![]() The stakes are low as Dick visits Blockbuster’s daughter, Olivia, as she plays with Garth who has transformed into a unicorn for her entertainment. Taylor does a good job making Dick’s relationship with his friends feel genuine and charming to watch unfold. The main draw is the newfound importance of the Titans as this arc seems to operate as a reintroduction for their own series coming out soon. Credit: Travis Moore, Adriano Lucas, Wes Abbott Wes Abbott’s letters do a good job of adding some character to Neron, as his speech bubbles are crooked and green, while his minions follow a similar look. It keeps the atmosphere slight, which is befitting of Taylor’s overall tone for the series, but that makes me question this pivot to fantasy to begin with. Neron looks like a bulky, plastic soldier and his demonic minions lack a sense of gruesomeness to really sell the danger. While this suits Nightwing in his Bludhaven setting, Moore’s visuals aren’t as well suited to the grit and grime of the comic’s underworld characters. Moore’s work is pristine and crisp, with Adriano Lucas’ colors enhancing the clean, almost plastic looking aesthetic. Moore’s work on previous Nightwing issues was great and that remains true here even if the Hell setting doesn’t play to their strengths. Travis Moore is on art duties this time around and is a more than capable fill-in for Bruno Redondo. There’s little to hold onto in Taylor’s Nightwing as of late since he whisks us to various settings, with various plotlines but little connective tissue. We are long gone from the streets of Bludhaven here and the fantasy themed setting can be a hard pill to swallow when I’m grasping for a semblance of consistency. Nonetheless, the switch up in environments is jarring to say the least. Grinning Man is a serviceable villain here with his everlasting smile giving his scenes a suitable creep factor. Since Neron is afraid of visibly going to battle with Raven, Trigon’s daughter, he enlists the service of the King of Vlatava, also known as “Grinning Man”. Long story short, Lord Neron wants Blockbuster’s daughter’s soul, which Nightwing and Raven prevented a few issues back. There’s nothing wrong with Taylor scripting a diverse set of storylines, but the fun factor needs to be way higher if a coherent long form narrative is being sacrificed in favor of this. After “The Battle for Bludhaven’s Heart” wrapped up, I’ve found the series to be unwieldy despite a lack of narrative momentum. ![]() Taylor’s Nightwing has struggled to maintain a consistent point of view as it hops around from gang warfare, nautical themed mysteries, the return of the Titans, and now this Underworld oriented story arc. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Nite-Mite issue, despite it being a relatively enjoyable diversion, and to see the plotline return doesn’t start things off on the right foot. In a series that is in the midst of an identity crisis, bringing demons, Lord Neron, and all sorts of supernatural imagery isn’t the best way to convince readers that there’s a coherent vision for the future. Nightwing #101 is a ho-hum read that revisits a story thread that would have been better left dangling. ![]()
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