Beware The Streets Paved With Blood — Reviewing ‘Nightwing’ #137

Blüdhaven is a city built upon the backs of pain, suffering, death and dark secrets that have been long buried. As the new Mayor razes the old to bring forth the new, what was meant to stay in the past is coming to the present in deadly ways.

Further fallout comes from the streets of the city as Dan Watters, Denys Cowan, Norm Rapmund, Francesco Segala, and Wes Abbott uncover more Blüdhaven lore with Nightwing #137.

-Spoilers Follow-

Tonal shift is a major part of telling sustained stories, especially in the same sandbox. Keeping to the same formula eternally works for select projects but overall, the landscape of reality is built on change. The change that has befallen this series is a tremendously well-conceived one.

Right away the darker harder tone is clear within the work that Cowan, Rapmund, and Segala are pulling off together.

This isn’t about Nightwing being the acrobat or the heart of the DC Universe. This is a story about the hard choices connected to this dark city that the hero calls home. These are stories and losses that he cannot just combat with some moves and strikes with his escrima sticks.

A harsh jagged texture permeates Cowan’s work, helping make the moments cut deeper. This builds a foundation of depth and scope that cannot be denied, but in a way that really brings home how broken Blüdhaven truly has become.  With the new Mayor tearing things down, the flashy lights that once masked the dark heart of the city are gone. In their place is a reminder of how unforgiving this space can be to everyone in the proverbial trenches.

Inks bring an even heavier edge to it all as Rapmund brings more impact, allowing certain areas to really lean into the shadow and back drop. All of which is really toned down in an almost washed-out way by Segala, who pulls back all the color, leaving very little bright or vibrant found anywhere. Again, this isn’t that sort of story.

Even Batman and Nightwing’s costumes are brought down some. Light in the city is missing, and the vigilantes are feeling the weight, especially Nightwing, who is still dealing with the pileup on the superhighway that he was the only one able to walk away from.

As noted, Nightwing is not his usual self. Abbott has been the one helping deliver his voice for years now. All the usual lettering elements are here, yet he pulls back just enough to keep Grayson’s voice the same but different. Energy and care has been pulled back, as anger and doubt are resonating with every word. A hardness is felt in the exchange with Batman, as son pushes back on father in his biggest time of need.

It was a bold choice for Watters to make this type of switch from the first portion of his run. Yet, it’s also not that bold of a choice. Not if one has read Batman: Dark Pattern, where this sort of darkness and mystery was common. It’s taken that formula of working with a younger Batman dealing with hard crimes, cranked it up to 11, and sprinkled in the Nightwing specific magic. I’m all for every single bit of it.

So much of the tone is felt in the story direction. The care put into how to deal with these elements and not leave anything to be really too one side or the other. These are not just colorful costumed foes that Nightwing has to deal with. But real people who are killing others based on some indoctrinated belief from their family.

Like reality, these are things that are much harder to fight than just some cackling dude in a yellow and green costume or something. These elements seep down into the bones of a society quickly, and the pain to exercise them is great.

Nightwing #137 is now available from DC Comics.