Nightwing, Vol. 6: Standing at the Edge

Nightwing (2016)

by Tom Taylor, Michael Conrad, Stephen Byrne (illustrator)

Nightwing goes nautical in a swashbuckling pirate adventure starring Dick Grayson!

The Eisner-Award winning series returns, sending Nightwing and Batgirl sailing the high seas on a quest to unearth the secrets behind an underground society dating back to the birth of Blüdhaven. Upon the vast ocean Nightwing will forge an uneasy alliance with an old flame who has a dangerously close connection to this secret society. Will Dick Grayson learn a pirate’s life’s for him or leap off the plank?

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Superheroes, Batman

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 24, 2024

About the author

Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.

He can be followed on twitter @TomTaylorMade.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pirates in Bludhaven?



So far, this was my least favorite storyline in Tom Taylor's Nightwing run, but it was still very good.
I just wasn't around for the Bea & Ric stuff back when Dick lost his memory.
However, it was still fun to see him run around in a pirate costume.



The team-up with Batman at the end was sweet. Might have teared up a bit with all the proud father shenanigans.



Recommended.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Nightwing book. I liked that a couple of loose ends were closed. For both Ric and Dick Grayson. This book has four issues pre Beast World and three issues post Beast World.

A secret was passed on to Ric (what Dick Grayson called himself when he was shot and list his memory). However Dick might not have been the only person keeping secrets back in the day.

An emotional three issues. A personal case that really hits home for both Batman and Nightwing. I especially like the narrative from Batman of how he feels about Nightwing. Also, something big is coming.

Nightwing is on top of his game on top of his world. Could this be the high before the fall? The book finishes with a varient covers gallery.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor’s Nightwing continues to be one of the most consistent of the current DC properties. Whilst the pirate gimmick is aesthetically fun and a nice change from typical superhero sets, it isn’t actually a great story. However, the flaws are easily painted over by Dick’s characterisation, and the dynamics are single-handedly keeping this in the great category. A particular highlight has to be the Bruce and Dick issues which are probably some of the best from this whole run so far. Pick it up, read it, enjoy it.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not TT's very best but still much more readable than the average DC title. Sorry the run will have to end after the next volume.

[Mattthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good volume. I really missed Bruno Redondo's art in this, though. I am glad they brought Bea back around again. I am going to miss Taylor on writing. One more volume to go. Hope this excellent Nightwing run gets a worthy ending in the next volume.
Highly Recommend

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m really scared this series is going to end in tragedy and I don’t think I’m ready for it because it’s so good!!!

[Emma Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pirate Nightwing. Batman and Robin duo. Need I say more?

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think this had my favorite story out of this entire run, by far.
the ‘there was a child’ motif around batman and nightwing’s own trauma and reasons for becoming heroes was so beautifully written.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acredito que dos sete encadernados da fase de Tom Taylor que sairam aqui no Brasil, este seja o pior deles. Em primeiro lugar, ele contém, como muitos outros encadernados da DC Comics dessa época, a minissérie relacionada com o evento flopado Knight Terrors, em que os roteiristas e desenhistas se esforçaram para fazer as histórias mais idiotas do mundo dos super-heróis. Depois, temos uma história mangazada do Asa Noturna com a Batfamília. Os responsáveis por essas duas pérolas são os roteiristas de Mulher-Maravilha, Becky Cloonan e Michael W. Conrad. A parte que concerne a Tom Taylor mesmo é a melhor do encadernado, mas mesmo assim dá pra ver que o autor estava menos inspirado. Ele retoma da fase Rick Grayson de Asa Noturna e traz de volta sua namorada da época, Bea, que se tornou uma rainha pirata. Grayson precisa encarar uma aventura de piratas pelos mares de Gotham para recuperar um tesouro do Circo Haley que pode mudar sua vida. Dito isso, só metade desse encadernado é aproveitável.

[Pruett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I love: pirates, Nightwing by Tom Taylor and Bruce Redondo, shameless manipulation of my emotions through well-written comics

Things this volume has: “ “

I’m not crazy about Byrne’s art — it’s pretty flat, even if it’s serviceable — and the pirate arc isn’t the most memorable, but this is another solid volume.

