Dan
Jurgens signs on as writer of this issue, and presumably those that follow. I am
uncertain if this is an open-ended assignment, or if he’s a fill-in until Scott
Lobdell returns in the near future. Regardless, I’m pleased. Jurgens is an
artist, and understands the art direction a penciler needs to tell a good
story. And as a writer, he’s turned in some great work. Will it might not be on
the scale of a cosmic Crisis, his stories are always more relatable in some
manner.
Taking over
on Nightwing is apropos, as he is also the current scribe for Batman Beyond.
While Jurgens’ history may be more in line with Superman titles, the Bat office
is high profile enough that it can always benefit from a writer of Jurgens’
caliber.
The issue
starts off with Ric Grayson being “trained” by Malcolm Hutch, one of the new
Nightwings. It’s just a training session, yet Hutch is still in full costume
and mask, though Ric knows full well who he is. Hutch then takes the super-hero
skyway – rooftops, flagpoles and cell towers – to a local hospital to visit his
former training officer, lying in a coma for the past few years. This fits in
with what little Hutch has offered Ric (and us readers) in the way of his
backstory.
Rich and
Hutch reunite in the wake of a mysterious arson at a local precinct, where
there is far more to the fire than meets the eye. At which point we reach the
end of the chapter.
THIS is
quality storytelling, because it is mostly adventure, combined with a healthy
dose of human emotion. Not the predictable dour and brooding Batman kind, but
the inner struggles of heroism. If a protector backs down from a decision, is
he still a hero? If a protector pays an almost ultimate price in the line of
duty, who is the hero and who is the scapegoat? And, after a lifetime of
heroism, does not wanting to be on the front line make one a coward?
These
questions and more, unfolding amidst the chaos of high adventure and crime
fighting, are what make for good comic books, in my opinion.
But that’s
just my opinion. You mileage may vary.
Rating:
8/10