this issue the story gets back on track and we have all of the Bat Family heading for a collision course in Nanda Parbat with Ra's Al Ghul. At this point I don't care whether Damian or Ra's lives or dies. I just want a satisfying conclusion.

Detective Comics #838

Paul Dini continues where Fabian Nicieza's "Nightwing" left off and does a good job of moving the story forward bringing the principal Batman Family members closer together. Dini has a lot going on in this issue and moves the chess pieces around in a logical manner. We are almost halfway through the story and we have Batman and Ra's in the same room. The art by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford is descent. I like Benjamin's layouts and use of space on the page. He captures action quite well. The only thing I really don't care for is his Batman. He draws him just a little too big and the head is too broad with a couple of shots looking like he was going for a John Byrne style of drawing.

A few nitpicks about continuity. I am far from a continuity freak, but there are two points in this issue that even I noticed. First off was Damian's uniform. From the prelude to "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" through part 2 in "Nightwing", Damian has been wearing a modified version of the Robin uniform. In this issue, artist Benjamin leaves Damina in a white and grey body suit. Another error is is when Ra's knocks Robin out cold with a slap. In the previous part of this story, Ra's karate chopped one of his ninjas and broke his hand. Given that he is decaying in the dead body that he resides in, he shouldn't have been able to do that. Does the fault lie with Dini or Benjamin? I think this is an editorial issue that should have been picked up in proof by either Jeanine Schaefer or Mike Marts who also edited "Robin" #168 and "Nightwing" #138.

I really liked this issue as Dini propelled the plot forward and provide the ultimate choice for Batman on the final splash page. Hopefully the last four parts of the story provide a good payoff and that the editors get it together and maintain continuity on both visuals and story elements across the various titles.

Nightwing #138

Nightwing enters "The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" story as writer Fabian Nicieza does a fine job of presenting a tough and ready lead character. I haven't read Nightwing in years, almost a decade, and only recently read Judd Winick's final run on "Outsiders" where Dick never came off very well. Nicieza gives the reader a confident Nightwing who knows his business. I like the fact that even while facing insurmountable odds we have Nightwing not wanting to kill anyone. He has a strict morale code and follows it. The same can't be said for Damian, the object of Nightwing's protection. Damian comes off as a brat and doesn't really seem worth saving. In the end Nicieza reveals Dick's true intent when he vows to protect Tim. The Ra's Al Ghul story elements are coming along nicely in this issue as the path to Nanda Parbat are beginning to come in line. Don Kramer and Wayne Faucher to a fine job on the art. Of all of the crossover titles, the art here is the best yet.

I read Shelly's review of this issue over at here blog, Shelly's Comics Bookshelf, and she mentioned that even though she liked Nightwing in this issue she wasn't going to be reading the rest of the Batman titles to keep up on this story. Well, DC has got me here. I'm hooked in and will read the entire 7-parter.

Titans East

TEEN TITANS EAST SPECIAL #1
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund
Titans Tower is back up and running on the East Coast as Judd Winnick, Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund assemble an explosive new team of Titans under the leadership of Cyborg! But their first mission may be their last as powerful forces gather to destroy all Titans past and future!
On sale November 14 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Not new news, but something I wanted to chat about. The Teen Titans East Special lineup is shown on the cover. However, Judd Winick stated during a DC Nation panel that "The first team you see is not the last team." The days numbered for the lineup shown here Dove, Powerboy, Anima, Hawk, Cyborg, Vulcan, & Lagoon Boy as the one-shot will lead to a new Titans series which will star Nightwing, Cyborg, Donna Troy, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy. Does the DC culling of heroes continue in this one-shot? Who is going to die? My bet is on Powerboy.

There are a lot of dots to connect to get this team together - Donna Troy is involved in Countdown, Starfire in Countdown to Adventure, and Beast Boy on Doom Patrol. However, Nightwing is available after leaving the Outsiders. I know fans would like to see Jericho back on the team, but he is currently stuck in Match's body with no relief from that situation on the horizon. With lots of dangling plot lines and use of the team members throughout the DC Universe it will be interesting to see how the team is brought back together again.

Although he hasn't been confirmed for the ongoing montly series, there has been a lot of chatting on the net about Winnick's poor handling of Nightwing during his "Outsiders" run. I have just picked up the last ten issues of "Outsiders" and will form my own opinion of that. For a long time Wolfman/Perez "New Teen Titans" fan, I'm excited to see the classic lineup back together. "New Teen Titans" rivaled the popularity of "X-Men" in the 80s and could acheive that again given a strong creative team. Although I love the Wolfman/Perez teaming, I'd like to see some fresh blood take over the team that they created. Perez is doing excellent work on "The Brave and the Bold" and Wolfman is set to start the ongoing "Vigilante" series next year. I'd like to see Mike McKone or Ian Churchill on the ongoing series with a writer that can handle the team dynamic.