Dick Grayson proposed to Barbara Gordon (Nightwing and Oracle) (and in earlier days Robin and Batgirl) during the Infinite Crisis brouhaha, and there was no mention of the results OYL (one year later), although we do find Nightwing very single. When asked at conventions when this would be addressed, they pointed to this comic.
Does the comic answer the question? And is the answer satisfying.
Onto the review:
Creative Team
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Penciler: Joe Bennet
Inker: Jack Johnson
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis:
Fair warning: I’m not spoiling this one. Marc Andreyko connects the dots, through this couples backstory, to reach a logical conclusion. The book starts out with Dick proposing to Barbara one year ago. The next page shows a scene from Infinite Crisis where Alex Luthor blasts Nightwing to within an inch of his life. Barbara rehabs Dick, and there are multiple flashbacks that tell the story of their relationship. The comic ends with the issue resolved.
Comments:
The Good: This comics is well crafted on an emotional level. Andreyko gets these characters well enough that if you told me that Chuck Dixon or Marv Wolfman or Gail Simone wrote this comic, I’d have believed you. And the ending builds to a satisfying emotional place that fits with all of the story elements we’ve seen as of late, but should please any long time readers.
The cover alone is beautiful, telling so much about the good old days and reminding the reader that these two do go back along ways. Bennett and Jadson do excellent work (as does the rest of the creative group here) illustrating the emotion as well as the action.
The Bad: Nothing to truly complain about here. Any complaints are nitpicking to justify the ratings I gave above. The only downside to the comic is that its answering a unanswered question in the main title. If you aren’t interested in the answer, this book is not for you.
Overall: Just what the doctor ordered. Fan favorite characters, and a story that gets to develop them. Keep an eye on the creative team here, they are all doing solid work wherever they are placed.
1 thought on “Comic Book Review: Nightwing Annual #2”
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Definitely an excellent read. Satisfying explanation/pseudo-conclusion which hopefully will be revisited in the next two or three years.
Andreyko continues to turn in solid, character-driven work, by letting them speak for themselves, and not forcing them into awkward situations just for the hell of it.
He and Dan Slott are two grossly underrated writers, who are deserving of a lot more time in the spotlight. I’m almost positive if Manhunter hadn’t been saved again, he would have been one of the first choices to replace Gail Simone on Birds of Prey.
If and when Marv steps down from Nightwing, I hope Marc decides to pitch for the title. He seems to know the DCU exceptionally well, and deserves to get a shot at a more high-profile book, which will hopefully lead more readers to Manhunter.
In closing, this is what they should have done with all of the One Year Later loose threads they had. Give each story its own room to breathe, and you’d be surprised how well it turns out. Thank goodness they didn’t try to jam this into one of those WW3 specials. The loose threads ‘addressed’ there were just buried.
Thumbs up on this annual. Here’s hoping for a sell-out.