Where things kick into high gear is the back half, which is another showcase for Tom Taylor’s remarkable talent of nailing the relationship between Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth and Dick Grayson. I am reduced to a puddle every time Taylor does this. The Marv Wolfman cameo was too much.

I’m going to miss this series tremendously after the final volume comes out in March! It’s been such a fantastic voyage.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing particularly transcendent in terms of plot or character development, or even simple thrills in this volume.

However, if I answer the question "Did I enjoy myself?" honestly, the answer is "yes".
It's not something that will leave a lasting impression on me, but I had a good time reading these easy-to-read stories with a bit of action, some good banter, and endearing characters like I've rarely seen before. As a bonus, there's a nice tribute to Marv Wolfman and George Perez at the very end.

So, no headaches, 3* and that's it.

[Spens (Sphynx Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5

Another solid installment to the Nightwing series! I just love how much heart there is in these stories and how beautiful Nightwing is inside and out. I kind of miss Bruno Redondo's art though.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gave me Dick Grayson, pirate romance novel cover model and I will never not be grateful for that.

[Izabela Lewalski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pirate adventure felt kind of out of nowhere, but gotta love it

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightwing has consistently been one of the best DC books running. Tom Taylor has really brought Dick Grayson into his mature adult era, making him absolutely essential to the function of Bludhaven, and furthering the relationship with Oracle, more than it ever has been.
Highlights:
- Heartless kills "The Quartermaster", a boat captain and head of a secret society who is holding a "vault" for Nightwing from his time when he went by Ric, recovering from a head injury. Newly in charge is Bea, Ric's ex, given up when his memories were restored. As Dick helps Bea to hold onto her new title, adventure ensues. At the end, Dick is given the contents of his vault, a disc that contains video evidence that Zucco played an essential role in the death of the Flying Graysons.
- When Heartless makes his way to Gotham proper, Batman joins in the hunt. During a crime breakup involving a parent murder, a young boy named Iko sees too much. Nightwing helps him feel better by bonding over lost parents.
- Through investigation into making sure Iko will be taken care of, Dick and Barbara figure out that Iko's guardian is actually the one who killed the parents, orphaning a boy over huge money inheritance. He is stopped and brought to justice.
- Dick and Barbara are given the key to Bludhaven, but Heartless decides its time to take Dick Grayson down.

Heading right into the next Volume. Loving this run!
Recommend.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum ! Nightwing finally gets a pirate adventure. It turns out that Ric's ex has been moonlighting as a pirate queen and now Nightwing needs to don genre appropriate clothing and swashbuckle through a new investigation and a pirate civil war.

This book also has a solidly written heroic child rescue story and ends with a tribute piece to the creators of Nightwing, Marv Wolfman and George Perez.

Expect a good deal of seafaring adventure and lots of pirates, Knightwing dressed like he jumped off the cover of a romance novel, a new stronger and more interesting role for a character previously relegated to a supporting role, Knightwing getting the yips, enough Dick and Barbara interactions to keep things interesting, Dick finally getting the recognition he deserves, a cameo for Marv Wolfman and a supervillain making an ominous appearance.

4.5 stars rounded to 4.

[kesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

issues #106-#109 covers “the crew of the crossed” storyline revisiting “the hold��� where dick’s alt ego ric grayson left something behind for nightwing. we meet nightwing’s ex he loved her yada yada she’s not babs so idc

issues #111-#113 have the bat family investigating a crime that looks like heartless’ work and there’s a child involved making the case very personal for bruce and dick - was good but no more fillers pls

stephen byrne did a good job with the art for the most part, i’m reading that last volume for bruno redondo my goat

nice nod to the creators of nw marv wolfman and george pérez by naming the pizza joint after them.
i almost sobbed during the 300th issue which marv wolfman helped write and he said they were proud of dick - it’s enough to make a grown man cry

we’re losing the main punch of the story w all these fillers - please let the last volume be a return to form 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️

3/5.

[Vinicius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eu fico triste demais em dar 3 estrelas pro gibi do Asa Noturna do Tom Taylor, porém essa sétima edição foi um escárnio. Enganaram o leitor que vinha acompanhando as edições da revista principal do Nightwing, e enfiaram os Tie-in do personagem daquela saga (que ninguém liga) da DC chamada cavaleiro dos pesadelos. São duas histórias dessa porcaria aqui no encadernado, e isso é um desperdício de páginas, que faz encarecer o gibi com algo que ninguém liga.

