Nightwing (2016-) #34

Nightwing (2016) (Single Issues)

by Tim Seeley, Chris Sotomayor (Colorist), Javier Fernández (Penciller)

“RAPTOR’S REVENGE” finale! With Nightwing injured, Raptor attempts to turn the citizens of Blüdhaven into monsters. It will take everything Nightwing has to stop Raptor. Will his rocky alliance with Blockbuster stand long enough to take down Raptor, or will Nightwing be forced to take down his two greatest foes alone?

Genres: Comics, Comics Manga, Dc Comics

25 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2017

About the author

Tim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole arc saw the return of Pigeon and Raptor with a blockbuster serum plan . It was a lame plot , done before , but it tied many loose ends , involving Dick and Shawn and Huntress . Although the said tying of ends could have been done better , the best issue was the issue where Dick and Raptor were in their civilian guises and were having a conversation . Art still sucks .

[Monita Roy Mohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another happy landing for Nightwing. Except for the part where the bad guy was... ya know, claiming to be his father. Jeez, these comics never quite rise above Hamlettian origins. What I don’t get is how and why Nightwing never ever reacts to anybody’s grand revelations about him.

Dick’s nemesis Raptor suggests that his mother cheated on his dad and that Dick is named after him - Dick’s reaction is disgust when Raptor caresses his face but then.... nothing. In a previous issue, Svoboda revealed that she’s been fantasizing about him - again, Dick never reacts, instead he’s just considering her Detective skills. It’s like the writers want to include a jump scare, but are too afraid to deal with the ghost after that. So weird.

Also, Raptor pretty much slashes the bejeezus out of Nightwing, yet, the art only shows his suit a little bit torn up. And later, he’s back flying around and fighting bads. That’s just bad art in a comic.

This one was action packed but also wordy. So much babbling in the middle and none of it made much sense. But, at least in this arc we got an inkling of Dick Grayson the character rather than just the boyfriend or ex-sidekick.

Now Nightwing seems to be leading his own band of sidekicks. I’m guessing the Run-offs will continue playing a background filler role and aiding Nightwing, while Detective Svoboda fills in the Commissioner Gordon role.

So far the series has been fun, but nothing stands out. There’s no real depth or substance to make it truly memorable. I like it and I like Nightwing, but there has to be more from the creators. 34 issues in and I feel like we’re still on cruise control.

Looking forward to the rest and hope something spectacular happens (spoiler, it doesn’t, I would have read about it in the news by now).

[Devin Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually disappointed by aspects of this issue, but overall it just hit me so hard that I have to reward it with five stars.

I can see people feeling like the Raptor conclusion is somewhat unearned and cheap. I think Svoboda feels like a different character every time she appears. I feel like the Shawn of it all is kind of unsatisfying, and not just in a "I didn't get what I want" way. I do really like her individually and with Nightwing/Dick, but I just don't feel like her return had all that much substance to it.

But man... I do think this is an emotionally powerful issue.

[Siona Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent conclusion. I don’t think it’ll continue with this title though. I’ve picked it up on and off since Rebirth began, and while Nightwing is one of my favorite members of the Batfamily, it’s just not good enough for me to justify spending more money on comics than I already do.