Dick Grayson: Robin / Nightwing Appreciation 2020

[Badou]

Okay so the summary, as I suspected after paying attention for a while when it comes to Bludhaven is basically "I want something better/more for Dick" vs "It's good enough"

I just fine it incredibly frustrating. It's like watching someone try and fill up a bucket of water with a giant hole in the bottom of the bucket. Sure, if you fill it up fast enough maybe you can get the water to the top, but you wasted so much water in the process doing that. Maybe every once in a while there will be a decent Bludhaven story arc, but you just wasted so much time and effort writing in a setting that doesn't work. I just don't get it.

I don't really have a dog in the fight but I do think it's important to remember that the Dixon run is where a lot of people grew to love Nightwing, especially AS NIGHTWING (as opposed to Robin). It's a very significant part of the character's publishing history.

Also, someone doesn't need to be born in a city to adopt it and call it home.

I just think it is a false equivalence to think that because Dixon used Bludhaven in Dick's first solo book that means it is somehow deeply important to his character. I think Dick's best solo stories happened outside of Bludhaven personally.

And Dick is a fictional character, so "home" for him really doesn't work the same as a real person. A home setting needs to have actual utility and the capabilities to produce interesting stories from that utility. Typically you can classify "home" into two categories, even for a real person too. They are the place you were born and/or raised and also where you friends and family are. Bludhaven doesn't have any of that for Dick. So that doesn't work, and next home can be a place where you build a new life for yourself. That also doesn't work because after 25 years of Bludhaven stories Dick and every writer on his book has failed to build anything in Bludhaven that you would classify as a "life". So I don't see how it can be his home when it is missing any actual story elements that would make it work as a home for him. I think it is an extremely flawed concept for all those reasons I mentioned at the top of my previous long post. Bludhaven is missing all those crucial elements a hero needs to form an actual bond with their city. Without them it will always comes off as hollow.

[Drako]

Final and Variant Covers. No more batsymbol behind his logo.

[dropkickjake]

"Oh wait theres good news?"

Don't know tom taylor from adam, but if he's "one of the most exciting talents at DC," I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I will say, he is apparently choosing to use a lot of things that make me a bit skeptical. I actually like the Dick/Babs idea, but it is very rarely done in a way where both of them look positive. Zucco mayor... meh? Bludhaven is fine. I do think it's "his" city, whether it is made in his image or not. Wonder if Taylor is going to try to make his own version of Bludhaven, go with a previous version (festering crime pit/atlantic city/tech weirdness), or just make it sort of an "any city, USA" feel.

[Restingvoice]

"Had a bunch of people asking and, yes, this is Nightwing's new logo. No Batman symbol behind it. All him." - Tom Taylor's Twitter
EpiZnV3UYAAblRv.jpg
Okay.
Okay.
I'm canceling my 5 years minimum of no involving Nightwing crossover/event boycott that alters his story/support cast.
It's now back to just 1 year.

[Waterfall]

As someone who fell off the wagon after Humphries, these news are exciting!

I'm happy with the Bludhaven setting, my problem is with Barbara...I'm supposing Taylor wants to make a modern "entry point" for Nightwing, something that can be used in other media, so I'm expecting a more "back to basics" approach. Hopefully it's more like Seeley and less like Jurgens.

[BloodOps]

Such a small batch of relaunches in March, I'm sure we'll see more in April with Aquaman, Batgirls, etc

But nice to see Dick make that first cut in March with an A list team.

[Konja7]

Such a small batch of relaunches in March, I'm sure we'll see more in April with Aquaman, Batgirls, etc

But nice to see Dick make that first cut in March with an A list team.

Andrea Shea commented about this in twitter. It seems there is no plans for an Aquaman solo in soon time.

https://mobile.twitter.com/whatthe_s...48319233871872

[WonderNight]

I don't think there's gonna be a batgirls book next, I think the main reason Barbara is in nightwing is because of that. But we'll see.

[Robanker]

That's his best logo in a long time. In fact it may be my favorite. That trade dress looks great overall, to be honest.

