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Nightwing (1996) (Original Trades) #12
Nightwing: Love and War
In this volume collecting issues #125-132, Nightwing faces off against Raptor, a powerful new foe wanted by the police for murder. Nightwing finds himself in the uncomfortable position of trying to save the villain from the law and the mysterious people who are trying to kill him after he discovers the possibility that this criminal didn't kill anyone.
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2007
143 people want to read
About the author
Marv Wolfman
2,308 books306 followersMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 6, 2024
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: A back-to-basics mulligan so very, very 1980s that the world within its bubble seems anachronistic and otherworldly.
Notes: A back-to-basics mulligan so very, very 1980s that the world within its bubble seems anachronistic and otherworldly.
February 22, 2012
Another great addition to this book series, that shows Batman's protege all grown up.
January 18, 2026
These issues followed Dick dealing with Raptor and then “Bride and Groom”. They don’t actually call themselves that (in fact one side of the partnership doesn’t want there to be a relationship at all).
I liked the first part of the story, although it felt a bit like Wolfman was trying to write a coming of age story in a weird way. The first issue starts with Dick talking about what he wants to be when he “grows up”, then trying to find an entry level job while running around quipping like he’s Spider-Man. Wolfman has written an actual coming of age story for Dick before (when he became Nightwing in New Teen Titans) which worked a lot better so I don’t know why he was trying to do it here again. I actually really like him as a gymnastics teacher though.
There is some kind of half-hearted meta-narrative about how Dick was meant to die in Infinite Crisis that I was interested in but it never went anywhere. That could have been a really cool idea to explore.
I really didn’t like that Dick started hitting on his massage therapist DURING a massage while he was naked though. Really gross. It must have been around this era that they started pushing the playboy narrative, because there are only so many times he can do something out of character before that becomes his character. I would have loved to see this tied into the themes around his SA, but DC are cowards.
Dick also straight up intentionally burns someone to death in this run (to the point the body is too hot to approach for two hours afterwards) but it’s handwaved away as the guy dying from radiation poisoning. No Wolfman, he was burned to a crisp. The radiation did not just happen to kill him the second he got torched with napalm. Huge cop out.
Bride and Groom are kind of just there and don’t do anything interesting except kill a bunch of people. I feel like the direction this story took moved away from the intention pretty quickly. It’s set up that they have some kind of competition to each kill as many people as they can before their wedding. This is immediately dropped and instead Groom is trying to convince an unwilling Bride to marry him while she uses him to find victims to sustain her immortality.
Dick gets beaten up in almost every fight which gets boring quickly. The tone was refreshing compared to the last few Nightwing runs, but that fizzled out pretty quickly. I’m getting the vibe that DC editorial didn’t have any plans for Dick after Infinite Crisis because he was meant to be killed off so they’re just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. There’s no cohesive vision for the character at all, so we’re still getting “lessons” each story arc about Dick finally beginning to understand Batman’s rules and why they don’t kill. This completely disregards the entire last 50+ issues addressing Blockbuster’s death, and the 5+ years he was Robin.
I liked the first part of the story, although it felt a bit like Wolfman was trying to write a coming of age story in a weird way. The first issue starts with Dick talking about what he wants to be when he “grows up”, then trying to find an entry level job while running around quipping like he’s Spider-Man. Wolfman has written an actual coming of age story for Dick before (when he became Nightwing in New Teen Titans) which worked a lot better so I don’t know why he was trying to do it here again. I actually really like him as a gymnastics teacher though.
There is some kind of half-hearted meta-narrative about how Dick was meant to die in Infinite Crisis that I was interested in but it never went anywhere. That could have been a really cool idea to explore.
I really didn’t like that Dick started hitting on his massage therapist DURING a massage while he was naked though. Really gross. It must have been around this era that they started pushing the playboy narrative, because there are only so many times he can do something out of character before that becomes his character. I would have loved to see this tied into the themes around his SA, but DC are cowards.
