Review: Nightwing #7
By Philip Schweier
October 20, 2016 - 11:24
DC Comics
Writer(s): Tim Seeley
Penciller(s): Javier Fernandez
Inker(s): Javier Fernandez
Colourist(s): Chris Sotomayer
Letterer(s): Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Artist(s): Javier Fernandez and Chris Sotomayer; variant by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert and Sula Moon
Nightwing
doesn’t seem to be too popular around these parts. I wasn’t sure why, so I
figured I’d take a look, actively avoiding previous reviews by my Bin-mates so as not to be influenced.
Fortunately, I came in at the beginning of the latest story arc, “Rise of the
Raptor.” What I’ve learned is that Raptor is apparently a super-villain who
helped Nightwing take down the Parliament of Owls.
But as teammates go, Raptor is nothing like Roy Harper or Wally West. He’s not looking for any kind of redemption. He seems to share some part of Dick Grayson’s past, from the days of the Haley Circus. And to build on that history, he’s prepared to go after others in Dick’s life.
The issue
wasn’t what I expected. I’ve come to see Nightwing as too similar to other
night-prowling characters such as Batman or Daredevil. But he’s still in international
super-secret-hero-agent mode from his New 52 era. Quite simply, I don’t think
it works. It clearly didn’t for the New 52, so why DC is still pushing it is
something I can only speculate.
Perhaps they are working in that direction, just a little slowly.
I like Fernandez artwork. It’s distinctively stylized, yet seems versatile enough to suit a variety of stories. Tim Seeley’s dialogue, not so much. The exchanges between Nightwing and Raptor don’t seem natural, as if the action conforms to the dialogue instead of the other way around.
Overall, Nightwing has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, its lesser elements keep it from reaching its full potential. But there’s time to fix that.