Nightwing Annual #1 is here for the New 52! See if there is anything left between Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson… This will be a SPOILER FREE Review!!!
IF the DC universe had a High School yearbook, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon would be couple least likely to stay together. When I first heard about this NEW 52 Nightwing annual I was thrilled! Then I SAW the cover, and was even more excite, and then I saw that it is a BATGIRL WANTED tie in! I was super stoked to read the story.
With Kyle Higgins writing his favorite character, you know that there’s gonna be nothing but awesomeness from the story. NOW normally I’m taken aback by artist changes, but this was find for me this time. The reason being is that they combined the Bat and Bird’s pasts with their present day lives. The cover above by Tony S. Daniel is simply awesome. Now lets see just what the character “formerly known as batgirl, and Nightwing “king of the past” are up to!
Writing:
I can only say that this story was epic. Kyle Higgins took the Firefly character and twisted him all around. To that end even though I knew the background of Firefly, I wasn’t expecting what happens in this story. Then you have the “relationship” issues or lack thereof between Dick and Babs. I love how Grayson didn’t give up his loft in Gotham, well until this issue. Because during the course of the story it seems as if he moved out.
Kyle pays extra special attention to the core of these Bat Family characters. As to what they are like “together” and apart. Just the tension between Babs and Dick is great. It has everything you want in a couple’s dilema, without all the Jerry Springer nonsense. And yes I DID just make a Springer reference. If I was writing spoiler filled reviews, I’d be able to break it all down for you, but since that isn’t the case…. The last thing I’ll say is that anyone who has read Kyle in the past wll not wanna miss this.
Art:
Jason Masters is not an artist I’m familiar with, but his designs on classic BG and Robin are awesome. The backgrounds, the inflections in the characters are all done extremely well. Now I’ve stated in my previous Nightwing reviews that I haven’t noticed the HUGE difference when different artists are on the book. This trend for now ends here. In the Nightwing character design there were several changes I noticed. Specifically the fact that Dick Grayson seems younger in this issue. I dunno, maybe it’s the way Masters’ drawing sty;e is. I take no issue with it, but I just wanted to point it out is all. The Firefly design is intense! It aint your BTAS styled Firefly at all. I think that’s kinda the point because of the twist dealing with the FireBug!
Final Thoughts:
Why are you still reading this? GO GET NIGHTWING Annual #1 NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I gotta give this a perfect rating, because it is just that. There is nothing in the writing or the art that I didn’t like. Sure I noticed the style difference in the drawing and coloring of Dick Grayson, but overall that didn’t bther me. Seeing as part of the issue is shown in flashback.
Final Rating:
