Nightwing #17 follows the same general approach the rest of the Bat books this month, exploring the fallout of Joker's rampage and Dick Grayson's generally fragile emotional state. The issue is competently executed, though it lacks the creativity and storytelling flair of something like Batman and Robin #17. It's more a means to an end as Dick transitions from one life stage to the next.
I've noted in previous reviews that, while certainly dark and dramatic, Nightwing's Death of the Family tie-in arc lacked a bit of weight simply because the series hadn't devoted enough time to building up the supporting cast and Dick's role as owner of Haly's Circus. That problem continues to drag the book down a bit, as the emotion in the script just isn't as raw as it should be considering how much Dick lost in Joker's attack.
The hero spends so much time in this issue telling everyone he's "fine" that we never get a full sense of how he's actually coping. Also disappointing is the lack of interaction between Dick and Damian in this issue. The latter spends most of the story silently stalking his former mentor, and their actual dialogue is annoyingly limited, though still enjoyable.
Juan Jose Ryp tackles this transitional story. His figure work is solid, with plenty of detailed figures and emotive facial work. But his layouts are fairly uninspired and not really well-suited to Nightwing's high-flying, acrobatic world. Luckily, action only becomes the focus of a handful of pages, so the issue mainly plays to Ryp's strengths.
This current phase of Nightwing's career ends with more of a whimper than a bang. At this point, the best thing for the character is a fresh start and a new story direction. Luckily, that's exactly what Higgins seems poised to do in the coming months. And we can thank the obnoxious Channel 52 segment for spoiling exactly what that new direction entails.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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