Written by Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell
Illustrated by Garry Brown and Will Conrad
Published by DC Comics
The issue opens with a new Nightwing, Zak, talking to his sister about the trials and tribulations of being a superhero. He is also dressed up kind of like Nightwing here and talking about his bipolar disorders. He is talking to his sister who is also dressed up like Nightwing.
Just what the holy hell is going on here?
After a brutal couple of issues, it seems as though co-writers Nicieza and Lobdell have found their footing. This opening is pretty damn good and I was interested in seeing where the writers were going to take us. I wasn’t disappointed with the path that they chose.
So after that, we see Dick going through physical therapy. The art by Garry Brown is particularly wrenching in this scene. From there we get to see the “Nightwing Squad” in action. They fight and try to stop crime and aren’t as good as Dick with it.
The storytelling gets a little confusing at this point which hampers the issue. That’s a shame because the premise was a strong one.
Part of the problem is that Conrad and Brown couldn’t be more different as artists and they don’t mesh well together. There are some merits though. The scenes of Dick’s therapy are great and engaging and lead to a decent and intriguing cliffhanger. And the Nightwing Squad is a cool concept. It just needs a clearer presentation.
But this is a bit better of a comic than it has been. They can certainly bring it home and clear up the flaws a bit in upcoming issues. It can be a great book. Hopefully it becomes that again. The potential is certainly there.
RATING: B-