Dick also straight up intentionally burns someone to death in this run (to the point the body is too hot to approach for two hours afterwards) but it’s handwaved away as the guy dying from radiation poisoning. No Wolfman, he was burned to a crisp. The radiation did not just happen to kill him the second he got torched with napalm. Huge cop out.
Bride and Groom are kind of just there and don’t do anything interesting except kill a bunch of people. I feel like the direction this story took moved away from the intention pretty quickly. It’s set up that they have some kind of competition to each kill as many people as they can before their wedding. This is immediately dropped and instead Groom is trying to convince an unwilling Bride to marry him while she uses him to find victims to sustain her immortality.
Dick gets beaten up in almost every fight which gets boring quickly. The tone was refreshing compared to the last few Nightwing runs, but that fizzled out pretty quickly. I’m getting the vibe that DC editorial didn’t have any plans for Dick after Infinite Crisis because he was meant to be killed off so they’re just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. There’s no cohesive vision for the character at all, so we’re still getting “lessons” each story arc about Dick finally beginning to understand Batman’s rules and why they don’t kill. This completely disregards the entire last 50+ issues addressing Blockbuster’s death, and the 5+ years he was Robin.
February 28, 2020
Nightwing: Love and War continues where the previous trade paperback left off collecting the next eight issues (Nightwing #125–132) of the 1996 on-going series and collects two stories: "Targets" and "Bride and Groom".
"Targets" is a four-issue storyline (Nightwing #125–128) that has Dick Grayson as Nightwing faces off against Raptor, a powerful new foe wanted by the police for murder. However, after he finds evidence that this criminal didn’t kill anyone, Nightwing finds himself in the position of trying to save the villain from the law and the mysterious people who are trying to kill him.
"Bride and Groom" is a four-issue storyline that has Dick Grayson as Nightwing facing off with Violet Parris as Bride and Thomas Larson as Groom. These two meta-human villains who are in a contest with each other to see who can kill more people than the other before they get married and it is up to Nightwing to stop their murderous rampage.
Marv Wolfman penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well, although the villains that Dick Grayson as Nightwing had to battle against seems rather forgettable. However, the stories written were rather well written and the characterization of Dick Grayson as Nightwing was rather spot on.
Dan Jurgens (Nightwing #125–128) and Jamal Igle (Nightwing #129–132) penciled the trade paperback. For the most parts these pencilers while with different styles, complements each other rather well, which made the artistic flow rather seamless. Fortunately, each penciler took one story each, which made the transition rather well.
All in all, Nightwing: Love and War is a good, continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
"Targets" is a four-issue storyline (Nightwing #125–128) that has Dick Grayson as Nightwing faces off against Raptor, a powerful new foe wanted by the police for murder. However, after he finds evidence that this criminal didn’t kill anyone, Nightwing finds himself in the position of trying to save the villain from the law and the mysterious people who are trying to kill him.
"Bride and Groom" is a four-issue storyline that has Dick Grayson as Nightwing facing off with Violet Parris as Bride and Thomas Larson as Groom. These two meta-human villains who are in a contest with each other to see who can kill more people than the other before they get married and it is up to Nightwing to stop their murderous rampage.
Marv Wolfman penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well, although the villains that Dick Grayson as Nightwing had to battle against seems rather forgettable. However, the stories written were rather well written and the characterization of Dick Grayson as Nightwing was rather spot on.
Dan Jurgens (Nightwing #125–128) and Jamal Igle (Nightwing #129–132) penciled the trade paperback. For the most parts these pencilers while with different styles, complements each other rather well, which made the artistic flow rather seamless. Fortunately, each penciler took one story each, which made the transition rather well.
All in all, Nightwing: Love and War is a good, continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
November 9, 2024
This is pretty terrible. If not for the excellent artwork from Dan Jurgens and Jamal Igle this would have been even worse. Two stories collected and neither impressed, mattered, or will be remembered or touched upon again. Dick is still in NYC talking about "when he grows up". What?!?!? Wolfman's storytelling here is all over the place. I think he forgot what he was doing at times. Incredibly bad antagonists didn't help the matter. Overall, completely skippable.
January 2, 2019
Nightwing saves a family and soon loses them.
