Nightwing #92 Review

 

Have Some Heart

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Bruno Redondo

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 17, 2022

Dick Grayson is my favorite character, and I love Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo.  So why aren't I enjoying this Nightwing book as much as many other people?  Maybe it's because Taylor seems happy just to let everyone know that Dick Grayson is a great guy, and I already know that.  Perhaps it's because he likes to stress how much his friends and family love him, and I already know that.  Maybe it's a combination of those two things combined with a fan service over story approach that makes everything feel like empty calories by the end.  Let's see if we get something tasty and filling this month...

Nightwing #92 opens with a Batman and Robin flashback that sets up the premise that Dick Grayson always helps out no matter the odds.  It's an easy scene to like as Batgirl also jumps in to show the same thing, but this is 100% what I was talking about above.  It's getting to the point where I wonder who Taylor has left to convince.  On a side note, the real dick in this book is Batman, who can't seem to catch a break lately.

In the present, we get to see the opening of Haven.  Dick has made sure it has everything - Free pizza, a skatepark, a library, a George Perez, and a Marv Wolfman.  Sadly, I didn't see Neal Adams, but he might have tried pushing the Expanding Earth theory to the kids, and who wants that?!?  A grand opening can also attract some shady characters, and while Bruce Wayne is there (and wearing shades), I meant Blockbuster.  After putting poor-ass Bruce in his place, Desmond glared at Dick for a second, asked some sus questions, and then left when Jon Kent showed up.

Of course, Blockbuster is always up to no good and rounds up a posse to mess with Dick Grayson.  But, in a move that felt a bit too much "out of the headlines," the troublemakers weren't as anonymous as they thought, and it might lead back to Blockbuster.  Don't worry about Desmond, though, since it looks like he is getting a team-up offer straight from the heart. 

While the cliffhanger might finally get things rolling, the overall plot of this book is still not moving much at all.  As I said in my introduction, Tom Taylor is content to show how great and loved Dick Grayson is while story progression be damned.  Bruno Redondo kicks total ass when it comes to the art, and if you want a book to remind yourself that heroes are good people and not much more, this issue will certainly satisfy that need.  I am desperate for more from this book, and knowing that Tom Taylor is capable of that makes it all the more frustrating reading this book every month.

Bits and Pieces:

Nightwing #92 has some things to like, but unfortunately, they are the same surface-level fan service stuff we keep getting.  It looks fantastic, but we should be well past trying to convince everyone how great Dick Grayson is.  Hopefully, the cliffhanger hints that we will get some story progression soon.

6.5/10