THIS WEEK: Blüdhaven’s full of bats, bridges, and bullets, in Nightwing #137. And we also check in on Absolute Batman #19, Deathstroke: The Terminator #2, and New Titans #34.
Note: The reviews below may contain spoilers.
Nightwing #137
Writer: Dan Watters
Penciller: Denys Cowan
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Cover: Jorge Fornés
This may read more harshly than I mean it. But I’ve been waiting for Dan Watters’s Nightwing to live up to my expectations for it.
Prior to Nightwing #136, Watters and co.’s run was certainly enjoyable. But it often felt like Watters and his artistic collaborators did not quite click. Like Watters’s scripts were pulling in one (or several) directions, and his art team was pulling in another.
As part of DC All In’s second act, Watters was recently joined by the regular art team of penciller Denys Cowan, inker Norm Rapmund, colorist Francesco Segala, and (continuing) letterer Wes Abbott. Inspired by either his new art team’s strengths or his time writing Batman: Dark Patterns, Watters has chosen to have this team tell a set of discrete-yet-connected urban, semi-supernatural stories.
So far, this structure and those stories have worked, and they’ve met the high expectations I had for this team’s take on Nightwing. The last two issues’ stories have been more focused and cohesive than prior issues of Watters’s run. While there is connective tissue between Nightwing #136 and #137, advancing a larger plot started last month, this issue is a complete story in and of itself. More importantly, that story is compelling and illustrated in dark, dramatic fashion by Cowan, Rapmund, Segala, and Abbott.
For me, Denys Cowan and co.’s run on The Question is an all-timer. Watters, a fellow Cowan fan, is leaning into the penciller’s strengths, directing Cowan to illustrate a brutal urban environment and grounded, intense action. Rapmund and Segala do a great job refining Cowan’s pencils and adding to the moody atmosphere, creating a Blüdhaven that itself seems adversarial.
Which is part of the point of this stretch of Watters’s run. Nightwing (and Batman, who stops by in this issue) is no longer fighting costumed gangs and fifth-dimensional imps, as he did in Watters’s previous issues. Now, Nightwing is confronted by normal people whose lives or identities have been upended by the change literally cutting through Blüdhaven, in the form of a new superhighway. These sorts of conflicts cannot be solved easily. Nightwing cannot punch urban displacement in the face. He can’t change the shape of a city. And if he isn’t careful, he too will succumb to that changing shape, and the dangers it has unearthed.
If that sort of conflict – and the supernatural undertones Watters and co. are weaving into it – appeals to you, hop on board this refreshed Nightwing run. It is set to be the spiritual successor to last year’s Batman: Dark Patterns, a book the DC Round-Up team loved. Again, my expectations for this stretch of Nightwing are high. But given the last two issues, I’m fairly certain this team will continue to meet them.
The Round-Up
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I know, I know: You’re tired of reading about Absolute Batman in this column. Unfortunately for you, I’m not tired of writing about it, and this month’s issue is another banger. Absolute Batman #19 features the return of Nick Dragotta, the sinister introduction of Absolute Scarecrow, and a not-yet-spoiled event that will significantly impact the Absolute Dark Knight going forward. Dragotta, colorist Frank Martin, and letterer Tom Napolitano do a great job keeping readers feeling off-kilter, as the Absolute Master of Fear makes his presence known in Batman’s world. It all leads up to the yes-already-spoiled-not-what-I-was-talking-about-earlier introduction of the Absolute Robins, and adds up to what looks to be a very bad time for Batman and his allies (but a great time for readers).- Deathstroke: The Terminator #2 cemented my opinion that it’s the title to watch of last month’s Next Level debuts. Writer Tony Fleecs, artist Carmine Di Giandomenico, colorist Ivan Plascencia, and letterer Wes Abbott deliver another roller coaster ride of an issue, slowing down just enough to give readers time to connect and (somehow) commiserate with the world’s worst dad and greatest assassin. While the story’s central mystery intrigues, the art team again steals the show in this issue. Di Giandomenico, Plascencia, and Abbott are delivering expertly-paced and moody pages that elevate Fleecs’s story, and have turned Deathstroke: The Terminator into one of my most-anticipated monthly reads.
If DC Next Level hadn’t taken over my column last month, I very certainly would have written about writer Tate Brombal, artist Sami Basri, and co.’s pointed debut on New Titans. Their second issue, this week’s New Titans #34, goes less hard on meta-commentary, but harder on beautifully-illustrated action and adventure. Specifically, Basri, colorist Adriano Lucas, and letterer Tom Napolitano turn in a handful of rhythmic double-page spreads that make what could have been a very messy set of fight scenes (featuring up to ten characters) into clear, engaging, and fun-to-read conflicts. One of those fights, of course, pits the New Titans vs. the Old Titans, giving Brombal a chance to show his take on both groups’ powers, personalities, and regard for each other. If you’ve been looking for something different to happen with the Titans, or you’re just a fan of compelling superhero team comics, check this one (and the previous issue) out.
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