Pirates Don’t Need Full Shirts, Right? — Reviewing ‘Nightwing’ #107

Once upon a time, there was a man named Ric Grayson. This was Dick Grayson with all his memories gone. While the memories are back and Ric is gone, a major part of his life has come back to haunt Dick.

Ain’t superhero life just grand?

Prepare to set sail on the high seas, as Nightwing #107 begins to unravel the mysteries of Grayson’s locked vault in the mysterious place known as The Hold. This swashbuckling tale comes from Tom Taylor, Stephen Byrne, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott. It comes paired with a bonus tale, continuing the story begun last issue from Michael W. Conrad, Serg Acuna, Ivan Plascencia, and Abbott.

Again, I have to give some props to the team for being able to take a character moment that wasn’t really well received and do something fun with it. Ric Grayson is one of those “only in comics” sort of stories (though it happens in soaps and elsewhere, if we’re being fair). Some dug it as a new thread for the character, others hated it for it taking away a beloved character. Often some of the best things in comics are when creators do not shun stories that didn’t hit, but find a way to build off that continuity in some different way.

It’s safe to say that this run, so far, has done that well. Mainly because this is a story that could not be done so soon after Ric was around. We’re now multiple years removed and in the middle of a very well-received run that brought Dick back to greatness. That surely helps, as the perceived “pain” of the whole thing is quite lessened by now.

Taylor manages to weave elements of that run naturally into his own, deepening both. Of course, Dick would do whatever it takes to help someone, even the woman he dumped, because he feels his actions are behind their pain. It’s one of many things that sets Nightwing apart from his father and mentor (though Barbara is right about the former flame’s dark secret connection).

Nightwing is a series with so much visual depth and complexity, but also it wears its emotional foundation on its sleeve. Byrne continues that tradition. Everything from the action to the quieter set pieces feels slick, smooth, and energetic. A tangibility is conveyed through each panel, allowing the world to truly feel alive. Emotional states are inherently clear through facial and body expressions, nothing is hidden from our eyes.

Recently there was one of those big bold issues for this series, which put us in the point of view of Nightwing. It was amazing and really worked to have us seeing through the character’s eyes. One reason it worked, beyond the sheer massive talent of the creative team, is the fact that this series always makes sure we’re on ground level. We might not be seeing things through Grayson’s eyes, but we’re right there next to him pretty much all the time, creating a similar effect.

Blüdhaven is a city built upon darkness, masked by the distracting light. It’s felt within the artwork through the choices that Lucas makes on colors. As a world the space is very neutral, toned down one might say, to create immersion. On the surface, these areas feel just like they would were they real places in our own world. A bit more shadows and darkness linger in order to add to the darker tone of the story but the natural roughness of Bryne’s work.

Setting the overall tone at such a level brings a benefit to the superhero/fantasy elements. All of those are allowed to be their vivid selves, popping even more when placed against the more neutral backdrops.

Just like the rest of the artwork, the letters need to convey so many things in such a precise way. Within this series, and both stories of this issue, that’s what Abbott always brings to the table. He quickly sets the tone, sprinkling emotional power as well as personality in each word, and making sure volume, tone, and intent are always clear. Allowing every bit of dialogue, captions, or SFX room to breathe amongst the rest of the artwork.

Our backup tale continues the story of a mysterious man spying on and trying to have Dick Grayson taken down. After our fun bout with Dick and Cass, along with Stephanie, cooking and being awesome, we get some brotherly moments between Dick and Jason Todd.

Backup stories can fit so many molds. They can be extensions of the overall series story, or they can be entirely separate tales, as well as run the gamut of tones from serious to extremely wacky and fun. Conrad toes the line somewhere, creating one that is its own story which is both fun and wacky, but has some serious tinges. Interplay, and quipping, between the brothers and the whole situation where they fight the gang watching them is beyond solid.

Each of the characters is portrayed so easily, continuing to show just how at home Conrad is within the Gotham/Blüdhaven/Bat side of things.

Banter and joviality fit naturally with the very whimsical and loose style that Acuna brings. Not loose in the sense that there aren’t tons of depth/detail, because there is, but it flows and aims for a more fun feeling than serious. Plasencia’s colors reflect some of the same aspects of Lucas’s colors from the main story. Plenty of very grounding solid tones mixed in with slick popping bold colors which add to the fun of the whole story.

Nightwing #107 is now available from DC Comics.