Dito isso, o arco dividido em 3 partes que é realmente escrito pelo Tom Taylor é bem legal e divertido, com o clima que mistura ação e diversão em uma dosagem perfeita, assim como nas edições anteriores.

Eu não canso de falar, o gibi do Nightwing pode não ter aquela história épica e magnífica, mas o Tom Taylor sabe escrever o personagem e seu entorno de maneira assertiva, misturando os elementos da personalidade do Dick com suas acrobacias, fazendo com que o personagem seja cativante de se ler.

Nesse arco, temos o Tom Taylor se aproveitando de uma patifaria que a DC fez com o Dick(que foi ele perder sua memória) para fazer algo realmente bom, em que envolvendo esses elementos das fases anteriores do personagem, ele faz uma história de mistério e aventura que cativa o leitor e monta uma narrativa gostosas de se ler. E ainda contribui para desenvolvimento do personagem.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The normally dynamic Nightwing series takes a beat to (presumably) set up Tom Taylor's finale. It's all fine and engaging and looks almost like Bruno Redondo's brilliant artwork (but not really). Still, it's easy to find yourself skimming the many panels of dialogue.

The big piece here is the reveal of "who is the Quartermaster?" - it's Bea, from an earlier Nightwing series I didn't read! Fortunately, you don't need much prior knowledge to appreciate her psuedo-pirate society. Dick has to help her fend off a pretender to the throne, which basically serves to introduce action into this scene-setting narrative.

Then we get a quick item reminding us that Nightwing is a good person, which is fine. Finally, a conclusion that hints at Heartless's big upcoming power grab (plus more good person stuff). Through it all, Nightwing deals with a sudden unexpected fear of heights, which I suppose is a big deal for someone who frequently jumps off roofs. Feels a tad silly, though, for a superhero.

[Machiavelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightwing: Standing at the Edge continues Tom Taylor’s stellar run, delivering another mix of heart, humor, and heroics that has made this series a standout. With Stephen Byrne’s clean, expressive art and Adriano Lucas’s vibrant colors, the story pulls you deep into Blüdhaven while keeping the focus on Dick Grayson’s unwavering compassion and determination. A seamless blend of action and character work—this run hasn’t missed a beat.

[Huda Al-Mossalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secret society + wholesome family moments = 5⭐️

[emma ☆°｡⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

every time someone brings up ric grayson, an angel loses its wings 😞

[Aidan Hepler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous books in the run but still really good and fun!! Brings that Nightwing energy that's really refreshing

[jana (taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick and Damian content! :)

[Arianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm genuinely excited to be reading more of Tom Taylor's Nightwing because each volume manages to outdo the previous one in terms of stupidity.

This book heavily references the period when Dick had lost his memory and was calling himself "Ric". His lovely bartender ex-girlfriend is turned into into the queen of a fucking NAUTICAL SECRET SOCIETY whose main purpose on land seems to be holding objects in deposit boxes? It's a bank, but inside a marine cave. Okay. I love how Dick is like "wow, that totally explains how you managed to run a bar and homeless shelters at such a young age" as if he would somehow be unfamiliar with the concept of people having wealthy parents?

As a side note, I read the wiki and apparently I missed a previous retcon that made Bea a secret spy? So this backstory makes even less sense when you take that into consideration.

Bea's adoptive father was the captain before her and she wants to take his role, but her evil stepbrother won't allow it! They go find him. He's in a secret city, located inside of another cave. I mean, what can I possibly say? It's a secret city. Inside of a cave. It's a... base of operations? Because, when you're running a bank for the shady people of Bludhaven, you need to organize your activities from a secret city inside of a cave. Okay, whatever.

During the story it also comes up that Dick is scared to jump from heights all of a sudden? I don't think this was introduced in a previous volume, so it's literally just randomly put in as a problem. It might have something to do with Heartless, who is scheming behind the scenes. Other than getting the Kanye song stuck in my head, he didn't do much for me.

