Confession: I made a mistake about issue 18 being the conclusion to the Nightwing Must Die arc, with that being said, the storyline continues!
With the discovery of longtime Nightwing adversary Dr Hurt being the one behind the kidnapping of Nightwing’s girlfriend Shawn at the hand of Professor Pyg, in addition to sending Deathwing to kill Bludhaven’s very own hero, Nightwing is done with the charades. Nightwing and Shawn travel to Egypt to save Robin (Damian) from the evil clutches of Dr Hurt. But why has Dr Hurt returned? What does he want with Robin and Nightwing? What is he trying to show Nightwing? And what will Nightwing discover in regards to his future and his soul?
Tim Seeley is providing a very entertaining content for anyone who is a Nightwing fan. Pulling out the stops by reintroducing fans to characters from Nightwing’s own rogues gallery. Dr Hurt hasn’t been seen since Nightwing’s tenure as Batman during the Morrison run in the pre 52. What makes this issue great is seeing Nightwing grow as a character and his relationship with his girl friend Shawn (former supervillain, current rehab specialist for villains trying to turn their life around). It echoes what people missed and loved /love in parallel to Superman (Tomasi/ Gleason run) and Spider-Man (JMS run) in regards to seeing characters age and grow as people that make the stories engaging and entertaining to follow and read. Seeley understands Nightwing as a character and channels his voice well. The plot is good and gives the reader explanations to the mysteries that were introduced within the current story arc.
Javier Fernandez art is consistently efficient and great to aesthetically soak in. Minkyu Jung also provides art duties that are as equally stunning as Fernandez work, preserving the visual narrative without breaking the reader out of the story in any jarring manner. Chris Sotomayor’s colors are on point draping the panels and pages with a flair that makes the comic lively in a visual style.
Nightwing #19 is an enjoyable issue and if you’ve been enjoying this series and what Seeley has been delivering, then you’ll no doubt enjoy this issue.
Newsdesk