The Heart Of The Matter: Reviewing ‘Nightwing’ #118

Heart or Heartless. For three years, the story of Nightwing and of Blüdhaven has centered on these two dueling concepts. As well as the two men who fully embody them.

With Nightwing #118, that duel, as well as this creative team’s time on the title, comes to a climactic end. Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Caio Filipe, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott leap into the light one last time.

To say my feelings about this run are somewhat uneven would probably be an understatement. When all is said and done, though, I would say that my thoughts tend to end up on the more positive side of the spectrum more often than not. Portions of the past three years dragged while others flew high and strong. Some arcs took us off the path too far while others at least offered up heartfelt interesting directions for a character that is so central to the DC Universe on the page.

This arc was the epitome of the issues that benefit and plague the run as a whole. A lot of good ideas kind of shoved into one story that is trying to rush and fit it all in, while not fully doing justice to all that came before. Certain characters, concepts, and spaces that were paramount to the overall beginnings of the story are given little to no time to shine here.

There are some semblances of a feeling of putting some toys back in the toy box, knowing that they are now unlikely to be played with. We’ll find out very soon (far too soon since this issue was very much delayed) whether the new team has any desire to feature Mayor Melinda Grayson-Lin (Nightwing’s new sister), Bitewing/Haley, or any other pieces that were added to the mythos in this long run.

I have a feeling some might feature more than others, and some things here might never be mentioned again. That’s the nature of the beast when creating elements for these ongoing narratives at two of the bigger superhero comic book publishers.

When all is said and done, Heartless as a villain and concept works but also feels completely hollow. A convenient prop to hit home the idea that Dick Grayson/Nightwing is not only all heart, but very much a huge part of the beating heart of the DC Universe. So little time was actually spent with the character that there was nothing memorable enough to boost him above trivia question or “Oh yeah that guy” style rogue’s list position.

As Nightwing said to him in the issue, “No one will remember you. I promise.” Harsh, but accurate.

As usual, this is a truly gorgeous and vast feeling story.

What Redondo and Lucas have done together, and what Lucas achieved with other artists who stepped in, gave Blüdhaven a true life feeling. It set the city apart from just being “Gotham, but not dark.” A unique energy could be felt with this space that they created and really grew over the past few years.

Tons of very emotive energy was felt in everything that Redondo drew. Whether the overall story beat happened to hit or not, we felt it on the page.

Even the most mundane or regular moments feel epic under Redondo’s stewardship. Saying so much, without having to say a thing in most cases.  We’ve seen what Redondo can do in a few very special issues that broke most usual ‘barriers’ with comics, but even the more standard issues really find a way to break the mold. His pacing/framing is beyond solid, keeping the viewer in the thick of things while also creating a true sense of depth and movement at all times.

While Filipe wasn’t here the whole run, the inks that were added to Redondo’s work were quite smooth. Inking is one of those things that fits in a nebulous space when it comes to being noticed. If it’s not noticed, that’s potentially a “good” thing as it meshes with the pencils very well. On the other hand it can be noticed, which would be either “good” or “bad” depending on what that noticeability does to one’s feeling about the rest of the artwork.

In this case, Filipe blends the inks so well with what Redondo does. Putting art from this issue alongside past issues, there likely would be a slight noticeable difference, but taken on a case by case basis it works so well because it just boosts the artwork in the exact right ways.

When it comes to the colors, it’s not just the lightness or vibrancy that Lucas brings. It’s the really uniqueness that speaks to the moment, and the variety of lighting effects in the world. Take the first few pages as perfect examples.

On the page with Heartless, the glow of his glowing heart overwhelms the space, bringing that sinister bloody red tinge to everything. Like a filter of blood just pouring over things but in a opaque sort of way. Following that are pages where the Bat-family checks in about their hunt for the kids the villain has locked away.

The Batgirls are on the rooftop where bright sun shines down on them. Batman is shadowed, as usual, with heavier reds and blacks on display. Then there is the two Robins, somewhat in shadows but being hit by more orange dusky like colors. While Nightwing is inside his home where things are blue and very cool, speaking to his overall personality and space in the family.

Truly it’s amazing how much that can be conveyed about a situation, characters, or a moment with just subtle or not so subtle shifts in the color palette. Truth be told, reviewing this run, amongst other things, has been a huge part of my evolution as a comic book reader. Where I’ve been able to really find a greater knowledge and appreciation for the artistic side of this beautiful storytelling medium.

Lettering is among those visuals that I’ve come to really appreciate and understand far more over the past few years. Watching as Abbott has been able to take Taylor’s particular style of dialogue writing, and weave magic with it. Shifting things here or there to bring greater resonance to any given set of words. Allowing the personalities and unique tones of characters stand very clear on the page, and echoing in our heads as we play out those conversations in our brain.

So here we stand, three years and 44 issues (three annuals) later, at the end of this particular road. A fork in the road leads to what is next, but for what came here there is a nice resting space. Where it can be looked at and remembered, mulled over for years to come.

What this team did best was bring the character back to his prominent spot in the DC Comics roster. Giving him, his city, and his supporting cast big bold loud life that could not be ignored. Centered the Titans in a new space, giving them their own fictional city to call home (for the time being). There was a tremendous one-panel comic experiment, a Nightwing POV comics, a handful of retcons, some pirate stuff, demons and imps, and a whole lot of dug up DC Comics references.

As we sit at this rest stop, everyone’s mileage will vary when it comes to how this road was traveled and how it will be received. From my perspective, for as many lows or flaws that pop up here the highs outweigh them to at least leave us in a far better spot than we had been. I mean, Ric Grayson was a pretty low low spot to be (and this run even found a way to do that better).

Leap into the light Grayson, and see what comes next. Thanks to this run, the skies are bright once more.

Nightwing #118 is now available from DC Comics.