Nightwing by Taylor & Redondo vol. 1: Leaping Into the Light

I’ve never followed Dick “Nightwing” Grayson’s solo adventures before, but when you’ve got writer Tom Taylor taking over and his “Suicide Squad” partner, artist Bruno Redondo, working on it that made me take notice.  What we have here looks to be a back-to-basics approach to the character as he has returned to the city of Bludhaven to fight against the forces of corruption that drive it and which are led by the vicious crimelord known as Blockbuster.  Said crimelord’s latest plan to squeeze the city for all it’s worth involves backing one Melinda Zucco – daughter of Tony Zucco, the man responsible for the death of Nightwing’s parents – as the new mayor of the city.  There’s more going on there than meets the eye, and it may wind up proving less of a threat than Heartless.  What’s his deal, you ask?  It’s simple enough:  He likes ripping hearts out of people.

While these things provide a good setup for superhero action in this volume, the real heart of it comes from seeing Dick interact with his extended Bat-family.  Barbara “Batgirl” Gordon is a regular presence here, while Tim Drake shows up for a bit, Bruce even shows up in a vocal cameo to offer support, and there are plenty of nods to all the other friends the title character has made over the course of his superhero career.  These interactions give the book a welcome ensemble feel that help distinguish the mostly standard superhero action.

Helping further in that regard is a development which follows up on the death of Alfred Pennyworth.  He leaves Nightwing something life-changing, which takes the character most of the volume to figure out  how to put to good use.  It’s the kind of development that feels like it would be quickly rolled back to get the character back to his roots in lesser hands, but Taylor finds an interesting angle on it.  Like his “Superman:  Son of Kal-El” series, the writer finds something that he can change as Dick tries to make the world around him a better place.

True to the volume’s subtitle, Redondo makes this a very bright, and appealing-looking book.  While most Bat-titles in my library trend towards dark and gritty, this one rejects that and is al the better for it.  There’s style, flash, and a willingness to experiment with panel layouts in a way that’s engaging each time rather than confusing.  The art combines with the writing to make for an enjoyable superhero experience that I’ll continue to follow, even if I don’t really regret waiting to read this volume in paperback as opposed to hardcover.