Hold Back The Secrets Of The Deep: Reviewing ‘Nightwing’ #106

Welcome back to Blüdhaven. The nightmares are at last over, and Nightwing’s focus is squarely back on his adopted home. Good thing too since the city, and a former persona, have salty secrets for the acrobatic vigilante to discover.

So, batten down the hatches, grab the rum, and hang on tight because Nightwing’s high sea adventures have begun.

Nightwing #106 puts the series back on track after two months off for the nightmarish Knight Terrors event. Tom Taylor, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott are back for another fun adventure and are joined by Stephen Byrne this time around.

Quite a few artists have stepped up to take on issues or arcs in between the ones that regular artist Bruno Redondo handles. Out of all of them, Byrne is probably the most natural to walk alongside Redondo because their styles have a lot of similarities. In fact, they are pretty darn close in how they tackle things.

A very detailed visually dynamic style that exudes kinetic energy out of every panel pore. It comes with a very natural feeling of smoothness that gives the whole thing a bit of a slick feeling, which pairs well with the motion of the work. Byrne’s paneling choices work quite well in how they frame the action but also keep us right in the thick of things. We’re not just a passerby watching from a distance, one can almost feel the punches and other physical movements.

Unlike Redondo, though, Byrne also has a bit of a rough texture touch that pops up at times. It doesn’t take away from the other elements, just sort of gives them a little enhancement. In some of the scenes it just frames the city in the background a bit differently than we’ve seen it before, but that works. Because Blüdhaven is a rougher city hiding behind shininess, and sometimes it shows.

Plenty of bright almost neon colors give the whole experience a different sort of light. Lucas has done the coloring on this series with many artists, and each time there is a familiarity but also a uniqueness. In this case, the color palette choices and usage are close to what he brings on Redondo’s work but with just some slight alterations. A bit more darkness here or there or lighter tones, or a bit of rougher colors to match the rougher texture of the artwork.

Nightwing is a big bright bold in-your-face hero, and it’s great that visually his series matches that. Lucas makes sure this superhero book comes with that bright superhero pop.

It’s been two years since this title launched (holy crap, where has time gone…), paving a whole new status quo for the hero that was a return to form. Getting back to his hero roots and becoming the heart of the DC Universe again, thanks to some choices that Taylor has made along the way.

I found it funny that once again (we saw it back in issue #97) Taylor isn’t afraid to touch on the previous era of the series. A run that, at least according to online comic book fans, wasn’t as fully liked. That would be the shot in the head amnesic era where Dick Grayson was going by the name Ric Grayson instead. Here, Taylor uses that as a way to call back to issue 99’s revelation about a box with Nightwing’s name on it in the mysterious vault known as the Hold.

Taking elements that might not have been popular at the time and finding ways to redeem or recontextualize them is a fun thing to do in comics. Taylor treats it seriously, for the most part, and uses it as a grounding to weave this tale. Which is full of the same usual emotional highs, character development, and fun action and quips as always. This series is just a bundle of joyful fun, even when it’s got serious things like a brutal heart-stealing villain.

Rounding out the team, as usual, is Abbott who takes all the letters that are needed to add more to the overall story and makes them awesome. With every word uttered we can hear the volume and tone, the personality, and the emotions quite loudly. Adding in all the colorful tone setting SFX just kicks things up another notch.

Quite a few pages come with a ton of dialogue, as there is a lot to share, especially with the hiatus & gap between stories, but it never feels like too much. With some little tweaks and twists, Abbott makes sure it not only flows well but never piles up for the reader. It’s a quick read in most cases and engaging, especially when we can feel the character’s voices through the words.

That’s not all this issue has though. Nope, there is a fun little backup story, the first of a three-parter, that pairs up Nightwing and Batgirl Cassandra Cain. It’s a story from former Batgirls writer Michael W. Conrad alongside artist Serg Acuna, with Lucas and Abbott jumping in to do the same great work they did on the main story.

Right away the title, “Breakfast For Dinner,” and the concept behind it had me hooked. I agree with Steph, having breakfast for dinner is the absolute best. Everything about the story is mostly fun as Dick and Cass spar, and then take their session to the kitchen in order to whip up perfect pancakes. There is some creepy guy watching them and reporting to three bikers that call themselves the Three Bears, though we’re not sure what their angle or beef is quite yet.

Conrad of course has the voices down wonderfully, and the tone, because that’s part of what made the Batgirls series such a delight. Throw in Acuna who has a very naturally fun style and it’s party. Emotion is clear as day as the facial work and body language are on point, and even with the serious tone at times, Acuna’s artwork is light and whimsical while also having the right amount of weight to it. Pairing it with Lucas’ colors makes sure things have that grounded but also vibrant feeling.

Nightwing #106 is now available from DC Comics.