-->

NIGHTWING #14

[ PRICE SLASH NIGHTWING STYLE
Get ready for the throw down of the year. It's bound to be delightfully queer. Nightwing's ready for a fight. Lady Shiva's looking tight. And together they're quoting from the play, 'King Lear'. You must know this play, surly! It wasn't Written by Kyle Higgins; Drawn by Andres Guinaldo or Eddy Barrows; or Published by DC Comics in December 2012.

So what’s the STORY morning glory?
Poor, Dick Grayson. His day started off so well in this issue entitled, 'Die For Me'. His crime fighting was up to speed. His 'Amusement Mile' project was coming along quite nicely. And even his relationship with Sonia Branch felt a bit more stable than usual too.

  • However, when Lady Shiva suddenly reared her shrouded-face -- prompting Nightwing to come out and play -- things began to turn rather sour for our foppish hero very quickly indeed.
  • Well, don't you know that this shrouded assassin has come to Gotham to kill someone very close to Nightwing's heart.
  • No. It isn't the Joker. Or the Penguin either.
  • It the dear, delightful, Sonia, of course. Who's presently on her way to a municipal building, to testify in an international money laundering case.

Ouch! Let's hope Dick can handle this hard-nosed situation, huh? Or otherwise he won't find out what the Joker has planned for the imprisoned Raya next issue! 

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?
As much as it sounded kind of corny to read, in the same breath, I did get a bit of an adrenalin rush when Nightwing mused to himself whilst fighting Shiva -- 'Sonia... she didn't let Shiva intimidate her. She found a way to finish what she started. So can I!'.

Wow! Isn't that a very eighties inspired piece of dialogue, dear reader? I can hear the theme tune to Rocky kicking in now, whilst a battle continues to be fought.

What was the BEST thing about this issue?
Was it just me, or did you get a nice 'day in the life' type vibe whilst reading this issue? Personally speaking, I did enjoy the rather relaxed and pithy opening section, and how the whole tale drastically evolved once Shiva suddenly showed up for action.  

Very bold. And very... errr... 'eighties' too.

What was the WORST thing about this issue?
My only small gripe with this story was the way in which the Sonia Branch sub-plot, the Penguin sub-plot, and the Lady Shiva sub-plot, all merged together, as if it was a common everyday occurrence.

No. Too pat for my own liking. Not really having a reasonable amount of gravitas that this tale should have had to begin with.   

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?
STORY: I suppose one of the most creative things about this issue is what I didn't like about it. Yeah. That whole 'merging' of plot's thing I just mentioned. As much as I found it too pat as a story-strand. At the same time it was quite original as a concept.

Boy-oh-boy! Can't win them all, can you?

ART: Has Lady Shiva's costume gotten even worse since last issue? Has she taken it back to the clothes shop and asked the seamstress 'Can you piss off a whole army of loyal Batman fans please, by making me look like a color-blind transvestite Minotaur'?

Well, that's what it looks like, doesn't it? A touch too overt and theatrical to be taken too seriously.

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?
SHIVA: So what man alive wouldn't want to see Tina Fey dressed in our Nan's bedroom curtains, and jumping all over the place with gay abandon? Oh! That's just me then? Fair enough.

NIGHTWING: Now continuing with this month comedic casting call theme, I feel strangely compelled to cast Jon Heder into this hero's shoes, because I wouldn't mind seeing Dick played as if he were Napoleon Dynamite. Come on! Tell me you wouldn't?

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?
No Man Should Ever Hit A Woman, Unless Said Same Woman Is Carrying A Sword And Wants To Kill You. Got It?

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 
As I stated up above, this adventurous yarn has a strange eighties flair in tone, character, and plot. Therefore, why not compare it to something like Jackie Chan's 'Police Story' --  just with a little less kick and a lot more spunk.




FINAL thoughts...
Dear People Who Do Things at DC Comics,

First off, please allow me to thank you for giving Dick his own comic book back, as well as trying to do something original with him I haven't seen before. Of course I'm referring to the Sonia Branch sub-plot. This relationship is a very intriguing one to follow. And I myself would like to see if it flourishes or perishes in the up and coming months.

Also, I do like the idea behind the Amusement Mile as well. Conceptually, this concept fit's in quite nicely within the Bat-Universe and Dick's communal history.

However, as for everything else you seem to be doing on this book at the moment -- errrrrr -- not really sure if I'm being Frank about it.

Month in, month out, Nightwing gets into some scrape whilst trying to evolve the aforementioned two plot threads at the same time? Nah! Doesn't seem to work for me. These 'additional scrapes' don't hold any water within the scheme of things, and always comes across as a 'disposable commodity'.

Please rectify this, DC. I'm sure you have it in you.  

MARKS out of 10? 8.9

NIGHTWING #14 NIGHTWING #14 Reviewed by David Andrews on December 04, 2012 Rating: 5
Powered by Blogger.