This Is The Story Of A Boy: Reviewing ‘Nightwing’ #111

Once upon a time, there was a boy who witnessed the murder of his parents and grew into a bat. Eventually another boy went through the same, but he turned out different. It’s happened again.

A cycle continues in Nightwing #111 as a case hits a bit too close to home on numerous fronts. The main story comes from Tom Taylor, Sami Basri, Vicente Cifuentes, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott with a backup from Michael W. Conrad, Francesco Francavilla, and Abbott.

Welcome to the Batman story guest-starring Nightwing. Okay, that might be a little harsh sounding but it’s not wrong. This is Nightwing’s title, and the character is there and takes a forefront position, but the overall narrative and guide is Batman.

One would be forgiven if they thought there was a recent Gotham War where Batman did repugnant things that drove a wedge between him and all of his children. Especially since almost no book since then has reflected that, chiefly this one and the recent Titans/Titans: Beast World books. Look, I wasn’t a fan of what happened with Batman there but it sure is wild to see how much he’s still just paling around with his kids as if nothing happened.

A much softer and more personable Batman, not just with Dick, than we usually get in other Bat stuff recently. Which is also a tiny bit jarring.

If Taylor moves on to write a Batman book after his run on Nightwing ends this summer, I would not be shocked. The caped crusader has prominently appeared in quite a few of his works lately. It works here for the overall story, but it does somewhat take away from Nightwing just a bit. Batman is just such a massive presence at this point in DC things that he steals the focus and air away from everything.

All pokes aside, this is a fine issue. A bit of a retread with more references to Dick and Bruce’s shared origins and the aftermath of their coming together. All these flashbacks featuring Alfred and all his recent mentions make me wonder when they’ll finally pull the resurrection trigger. Can’t imagine he’s a character and presence that DC will keep off the table that much longer. Especially since they keep heavily using him.

Basri and Cifuentes remain on the title with this issue, their style is a bit heavy but also lighter overall. Plenty of depth and details, emotions are clear as day, and the characters feel very energetic and life-like. Motion is fluid and it all is paneled in a way that keeps us at ground level, making the interactions far more personal. An overall sort of smooth slickness is very apparent within Basri’s work, sort of perfect for superhero fare.

Essentially this is a murder mystery but more of a character study, so the lighter touch works.

Lucas’s colors are key to this run, no matter who is drawing each issue. Like a chameleon, they take on tones and shades to blend in with their artistic environment. A bit of that aforementioned slickness is tangible in the colors, whereas, with some other artists, they felt rougher. Vibrant pops are all over the place, mixed in delicately with an overall color palette that is more natural. Toned down to a level where the spaces feel authentic.

Taylor has a very noticeable style to what he writes, and Abbott always makes those words sing a bit more on the page. Making even the heaviest of dialogue feel lighter on the page, emphasizing the right moments to get the point across. Voices hit hard, little visual flairs allowing things to change tones or volumes in the blink of an eye.

Things get a bit old school and different with the backup piece of this issue.

The Grayson family of old is the focus of this piece, where Conrad focuses on religious historical beats of the past. A story of vengeance told through narrative captions from a Joker-esque religious figure who kills the merchant Gray, facing the wrath of his son. Truly, I’m not at all sure what to make of it, being the first of two parts.

I would guess it somehow ties into what is happening in the overall book before things are over. Maybe not though. Perhaps it’s just a fun heavy historical beat. We shall see.

Either way, it’s got the right murky dark heavy vibes because Francavilla is behind it artistically. Anything this artist touches inherently hits all the horror vibes, colors swirling with dark shadows making things even denser. The talk of devils and dark acts resonate with what is on the page. Rough, murky, but so compelling. Put Francavilla on something artistically and I’m for sure there.

Nightwing #111 is now available from DC Comics.