90' Nightwing Comic Run

So I’ve been sick all week and binge read almost all 157 of the 1996- nightwing comics. I finished it the other day and now im towards the ending of his grayson series. I know that its all opinion, but i feel as if the 90’s comics were SO much better. His own city, challenges of striking out on his own, his relationship with babs, the relationship he had in the community. His exboss Amy, his exlandlord Clancy, his neighbors john and aaron, and more. But they just threw all that away? And they erase the whole bluidhaven era? I don’t like it. In 157 Dick has had one girlfriend. Babs. But in the 40 issues ive read of the new 52 and grayson his had like 3 and no babs. I hate seeing characters like blockbuster in the new 52 or grayson because he was so important in the 90s.

Does anybody feel the same? Or disagree?

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I get it. However, I did think Nightwing #1-34 is a great run which has a return of everything BUT Babs.

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What do you mean nightwing 1-34?

The 90’s is extremely underrated. Into the late 90’s the writing gets pretty rough because all the publishers really start fighting for top talent. The early and mid 90’s are quite fantastic at DC.

Meh. I may be biased, but I felt like it was a step down for him after the glory days of the New Teen Titans. It felt like, after years of being developed independently, he was now just being turned into Batman-lite. I also didn’t go for their attempt at pushing him and Oracle as a couple, and I really didn’t care for how many character-damaging retcons the series came up with to make them always have been a thing, especially since it undermined his relationship with Starfire. Then there was the whole thing where he was raped by Tarantula, and it wasn’t a big deal.

I haven’t read it yet but I’m planning to read it along with the rest of Bat-titles of the 90s. I know that Chuch Dixon started it (and I love his 90s comics) then Devin Grayson (love her Titans) took over and Peter Tomasi (love his B&R, DC, GLC) ended it. There were some others but those 3 names, for me, are definitely enough to read the whole series. But my question is: Who’s your favourite Nightwing writer from this volume and why? And do you think that the volume has any huge quality differences between the writers or is it solid all the way?

@GhostRiley3690.83821 I think @Nathan.Payson meant Tim Seeley’s run from Rebirth before Sam Humphries took over. The issues match.

Dixon’s run is one of my favorite books (in general, I really like the Zero Hour-to-Infinite Crisis stretch of DC continuity). Grayson’s… does not live up to her Titans. Like, at all. She basically just wrecks everything Dixon did and causes the whole Tarantula debacle. Tomasi’s run is pretty fun, but feels a lot more like you’re reading a peripheral bat-book instead of the independent hero the original run set him up as.

One thing I like is that while Batman has this whole infrastructure and support network and even his villains are familiar and somewhat routine, Nightwing had to operate pretty much solo (other than the occasional question for Oracle and brief guest appearances by Batman or Robin) and build that support network from the ground up while dealing with enemies he knew nothing about. And I think Devin Grayson’s idea of breaking that support network back down again wasn’t a terrible one in a vacuum, but the status quo never really had a chance to breathe in between the two runs, and so it just felt like ruining all the progress the series had made until Infinite Crisis rubbed salt in the wound by nuking Bludhaven for no reason.

And while Dick and Babs required some awkward retcons, I think it worked. Maybe it’s because I’ve always found Starfire excruciatingly bland, but, well, I’ve always found Starfire excruciatingly bland, so I don’t consider the loss of that relationship that damaging. Dick and Babs did have more shared history and personality, so putting them together sort of fit with how they’d matured into their new roles.

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I maintain that Chuck Dixon is the father of the Bat Family. He’s perhaps the most prolific (in terms of issues written) and Nightwing, Robin, Birds of Prey and Catwoman we’re all born in his era largely through his writing. Also, most of his comics are quality reads.

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@BatWatch I was reading events from Knightfall to Cataclysm in trades (now I’m gonna read everything from that period in near future). Chuck Dixon is, without a doubt the best Batman/Batfamily writer I have ever read. I enjoyed Morrison’s run, Tynion’s DC Rebirth, Tomasi’s Batman and Robin (that one I loved the most) and, to some extent, Snyder’s N52 run. But when I came back to the 90s I saw that what most of the recent runs are lacking (Tynion’s DC and Tomasi’s B&R are exceptions) is that Batman should not be alone. That the strength of the character is that he inspires others and cooperates with them. That making him an edgy teenager who wants to be left alone is just getting boring. I’d say that Dixon and Tomasi are very similar in their writing style. Very edgy with dark ideas for stories and aesthetic on the outside but with an emotional core and character development a lot of superhero comics lack on the inside. Looking forward to reading all of his Batman-related stuff.

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  I feel like calling the retcons used to force Dick and Babs to have a heretofore unseen romantic history after years of being with other people awkward is a bit of an understatement.  Dick became a philandering cad, Babs acted like a jealous witch, and Kory keeps being turned into a slut, then shamed for it.  To each his own, I suppose, but I can't personally understand how someone could call Starfire bland, at least when she isn't being trashed in order to push the idea that Dick and Babs have always been in love with each other.  Keep in mind that, when the retcons started coming, Dick and Babs hadn't been depicted interacting with each other in many years.  She was also originally around seven or eight years older than him, so some of these retcons portray them flirting at somewhat questionable points in their comparative development.  On top of all that, she  had her own romantic interest (Jason Bard), so they turned Babs into a philandering cad, too.                                                                                                                       
 Remember when Dick and Babs slept together, then he gave her an invitation to his and Kory's wedding the morning after?  It was the first time they'd seen each other since The Killing Joke.                                                                                                                                                          
 Differing tastes in pairings aside, I just feel like Dick Grayson was really developed as a leader.  Trying to force him back into a Bat-mold and be a loner felt like a big step in a completely different direction.

Dixon’s run was excellent through about # 50. It started to trail off near the end, in part due to some wonky art.

Grayson’s run started ok but veered off into creepy fanfic territory. The basic idea of doing Born Again with Nightwing was sound but the execution was lacking.

Tomasi’s run was, uh, a series of professional comic books. As far as I know each issue was stapled correctly. No one got raped, which was nice. Beyond that, entirely forgettable.

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The 90’s run is my favorite comic run out of all the ones that I have read.

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