Nightwing 1: Leaping into the Light

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Messy cliffhangers are resolved immediately, themes are often easier to follow, and pacing issues can be largely invisible when you have six issues of content to burn through in one sitting. Graphic Novels Batgirl (comic) Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth (comic) Batman (comic) Batman ’66 (comic) Batman ’66 Meets the Man From U. Plus without spoiling them, those few moments where Batman actually shows up are terrific and speak to the strain on the love between them. I've often said that Nightwing should be used to tell Batman stories that probably wouldn't work with today's version of Batman and this feels like it's going in that direction. He truly understands these characters and he places them in situations that pulls on your heartstrings.

I overall just really loved this volume, and this series is by far my favorite book on the shelf as of right now! I don’t usually touch on editors in my reviews, but in this volume Jessica Chen’s input and notes were noticeable from the outset, something which I thought was great to see and very helpful for new and old readers alike. I think this approach often creates problems, which is why he has Dick mention his aspirations to do more than just punch people.He, too, doesn’t have much to do in this first volume, and this is really the only true problem I have with the arc.

With all this new found money Dick is now a billionaire, and wants to make a difference in Bludhaven. Tom Taylor is getting to be synonomous with good quality, and his Nightwing run is yet another shining example of why.

Dick is such a great guy and Tom Taylor, with the help of the fantastic art by Bruno Redondo, manages to make Dick's warmth personality jump out of the page. Since Taylor gives him a problem that can’t be solved by punches, this allows the series to reset itself and reflect on what type of hero Dick can and should be. It’s a soft reboot at its core, throwing Dick into a new situation and given a problem he can’t solve via his usual methods. To be fair, I like the on again/off again Barbara Gordon-Dick Grayson struggle through friendship/romance, though it apparently has been going on for a long time. Anyway, Bruno's Nightwing looks like an acrobat rather than a body builder and the rest of his figures look right to me.

The man's got his heart in the right place and his sense of humor is pretty great but if he wants to make a point or a political statement, he makes it so the back rows can see it.

When it comes to Robin, Batman’s sidekick, Dick Grayson is the first and most iconic to take on the mantle, even though he hasn’t been the Boy Wonder for a long time. Who knew that the recently departed Alfred invested his salary and pretty well so he died a billionaire and gave it all to Dick. But protecting Blüdhaven is no small task, especially now that it's being menaced by Nightwing's most terrifying foe yet-a mysterious and murderous villain with a penchant for stealing his victim's hearts, known only as Heartless.