Writer: Tom Taylor
Art: Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott
Publisher: DC Comics
Price:$4.99
Release Date: December 22nd, 2021
NIGHTWING #87 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo hits stores this Christmas week as the highly anticipated issue follows Dick Grayson across one continual action sequence. Readers will certainly uncover a very unique take from a different vantage point that resembles that of a huge, sprawling, action video game. Truthfully, I got the feeling of what would be an early NES or SUPER NES side-scrolling video game.
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THE DISPATCH
The premise for NIGHTWING #87 is actually very simple. So simple in fact that any reader could pick this single issue up not knowing anything before or even after and follow the story beats well enough to thoroughly enjoy the inventive nature and supposition. The narrative is… cute. Granted, I don’t know if Taylor and Redondo would want their comic to be viewed as “cute”, however, it’s just that. Moreover, it’s a fun, entertainingly quick read.
So, please take my advice while reading NIGHTWING this week and it will make more sense. Read the Blue Panel Monologue part separately from the word balloons. It will slow you down if you try to read them together. Literally, forget about the blue panels until you’re done with the story. Then, once you finish, go back and read the blue panels. That way you can follow the flow from left to right as NIGHTWING moves throughout the story with ease and fanfare. Additionally, it actually may read better digitally than in hard copy. You can zoom in on specific sections as NIGHTWING advances through the comic helping the progression of the story and moment of the action as well as the pacing.
Lastly, the focus of NIGHTWING #87 is also more on the background than NIGHTWING or the foreground. Sure, he’s the catalyst of the issue. He’s the main character. However, Redondo has him drawn so small at some points that the landscape and surroundings take center stage more than the individual character. And as you look, you’ll find some hidden signs and gems that will also make you chuckle a little bit like the sign that continues the Gail Simone bear joke. Thus, the detail Redondo added into each incredibly large tapestry to weave the pieces together was very impressive.
FINAL THOUGHTS
NIGHTWING #87 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo is an extremely quick read that’s loads of fun. Again, the narrative is basically self-contained so anyone can read the story and understand it with ease. The anecdote was charming and refreshing to read from this perspective providing Redondo the opportunity to showcase something new and exciting while allowing himself to tell a majority of the story. Realistically, other than the first page, words really aren’t required to understand the story. Furthermore, it’s not so much one continual fight scene as much as it’s following NIGHTWING’S movement through an action sequence/ movie chase scene that truly could have been done in two pages of a comic normally.
Would I want this style or technique every time? Absolutely not. The overall progression of the narrative would go nowhere. However, if the creative team deems specific action sequences as that valuable to the comic, then so be it. Nevertheless, I don’t see the need for Taylor and Redondo to have centered in on this specific element for the series for anything other than something unique and different. Ultimately, NIGHTWING #87 was charming and fun and everyone should give it a look especially from a digital angle. Let me know what you think, Merry Christmas, and God Bless!