This is a comic I don’t think aged well. To 20-somethings just diving into DC comics, it’s almost cringe-worthy. It’s not bad in the least, but it’s very much of its time. The clothes, the rat tail, the sense of masculinity that prompted a beefier Dick… in terms of art, it wasn’t my style. What really got me was how drastically different this artist’s depiction of Dick is – extremely muscular, thick, hairy. Compare that to current Rebirth run? Looks like two different people. I personally don’t like the former just because it doesn’t make sense to me – Dick is an acrobat and gymnast first, so he wouldn’t be building muscles to bulk up. And then the HAIR… style aside, this was a case of how much it didn’t make sense. Dick’s thick shoulder length locks to Nightwing’s 3+ foot long thin rat tail? Not how this works.
I didn’t mind the story, though I wouldn’t say it’s a favourite. Still, it’s fun to see the start of him branching off on his own in Bludhaven and all the contrasts that he points out and is shown to use through the story between it and Gotham, how both Dick and the reader want to fall into that false sense of security with the same pattern of Gotham, when that’s not how things work in Bludhaven. I especially liked when Robin came to visit!
whew… I forgot that Dick had long hair at one point, and I like the way Dixon took care of it, so that was a plus. The rest of these books were just okay to me. The art was not my favorite, and between that and the color, it took some long looks to figure out what was going on in a few panels. I feel like this is one of those books that doesn’t stand the test of time, and is quite dated. Going back and reading something like New Teen Titans by Wolfman and Perez has an 80’s feel, but doesn’t seem as dated as something like this. Definitely would not recommend this for someone just getting into comics.
#6 completed…Matt was saying to start giving feedback and summary thoughts starting tomorrow and all weekend, so just a reaction in general to seeing any mortal heroes like Nightwing jump into a hail of bullets…after the reality of what happened in Vegas a year ago, and the current crisis in Chicago, it makes no sense and stretches the rules of that make-believe fictional world to the breaking point seeing Nightwing do that. No amount of acrobatic skill can wiggle through several machine guns blazing.
@Don-el@MattMcDonald, yeah, but to its credit, that is what escapism is all about. We read these things to be entertained, maybe even to be inspired. That gives us a world, where someone could stop these kinds of people. We all wish we could have seen a Nightwing dodging bullets to climb to the floor that the shooter in Las Vegas was on, to take him out and save the day.
Just finished 1-6, been years since I read it. Cool to see how Dick settles in and establishes himself, and so cool to see him and Tim on patrol together…
Okay I’m back. What did everyone think of this weeks book? I mostly liked it! As others have said the art caught me off guard but it grew on me. What didn’t grow on me was the Dick/Clancy interactions. They came across as super weird and creepy.
I thought it was kinda slow. I thought people were exaggerating about the art, but it was kinda toony. One thing I really didn’t like was the hair. Not the hair as Nightwing, but as Dick. It was Elvis status. The part I did enjoy was Dick dealing with average struggles and not getting sleep. He really didn’t want help from Bruce. The Clancy thing made me laugh honestly. It was one of the few things that kept me interested. I would love to meet an asian with an Irish accent haha. I have to say though… I was curious of what happened next so I kept going. Just finished #10 and it was the first issue that had my jaw on the floor. Not to spoil anything but the inspector hires Scarecrow to deal with Dick and the entire issue is an acid trip. I would keep reading gals and gents
Ugh the hair. I hated it as Nightwing and Dick Grayson. But you’ve piqued my interest looks like I’m going to keep reading. At least until issue 12. Anybody else gonna keep reading?
Yeah I had a feeling that the way they went #1-12 , then skipped to #101 as Nightwing Year One , they had to be putting a complete story or else why not just put #1-8 like wiki lists it as.
Everyone has been saying 3 issues of an arc is cruel, it is. To leave issues unread of a complete story that we have access to with this service, now that’s just a shame.
I’m just now starting issue #12 and it’s obvious this is where the loose ends are tied
Alright I’ll start some observations beyond what I’ve already said; hard to say why the artwork was so plain; some of it was the coloring, all that yellow constantly, oh boy
I think if it would have been colored different we might have enjoyed it a little more The inking wasn’t varied or subtle, maybe that was why Scott McDonald didn’t look quite so good on this.
Story-wise, Chuck Dixon isn’t exactly known for his deep character studies, he’s more of an action and plot guy, which is fine. I didn’t really find this series to be a compelling story or an intriguing mystery though. The constant cliches also made this a hard read for me. The whole gag with the gang members the first 3 issues was cartoonish, almost like a meme, every time the gang members appear they all just start firing machine guns, which was a little little silly and sadly predictable. None of the villains had depth, there was no subtlety in their portrayal. The female assassin just slaying everyone, Blockbuster just always raging on and the whole gang’s constant machine guns blazing… through the whole story there wasn’t any villain that you could sympathize a little with or maybe understand at least a little their motivations.
So for me the fun of reading this besides the community and you know enjoying this book club was discovering that the Auto Play on the PC or Roku could take even a bland literary meal like this and make it at least somewhat entertaining. I was able to sit back with the panels continously changing, adjust the speed of panel transition, and even though I wasn’t thrilled to death it was entertaining. I really love this new technology that no other digital platform has!!!
I just don’t get Nightwing’s costume, no utility belt, no protection from bullets, just basically wearing an acrobat’s suit. I’ll check the later series to see if maybe he actually starts carrying a little thread or something, maybe a set of goggles I don’t know.