February 17, 2026
not good.
October 5, 2014
A superhero comic that makes no sense whatsoever
6 January 2014
For a moment I thought it was just me, which would have been compounded by the fact that I find most super-hero graphic novels boring, but from looking across some of the other commentaries on this book, it is clear that I am not the only person who thought this graphic novel sucked. Well, I should say that it was compounded by the fact that I don't like super-hero graphic novels, though I have been willing to give them a go, especially since they are available from my local library, but after my experience with this one (namely that I kept on falling asleep as I was reading it), I have been encouraged to leave the rest of them sitting on the shelf for people who actually get their thrills out of reading them.
As for the protagonist, I spent the entire book wondering what it was that actually made him a super-hero because, well, there was nothing special about him (yes I know, Dick Greyson, aka Nightwing, used to be Robin in the Batman and Robin duo, but that is beside the point – he is still boring). Actually, adding on to the boring, is also a whopping great big WTF. Namely, this guy spends half the comic wondering around injured and complaining about how he can't do all that much (other than the fact that he is an acrobat, which probably gives him a bit of an advantage).
Then there are the two stories in which he is involved. The first involves some scientists that steal a suit of power armour off none other than Lex Luther, and when Lex Luther finds out the scientists are blown to smithereens. What does Nightwing do during all of this? Well, as far as I can tell, he jumps and dances around, avoiding getting torched by a flame thrower, and the proceeds to get turned down by a woman that asked him out earlier on in the comic (but I guess that happens when you are invited to a party, you say you'll come, and then don't turn up).
Oh, and talking about romantic relationships, the second part of the novel involves these people who are apparently partners, but she keeps on turning him down whenever he asks her to marry him, but they run around kidnapping people and draining them of their life force, and then proceed to get buried in a cave because that is how Nightwing (or was it the bunch of other people that came along with him, and then proceed to add nothing to the plot other than getting in the way, expect for some really big guy that get upset and then causes the roof to collapse) ended up dealing with them. He then goes off and takes a job as a gym instructor, but or some reason he doesn't actually need any money (probably because he is bludging off of Bruce Wayne, but I really don't know, and honestly I really don't care either).
6 January 2014
For a moment I thought it was just me, which would have been compounded by the fact that I find most super-hero graphic novels boring, but from looking across some of the other commentaries on this book, it is clear that I am not the only person who thought this graphic novel sucked. Well, I should say that it was compounded by the fact that I don't like super-hero graphic novels, though I have been willing to give them a go, especially since they are available from my local library, but after my experience with this one (namely that I kept on falling asleep as I was reading it), I have been encouraged to leave the rest of them sitting on the shelf for people who actually get their thrills out of reading them.
As for the protagonist, I spent the entire book wondering what it was that actually made him a super-hero because, well, there was nothing special about him (yes I know, Dick Greyson, aka Nightwing, used to be Robin in the Batman and Robin duo, but that is beside the point – he is still boring). Actually, adding on to the boring, is also a whopping great big WTF. Namely, this guy spends half the comic wondering around injured and complaining about how he can't do all that much (other than the fact that he is an acrobat, which probably gives him a bit of an advantage).
Then there are the two stories in which he is involved. The first involves some scientists that steal a suit of power armour off none other than Lex Luther, and when Lex Luther finds out the scientists are blown to smithereens. What does Nightwing do during all of this? Well, as far as I can tell, he jumps and dances around, avoiding getting torched by a flame thrower, and the proceeds to get turned down by a woman that asked him out earlier on in the comic (but I guess that happens when you are invited to a party, you say you'll come, and then don't turn up).
Oh, and talking about romantic relationships, the second part of the novel involves these people who are apparently partners, but she keeps on turning him down whenever he asks her to marry him, but they run around kidnapping people and draining them of their life force, and then proceed to get buried in a cave because that is how Nightwing (or was it the bunch of other people that came along with him, and then proceed to add nothing to the plot other than getting in the way, expect for some really big guy that get upset and then causes the roof to collapse) ended up dealing with them. He then goes off and takes a job as a gym instructor, but or some reason he doesn't actually need any money (probably because he is bludging off of Bruce Wayne, but I really don't know, and honestly I really don't care either).
