Give Blud
Written by: Chuck Dixon
Art by: Scott McDaniel, Karl Story, Roberta Tewes, and John Costanza
Cover Price: $1.95
Release Date: October 1996
Nightwing is my favorite character and the main reason I decided to do these retro reviews in the first place. I mean, DC seems intent on messing with Nightwing fans more and more these days so why not go back to the beginning when things were fresh for old Dick Grayson, right? Well, here is my review for Nightwing #1 or as I like to call it, “how dick found a home but lost a ponytail”
The issue opens with a watery cold open with dick sinking in the ocean, handcuffed to a refrigerator. Boy, if I had a nickel… we go quickly to a flashback to see how we got to that crazy point.
Dick ended up in Bludhaven after a bunch of bodies drifted down to Gotham, bodies with very broken necks and very dead. So, dick headed off to figure itall out and the minute he got off the train in the blud, he and the reader find out just what a piece of shit town it really is.
Dick stops what could have been a horrible crime and hooks up a young lady with a ticket back to gotham and possible a Wayne Enterprises job to boot. Itreminded me of the joke...what's the first thi g you should do in Bludhaven? Leave Bludhaven!
After Dick tells us how crappy bludhaven is, he starts some detective work and goes to the house of an asian mobster who just happens to be getting attacked. Good (or bad) timing!
That's when we start seeing an inkling of how the issue started as dick races off to chase and then fight some of the black mask's gang who have grabbed the Asian crime lord's kids. Now there is a pretty funny twist here that I won't spoil, but after fighting and getting an impromptu haircut, dick ends up I the bay and we are caught up to where the issue started.
Is it a spoiler to tell you Dick survives? Oh well, he does and we end the issue seeing the bd and the (supposedly) good guys aren't so happy about that. Black Mask can't do much about it yet, but the police can...and do! It's a good cliffhanger that certainly shows that dick may have bitten off more than he can chew heading off to Bludhaven.
I really liked this issue. We get to join Dick as newcomers to Bludhaven and chuck dixon changes up thr game a bit by having his lead character struggle right off the bat. I really like the art, but i wish the mullet could have stayed a little longer.
**This issue is on the DC Universe App**
Bits and Pieces:
Dick Grayson heads off to Bludhaven, but things go off the rails quickly. Crime bosses, near death escapes and lots of action, make this a thrill ride and that keeps pace. It's no wonder people look back at this as a classic!
9.0/10
Now THIS was some good Nightwing! Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeletelove it!!!!
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