[Avi]

Despite all the talk of home, Blüdhaven is called an adopted city in the official solicitation, which feels very self-aware. I still have hope that Taylor will let Dick branch out of Blüdhaven after the first arc. And who knows to what mobs the Zuccos have ties by now?

I actually think Humphries utilized Blüdhaven the best. The Judge was tied to Blüdhaven in a unique way, and Humphries didn't forget the Las Vegas vibe Seeley introduced while also incorporating why Blüdhaven is so depressing to its citizens (Guppy). Dixon's and Grayson's Blüdhaven mostly worked, at least for me, because Dick infiltrated the police and because he had an apartment with a supporting cast that seemed to matter even if it was "just" Nancy and Amygdala.

The logo is perfect.

Edit: It's totally too early to say this but the cover is a great cover for an omnibus.

[Restingvoice]

Despite all the talk of home, Blüdhaven is called an adopted city in the official solicitation, which feels very self-aware. I still have hope that Taylor will let Dick branch out of Blüdhaven after the first arc. And who knows to what mobs the Zuccos have ties by now?

I actually think Humphries utilized Blüdhaven the best. The Judge was tied to Blüdhaven in a unique way, and Humphries didn't forget the Las Vegas vibe Seeley introduced while also incorporating why Blüdhaven is so depressing to its citizens (Guppy). Dixon's and Grayson's Blüdhaven mostly worked, at least for me, because Dick infiltrated the police and because he had an apartment with a supporting cast that seemed to matter even if it was "just" Nancy and Amygdala.

The logo is perfect.

Edit: It's totally too early to say this but the cover is a great cover for an omnibus.

It's a similar composition as his Nightwing Year One Deluxe Edition, where he covers his cover with a confident smile and the title at the bottom, which made me at first doubt if that is his logo because it looks like a special cover or announcement poster

[Ascended]

"Oh wait theres good news?"

Don't know tom taylor from adam, but if he's "one of the most exciting talents at DC," I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I will say, he is apparently choosing to use a lot of things that make me a bit skeptical. I actually like the Dick/Babs idea, but it is very rarely done in a way where both of them look positive. Zucco mayor... meh? Bludhaven is fine. I do think it's "his" city, whether it is made in his image or not. Wonder if Taylor is going to try to make his own version of Bludhaven, go with a previous version (festering crime pit/atlantic city/tech weirdness), or just make it sort of an "any city, USA" feel.

I got no issue with using a Zucco (as you know from our pitch discussions!). If Dick has a classic rival who's well positioned to be his archnemesis, it's the family who put him on the path of the vigilante. I mean, it's either the Zuccos or Blockbuster, and the Zuccos are, at least, directly tied to Dick and his origin and not simply a D-list Bat villain who got upgraded for Nightwing.

Babs I'm not thrilled by but if Taylor can make it work, okay. Bludhaven is fine, but I expect, nay, demand! that Dick not be stuck there and still gets to explore and go on wandering adventures. Bludhaven is fine as his base of operations but any hero worth their salt does a fair amount of travel and Dick should be possessed of a wanderlust to rival Superman's.

But all in all I have high hopes that this will be the best Nightwing we've seen in a long, long time. Even the fact that his logo is his own, and not sporting a Bat on it, seems like a quality choice that tells us a lot about this approach to the character.

[OBrianTallent]

I don't think there's gonna be a batgirls book next, I think the main reason Barbara is in nightwing is because of that. But we'll see.

I would expect the Batgirls story to be picked up in the Urban Legends anthology or to be part of the rotating back ups in Batman or Detective.

[Avi]

It's a similar composition as his Nightwing Year One Deluxe Edition, where he covers his cover with a confident smile and the title at the bottom, which made me at first doubt if that is his logo because it looks like a special cover or announcement poster

That's true. I too thought it would only be an announcement poster. The simple but powerful black, white, and blue also hits differently. It's a very Nightwing combo and already appealed to me when the initial Rebirth cover was revealed.

[Frontier]

That Alfred annual was the issue that made me fine with him dying.

Do you mind explaining why?

I don't think there's gonna be a batgirls book next, I think the main reason Barbara is in nightwing is because of that. But we'll see.

I think Batman is for Babs as Oracle along with Steph and Cass as Batgirls while this book will be for Babs as Batgirl.