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Review of Nightwing – Vol 2: Night of the Owls

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Volume 2: Night of the Owls

Collecting Issues #8-12, and the #0 issue, this second NEW 52 Nightwing Volume picks up where the first one left off. Dick Grayson/Nightwing is back in Gotham, and he has gone through so much. This will be a SPOILER HEAVY review, as these issues have been out for awhile now.  

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I can’t say just how much I’m loving reading Nightwing stories in the NEW 52!!!!!! Kyle Higgins is one of the BEST Bat Family writers!!! Everything the man has done with the character are something I would have loved to see within the DC Animated Universe.

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Writing: 

It says in the volume 2 credits that Tom DeFalco also has writing in it. I dunno if I’m so blinded by Kyle’s awesomeness that I didn’t notice a change in the writing at all. So issue #8 starts with Gotham in the past. Building on the storyline that Kyle created alongside Scott Snyder in Gates of gotham, we learn of the history of the family Grayson. We also learn where the name came from, because Dick’s great grandfather William Cobb  is the Talon that goes after nightwing. We find out just why he is the Gray Son of Gotham. Kyle Higgins tells a masterful story, and I love how he combines the present with the past. His stories flow so well. I find it very interesting how the citizens of Gotham have evolved with the city after all these years.

We also have Nightwing Vs the Tomorrow people, this was an interesting story, and everything in the entire volume always ties back to the Court of Owls. The way Kyle lays out the dialogue, both internal and external is just a wonderful way to craft a story. I really do need to go back and read the Court of Owls storyline, but Kyle writes his stories that you almost don’t have to. This is a damn good thing. By the end of the volume we have Dick wanting to invest in Amusement mile, which is Gotham’s old asumement park section of the city. This introduces us to Sonia Branch aka Sonia Zucco. YES That’s right Tony Zucco’s daughter. After reading issues #8-12 I’m so ready for #13 and #14… then I’ll be all caught up on Nightwing in the New 52. I don’t think I can gush anymore on how great Kyle’s writing is.

The final thing I’ll talk about here is the #0 issue. Which is the New 52 origin of Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing. I loved reading this issue. I actually did not wait until this trade, and sought out the single issue. I love how Kyle wrote the origin, and it was very interesting seeing how the Graysons were as a family before their final performance. Once again love how Kyle crafts the origin, and it makes at least me feel as if I can understand where the character of Richard Grayson is coming from.

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Art:

The art once again is done by Eddy Barrows with others that I shall not make a list of doing colors, letters, and more. There were times when I felt the drawing of Dick Grayson’s face was off in several issues. It’s like they had mulitiple pencillers besides Eddy drawing him. I did not like that very much. Also there are times where the Nightwing costume looks like it’s a different suit from page to page. That was annoying throughout the entire book.

Other then those gripes I loved the rest of the art in the book. I loved just how well the past mixes in with the present day. The art for the 1900s scenes was so very unique in my eyes, and was a real contrast to the modern times. The backgrounds, letters, thought and speech bubbles are all very well done. I love how the bat family monologue bubbles are color coded to their costumes, and general colors that they use. I believe from issue #15 on Nightwing has multiple artists, I’m not sure exactly why Eddy Barrows left. however I still love his designs on Nightwing.

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Final Thoughts:

I you are a Dick Grayson fan, and you read Volume 1 of Nightwing in the NEW 52, you are not gonna wanna skip this one!!! It’s a compelling second chapter into Nightwing’s new 52 journey!!! I am giving this volume an almost perfect because, I loved the writing, the covers, and all that. however the art in the issue sometimes irritated the hell outta me, because of the inconsistencies.

Final Rating: 

RATINGS - 4.5 STAR

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TFG1Mike

TFG1Mike is a geek with many interests. He has been podcasting for over a decade, and sees no stopping point in sight. From Transformers, He-Man, Batman, Comics, movies, video games, cartoons, and so much more, Mike has a zeal for the things he loves, and he will bring the hammer down on the things that he has a disdain for. He's generally a postive person, but negativity can creep in there. Mike is all about the innuendos and innuendon'ts too. You'll hear him on many of The GCRN podcasts!

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