The volume finishes with an issue where they give Dick the keys to the city of Bludhaven. There are two pages where Marv Wolfman puts himself into the story to congratulate Dick? I cringed so hard that I wanted to smash my head against the wall until the pain stopped. Do you get it? Nightwing is the most perfect nicest boy, everybody loves him, he can't jump but it doesn't matter because he's never in any real danger and his biggest problem is that he'd really like to get in bed with his bartender-turned-pirate ex, but he has a girlfriend now so he can't! How heart-wrenching!

Yes, the moments with Bruce and Barbara are cute. But anybody can write that sugary, empty stuff.

[Bene Vogt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been struggling for a fitting comparison for my not entirely healthy relationship to this run that doesn't belittle proper tragedies and I think I found one: I've become like the people who watched season after season of THE WALKING DEAD, ever complaining that nothing happens in any given episode except for in the last five minutes, but then you want to know what's going to happen next.

Once more I found myself ready to abandon the series after a decent but not much more storyline featuring pirates (as well as art that does a fine Cully Hamner), but then Taylor starts playing to his strengths again, and there's character interactions that are funny and poignant again, and Batman being written as something other than a complete prick to his family, and the ongoing insistence by everybody to point out that Dick has two fathers, and I guess it's only one more volume anyway...
I just really wish the big bad would start being interesting in any way or form and not just yet another crappy repeat of the already crap Hush, but it's probably too late for that.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★1/2

Why does this almost always happen to every decent comic book run?! They start out fresh, with creative energy , and then as they get near the end, they start to whimper, fall off the rails, and threaten to get bogged down by crossovers and guest writers and artists.

Don’t get me wrong, Tom Taylor’s run on Nightwing is still enjoyable, but it’s starting to lose the flair that it had in its first four volumes. It’s starting to seriously meander through DC events, crossovers, and bonus stories that don’t really push forward the story that we’ve been following since the beginning, while every now and then giving us a little tidbit of info that slightly pushes the story forward.

In this one, Nightwing goes on a pirate adventure with his old girlfriend Bea, which follows up on the secret society that we were introduced to earlier in the series. But then he also investigates a Heartless copycat cat murder. All fine but the focus and dramatic evolution really isn’t there anymore.

And the backup stories kinda suck.

[Raül · Rating 4 out of 5]

«La tripulación del cruzadas», 3,5*
Una història d'acció que fa un homenatge a les aventures clàssiques de pirates. Entretinguda i amb un punt divertit. El dibuix de Stephen Byrne és correcte.

#111 i #112 USA, 4,5*
Batman demana l'ajuda de Nightwing pel que sembla ser un assassinat de Hearthless a Gotham. Sorprenentment la història anirà finalment per altres camins, explorant els inicis de la relació de tots dos personatges, quan Dick Grayson era un xiquet que acabava de quedar orfe i començava el seu entrenament com Robin. Emotiu, entretingut i original alhora. Gran dibuix de Sami Basri.

#113 USA, 3,5*
Nightwing no descansa ni tan sols el dia de l'aniversari de Dick Grayson. Hearthless tampoc descansa, preparant un gran cop. Una història breu i simpàtica, amb un estil de dibuix entre cartoon i manga, que sembla de pont per al volum següent, que ha de ser el final de l'equip creatiu format per Taylor i Redondo.

[olive ⭒˚.⋆ ⚔ .ᐟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unabashed high review because what can I say? I love comics when they bring heart, family ties, personal moral conflict, and the occasional swashbuckling scenery change for an issue or two. After the last two volumes were fun but lacking an aspect that made them strongly engaging, this was a nice compromise for me: using a change in set to hook me; tying up loose ends from previous arcs; bringing in Batman's POV for an issue with ripe family dynamics and complex feelings of duty, worthiness, and belonging; cameos from the other bat family members (they are short but loved greatly); and a bit more for Heartless to do, who still fails to truly compel me as a villain but is at least seemingly complicating his mission, so there's a promise of intrigue in that, if you're optimistic about it.

Tom Taylor is doing it again, reminding me that Nightwing is so very engaging and, if we're to believe his self-gratifying quips, always will be. 4 stars, I enjoyed this thoroughly.