Looking for Nightwing reading recommendations/ story arcs
Dick Grayson has had a long a varied history. Are you only interested in the character as Nightwing? I actually think a lot of the stuff branded in his own Nightwing title have not been some of the better stories with him in it. I enjoyed the Peter J. Tomasi run. Not really loving the New 52 or Rebirth run. I did like the Grayson run by Tom King when he’s Agent 37. All of the Grant Morrison stuff when he’s Batman. I enjoyed his time with the Teen Titans, New Teen Titans, Outsiders, and Titans runs. There are also some good Robin stories out there like Robin Year One.
It is a tall order to recommend some story arcs. Dick Grayson/Nightwing has such a rich history. If you love the character you eventually will want to read everything.
There 4 simple one shots to read that will give you a great sense of the character’s history within the DC universe. These are just fun short reads.
The New Teen Titans (vol 1) 38 - Dick Grayson uses his detective skills to reveal Donna Troy past.
Nightwing (vol 1) #25 - The Boys Just Nightwing and Robin shooting the breeze on top of moving trains.
Nightwing (vol 1) #52 - Nightwing and Selina (Catwoman) goodness.
Flash + Nightwing 1 - This was a one shot special.
Throw in Action Comics 771 for good measure! Superman is the origin for his name.
If you want to start delving into the history, I recommend you start reading:
Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying - Technically this is where Tim Drake gets introduced as Robin but Dick plays a great role in this story.
These are the issues:
Batman #440 – Part One: Suspects
New Titans #60 – Part Two: Roots
Batman #441 Part Three: Parallel Lines
New Titans #61 – Part Four: Going Home
Batman #442 – Part Five: Rebirth
Robin Year one to understand the Two Face issue.
From there you don’t have to go the Gotham / Batman route. You can split the road and start with New Teen Titans or just dive into Nightwing by Chuck Dixon. When I first started reading the character, I started with Dixon run which is vol 1. I would highly recommend getting Grayson too as that is a great series. But I would not recommend starting there at all. You can work you way up there.