Nightwing #35 Review

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Written by: Sam Humphries
Art by: Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo, and Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 20, 2017


It's time for a new creative team for Nightwing and that means I am taking the book over from Eric.  Nightwing is my favorite character and I am so glad to be back reviewing it.  It's not that I've enjoyed the book since Rebirth started, it's just that a guy should be able to review his favorite character, right?  So, is the book good enough for me to keep loving Dick Grayson?  Let's find out...


The issue starts with some awesome Bernard Chang art and a little bit of Nightwing. I really wanted more right off the bat, but instead, we head to the casino and see (and are told) that they have caused more problems for Bludhaven than good and see one such problem...a bloody problem.

We then get a high-speed chase/fight between Nightwing and the League of Limousine Assassins.  That may sound like a lot of fun, but it seems that all the imagination went into the name and not much else. Plus, it's out of nowhere and doesn't lead to anything.  It ends with an unfortunate crash and a scene to show us that Svoboda is still in the book, even with a demotion.

Since Dick is no longer working at Blockbuster's Casino, Sam Humphries gives him a new job...the owner of a cross train studio.  Hey, he was the gym teacher in Grayson so I'll go with it!  Plus, we get to see Dick in skimpy clothing which is always a bonus.

We get a little class and I'm sure his students will become more than students, but we are called away on Svoboda business.  It all leads to Guppy and some detective work to figure out who the mystery guy was who started all the nonsense in the beginning of the issue.  After a couple of questions, we get a forced revelation...the mystery man is the Judge, a bad guy from Dick's Robin days.  The issue ends with Dick ready to jump headfirst into the case, but the narration and the cliffhanger show that Nightwing might be up against something he can't possibly escape from.

This was an okay first issue for Sam Humphries.  I appreciate that he didn't try to reinvent the wheel here, but it was a slower start than I expected.  Maybe it's because Dick is still in Bludhaven with Svoboda, but there was nothing here to get me excited that Humphries run has begun.  In fact, this issue was kind of boring.

I did love Bernard Chang's art.  It looks awesome and he really made sure to give us a kick-ass looking Nightwing.  I am glad he is on this book.

Bits and Pieces:

Sam Humphries starts his run on Nightwing with a paint by numbers issue that keeps Dick in Bludhaven, but not much else.  Maybe I was expecting a better first issue, but this wasn't it.  Hopefully, it gets better from here because I want a Nightwing book I can get excited about.

6.0/10