July 5, 2009
I wanted to like this one, I really did. Marv Wolfman created Nightwing he should know how to write him, but he missed. While I liked the running commentary from the hero, I liked seeing into his mind, it's Nightwing's nature that his mouth and his brain are in motion as much as his body, I didn't like way the story was handled.
Nightwing is still a vigilante trained by Batman. I found that too much of the story took place in daylight, or that Nightwing spent time with the people he helped. I don't mind that he continued helping them. I mind that he did it in costume, in broad daylight.
It was an OK mystery story, with an OK ending, but there were big holes in the narrative where something was just missing. The second story in the volume had little connection to the first. The first hadn't really been concluded when Wolfman moved onto the second.
Bruce Wayne was only part of the story for a few panels but was done poorly while he was there. He would never had a Batman/Nightwing conversation as Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson, and certainly not in the middle of a party. He had a Batman conversation as Bruce Wayne, saying things as he would when he's playing the billionaire playboy.
All in all, I was disappointed.
Nightwing is still a vigilante trained by Batman. I found that too much of the story took place in daylight, or that Nightwing spent time with the people he helped. I don't mind that he continued helping them. I mind that he did it in costume, in broad daylight.
It was an OK mystery story, with an OK ending, but there were big holes in the narrative where something was just missing. The second story in the volume had little connection to the first. The first hadn't really been concluded when Wolfman moved onto the second.
Bruce Wayne was only part of the story for a few panels but was done poorly while he was there. He would never had a Batman/Nightwing conversation as Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson, and certainly not in the middle of a party. He had a Batman conversation as Bruce Wayne, saying things as he would when he's playing the billionaire playboy.
All in all, I was disappointed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2013
Former Teen Titans writer Marv Wolfman is back with the original Robin (Dick Grayson) in this volume of Nightwing. Having moved to New York, Dick is getting involved in both the crimefighting and nightlife scenery. Nightwing attempts to reel in the high-flying Raptor, only to discover that the criminal may not be the killer he is seeking. After discovering the truth behind the armored villain, the circus hero then must use his wits to escape a live burial from an unknown killer-for-hire who seems to know Nightwing's identity. The volume concludes with the soul-sucking team of Bride & Groom, as Dick rallies former enemies to help take down the immortal killers before they can claim their next victim. As a whole, this volume feels disjointed and disconnected. New foe Raptor fails to garner sympathy, even after dying and being cleared of murder charges. Bride and Groom are one-note characters, incapable of being more than a mystical nuisance for the street-level vigilante. Even worse, the mysterious killer-for-hire who has plagued Nightwing throughout this volume is still in the wind. Add in a mysterious voice that claims Dick should have died in the recent Crisis, and there is just too much to hate in the Love and War collection.
November 13, 2009
I'm torn between two and three stars. It was better than "Brothers in Blood"; but then again that's not hard. The characterization was off in a lot of places, but it did have its moments (like the conversation with Alfred and his blissed out expression after his "talk" with Bruce - SERIOUSLY).
I know the last couple of issues of the series are great again, so I'm cautiously optimistic regarding the next volumes. However, I understand if people who meet Nightwing for the first time here do not get why a lot of people love Dick Grayson the way they do.
I know the last couple of issues of the series are great again, so I'm cautiously optimistic regarding the next volumes. However, I understand if people who meet Nightwing for the first time here do not get why a lot of people love Dick Grayson the way they do.
September 25, 2012
Marv Wolfman writes Nightwing from a place of love. After all, he spent quite a few years writing him in the Teen Titans in the 80's. However, like Chris Claremont, his writing is still stuck there. He hasn't evolved and what made those books great in the Gold, Silver and Bronze Ages, feels stillborn in an entirely new era.
March 7, 2009
Random library grab. Never read Nightwing before. Totally boring, didn't finish.
October 21, 2012
Not so bad, but too old school comic-booky, cartoony feeling for me. And too many repeated lines and themes.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews