Nightwing #106 is written by Tom Taylor and published by DC Comics. Artwork is by Stephen Byrne and colours by Adriano Lucas. Letters are by Wes Abbott. Main cover art (left) is by Bruno Redondo.
Nightwing #106 is available now, in print and on digital where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
Sail the high seas with Nightwing and Batgirl as they journey across the ocean in search of the Hold’s secret society that dates back to when Blüdhaven was founded. We saw previously in Nightwing #99 that the Hold’s vault held several safes…and here we’ll find out there has always been one left for Nightwing.
Review
It’s time for the return of Nightwing post-Knight Terrors and with that comes the start of a brand new arc. Teased as an adventure on the high seas, I wasn’t sure what to expect as Tom Taylor takes the story in a new direction following the huge 100th issue and arrival of the Titans in Blüdhaven.
The issue kicks off with a very unexpected flashback to a long-forgotten time when Dick went by the name of Ric Grayson. That arc, in case you needed a reminder, followed a traumatic injury which left our hero with no memory of his time as Nightwing or as Robin. In a stroke of genius, Taylor is circling the story back around to Ric for a number of reasons which will become clear across this issue. It’s a cool move that nobody will see coming. There’s no denying that many fans were vocal in their distaste of Ric but I’m interested to see how Taylor may re-contextualise Dan Jurgens run through this arc.
It transpires that Bea, Ric’s girlfriend is the one who put him in contact with the Quartermaster in order to procure the mystery locked box in The Hold with Nightwing’s name on it. So back in the present day Dick feels that now is the time to open it up. Of course Heartless is still on his trail and so there are plenty of complications to get through first.
There’s less of the high seas in this issue than perhaps the synopsis teases. Issue #106 is really laying the groundwork and bringing Nightwing to the water. Though with Taylor at the keyboard it never feels like setup. With plot elements from both Jurgens and Taylor’s previous runs still in play it just feels like the continuation of the ongoing story. It’s also a prime example of the Nightwing title running at full throttle. With background characters dipping in and out and faces from the past it all feels incredibly coherent and well executed.
Stephen Byrne begins his run on Nightwing with this issue and brings something new to the table. It’s not a jarring change from Bruno Redondo’s work on recent issues. If anything it feels like Byrne is pitch perfect in honouring the design language of what has come before whilst injecting some of his own style in to the mix. Characters all look great and the ambulance chase featuring the Nightwing-cycle looks amazing. It also seems like the cliffhanger ending will lead in to something more unique which should offer Byrne the chance to really make his mark.
Michael W. Conrad joins Nightwing this month for a cool backup story with artwork by Serg Acuna. It’s cool to see Dick paired up with Cass. So often he’s spending time with one of the other Robin’s or with Barbara. So to see him with a different Batgirl is fun. Much like the A story, this is just the opening gambit and laying the groundwork. There’s a nice disconnection between the two stories. It’s not a case of one serving the other. We’re really getting two distinct Nightwing stories and I’m excited to see where both are leading.
Verdict
An intriguing start to the latest arc of Nightwing. Taylor appears to be taking the series in an interesting new direction following previous, more grounded stories. Ever unpredictable, I’m interested to see where this goes next.
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