Nightwing #119 is written by Dan Watters and published by DC. Artwork is by Dexter Soy, colours by Veronica Gandini and letters by Wes Abbot. Main cover art (left) is by Soy.
Nightwing #119 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Blüdhaven has erupted in violence as rival gangs vie to fill the power vacuum left by Nightwing’s cleanup of corrupt officials. But is an outside force turning the gangs against each other, escalating the violence in Blüdhaven toward even more sinister ends? To find out, Nightwing must do the unthinkable—no matter the cost. Don’t miss the start of this groundbreaking new arc that will redefine what it means to be a hero.
Review
With the dust barely having settled on Tom Taylor’s run on Nightwing, today it’s time for Dan Watters reign over Blüdhaven to begin. Today’s issue #119 is a chance to take stock, resent and creatively reenergise the long-running title. They say there’s only one chance to make a first impression and both Watters and new series artist Dexter Soy have very big shoes to fill…
Nightwing #119 kicks off with some familiar imagery. Watters opening gambit is a brief retelling of the history of Dick Grayson but with a twist. A puppetry element which is the harbinger of a new threat to Blüdhaven and to our hero. Watters first chapter in the story is bookended by appearances of this mysterious villain. Someone currently nameless but with an association to another player in the story and the equally mysterious Cirque du Sin.
Watters prologue-of-sorts gives the Nightwing book a new narrator. One we can’t trust. But one who its abundantly clear is happy to take the spotlight and run the show. It’s immediately exciting to enter this new creative era through the eyes of the villain rather than through Dick himself. It’s Watters indirectly telling us that things are going to be different than what we’re used to and within seconds the touchpaper has been lit. When this mysterious character pulls back the curtain to bring the reader in to the story I was already excited to see where Watters and Soy were going to take us next.
Whilst Watters treats this moment as a fresh start that doesn’t mean we’re forgetting all of the incredible work Taylor and Bruno Redondo have done. This brand new arc finds Blüdhaven a power vacuum in the wake of events from issue #100 to now. With Heartless out of the way and much of the city’s corrupt officials now removed there’s a battle for the streets. One which plenty of gangs are willing to fight for. So before Nightwing even appears in his own book, Watters takes a moment to introduce several of the major players and cement their place in the hierarchy moving forwards. Only then are we ready to get our first glimpse of Nightwing back in action.
There’s a really neat balance across the book of introducing new elements and honouring the world which Taylor and those before him had created. Watters has a push-and-pull between continuing the stories of supporting players in Nightwing’s world like Oracle, like Mayor Grayson-Lin but sadly not Bitewing… please tell me she survived the last issue. Then there are new entities like the arrival of Spheric Solutions and their C.E.O. Olivia Pearce plus our mysterious villain. It’s a great mix of old and new which makes the transition between creative teams feel less like a restart and more like a simple fresh coat of paint.
Speaking of which, boy is Dexter Soy an incredible addition to the creative team. Talk about moving on in style. Bruno Redondo has such a unique and eye catching sensibility to his artwork. It would have been criminal to bring in anyone with an even remotely similar style. The comparisons would have been unavoidable. So in walks Soy whose artwork is so far removed from Redondo that it’s like I’ve had my eyes opened for the first time. It’s dynamic. It’s exciting. There’s so much depth and detail that my eyes are constantly darting around the page looking at fine detail. Teamed with Veronica Gandini’s colours Nightwing feels like something brand new again.
Verdict
As a die-hard fan of Taylor and Redondo’s Nightwing I was nervous coming in to this issue. But I needn’t have worried. Dan Watters has, in one issue, laid out plans for an ambitious, street-level tale which looks set to cement Blüdhaven even more as on of the DCU’s most interesting and story-worthy cities. This is Nightwing reinvigorated.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
