The Fat Guy Reads Stuff... Nightwing #105
An Occasional Attempt to Read, Discuss and Review the Wonders of ComicsBy: John Rafferty, cranky old man, and Fan of All Things Comics
Nightwing #105 (DC Comics)
Writer: Tom Taylor (@tomtaylormade)
Artist: Bruno Redondo (@bruno_redondo_f)
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‘NIGHTWING is one word. So, it’s not “Mister Wing.
It would be like me calling you ‘MISTER HOLE.’
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[Aside: Normally, there is one quote/snippet that stands out to me, inspiring my choice of book to review. There were more than 30 in this book… this one chosen simply because it sounds so much like something I would say.
I could have just as easily opened with a picture of Bitewing licking Dick awake.]
SQUEEEEEEEEEE! (Yes, my 9-year-old-Kawaii-Fangirl just made another appearance)
Since this issue was announced, I have been on tenterhooks, flopping back and forth between excitement and trepidation.
(Begin boooo-ring lecture -)
Telling a story from the First-Person perspective creates a unique view for you, the Gentle Reader. Comics are normally written from a Third-Person Perspective, where the Reader views the Character’s Actions and Interactions with their co-characters against the background of their environment.
First-Person Storytelling portrays EVERYTHING from the Main Character’s point of view. This adds an eccentricity to the artwork, where the Artist, in illustrating the story must capture the vision of the story and the sightline of the First Person. This is hardly a simple task. Between Line-of-sight perspectives, and capturing small details like curved reflections, there are a million more details to render. Correctly.
Now, I will put away my Podium of Tedium, and return to the regularly scheduled critique…
Since taking over this book, Tom Taylor has taken the character of Dick Grayson to new heights, constantly showing him to be Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth’s greatest success. The storylines have been well thought out, engaging, and in many instances downright glorious.
This issue is the proof in the pudding.
Snappy patter, good characterizations, strong story, recurring villain duo Double Dare as a mercenary Robin Hood type, and Bitewing (!), give the reader more than enough reason to part with their hard-earned money.
It was the artwork that grabbed me by the collar and forced me to stay.
Bruno Redondo has taken Tom Taylor’s stories and made them a MUST READ. As the Primary Artist on Nightwing, Mr. Redondo brings a brightness to the Nightwing Story, something missing from the grim, gritty artwork in other Bat-Family books.
In addition, with this being the second ‘gimmick art book’ (artwork displaying an out-of-the-ordinary style of storytelling) Mr. Redondo has done, as described by critics, I would submit this as a successful experiment in Sequential Art Storytelling, turning the norms on their respective heads, and giving the reader a fresh, camera-eye view of the story unfolding.
I applaud such risk-taking, as I did with Steranko’s Agent of SHIELD art, Bill Sienkiewicz’s New Mutants, Frank Miller’s Daredevil, and both Neil Adams and Marshall Rogers Batman.
The story in Issue #105 is entitled ‘You Are Nightwing’.
If at the end of the story, you, Gentle Reader, do not feel you have experienced a day in the life, you have not done the story justice.
Mrs. Taylor and Redondo certainly did.
