what is Nightwing's unique rogues' gallery at this point?
what is Nightwing's unique rogues' gallery at this point?
I feel like Dick had quite a bit of focus in both of Abnett's Titans runs, but Abnett just wrote the character terribly. He was weak willed, failed every encounter her had, fell into the generic leader with no personality trap, and worst of all was him rolling over and letting Batman and the JL run his team for him and having Roy mock him. Then in Abnett's second run on the book when Dick was remaking his team he was acting like he had his balls back and wouldn't listen to anything the JL wanted, but then immediately did exactly what the JL wanted and moved his team to work out of JL's Headquarters. The only good thing about Dick getting shot in the head is that he didn't have to be in that book anymore.
I get that some fans really like the Titans and think of it as this place that can save Dick's character, but nothing in the comics in decades has given any indication that will happen. I mean if you want to say that Dick has been awful in the Titans for decades because of his solo that doesn't really excuse how badly the rest of the Titans have been treated in the franchise that don't have solo's. It is just a terrible franchise in the comics with no direction and I don't have any confidence it will be the place to save him.
Preach. The Titans is not the book that'll save Dick. Hell, the Titans are the ones that need saving, Dick just needs a decent writer and an editor who remembers he's not Robin anymore. But exiling him to the Titans is only going to make things worse; that's one of the few "classic DC" properties that DC abuses worse than they do Dick.
But given the news tonight about all the layoffs at DC and WB....well, I wasn't worried about Dick's book when the Ric sales finally started to drop. I haven't been worried about Dick losing his solo for more than a short break before a relaunch. But now, with the DC product line supposedly being cut to ribbons? Well f*ck, now I'm concerned. Nightwing's low sales are easy to justify based on the content and quality, but I dunno if anyone is gonna be given the chance to defend it. If DC cuts the bottom half of their titles....well I don't know if Ric has dragged the book that low or not but it wouldn't surprise me. This prolonged failure at "Born Again" might actually end up putting Dick's solo in danger because of these cuts.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
With the huge cuts DC just had, Titans probably is the safest place for Dick right now.
It's the Dynamic Duo! Batman and Robin!... and Red Robin and Red Hood and Nightwing and Batwoman and Batgirl and Orphan and Spoiler and Bluebird and Lark and Gotham Girl and Talon and Batwing and Huntress and Azreal and Flamebird and Batcow?
Since when could just anybody do what we trained to do? It makes it all dumb instead of special. Like it doesn't matter anymore.
-Dick Grayson (Batman Inc.)
Under normal circumstances, absolutely. Right now? Who knows?
I figure it could go any of these ways;
Dick is one of the lucky ones who gets to keep his book. If that happens, then we probably end up with better creators since most of the bad writers are likely getting cut. Best case scenario right here.
Dick loses his solo but ends up in a team book, maybe something like the 'Tec era Gotham Knights, but more likely a Titans reunion title.
Dick loses his solo and appears in no current content but gets reprints of classic stories, Dixon, NTT, etc.
Dick only shows up in a OGN somewhere, like Lost Carnival or something.
Dick ends up in a digital title, maybe a solo or maybe a team book....my cynicism says it'll be a team book.
I think a lot will depend on who decides what books get cut, and how deeply they look at those titles. If all you do is tell an accountant to look at the sales for the last two years, then Dick is in trouble. If you look at a wider stretch of sales history, brand recognition, and/or larger media profile, or you get someone who's familiar with DC and its history to decide what stays and what goes, then Nightwing is in a much better position.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
We will see, but I think if Dick doesn't get a book, then DC is really cutting their line-up back to just the big 6 and maybe Harley Quinn.
And he would be likely one of the first characters to get a book should they decide to expand again.
But imo nightwing, Batgirl and Robin have next to the big 6 and maybe Harley Quinn to stick around in some way.
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/deat...stseller-list/
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/hero...4th-june-2020/
Nightwing is selling good again now that Joker War has started, there's plenty to cut that hasn't seen a top 10 in years.
Last edited by DurararaFTW; 08-11-2020 at 09:06 AM.
Well, that's only for the week, but still good news. At this point, I feel like Dick needs every advantage he can get to survive the culling.
If anyone outside the Big 6 and Harls is going to stick around, Dick's got good odds but I would've felt a whole hell of a lot safer back when he was selling double what he has been lately.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
As you say, Dick's got good odds that he will stock around (honestly, he could appear in OGN too).
The question is whether he will mantain his solo, which seems pretty uncertain. It seems that only the big names have a chance.
Now, I wouldn't be surprised he end up in a Titans book (after all, Titans is popular in other media). Or a "Bat-family" book.
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The solo is really the only thing that worries me. Dick is absolutely too big to be dropped completely across the board. He could end up in a digital title, or get the occasional OGN, or stay in the main line as part of a Titans or Batfam title, as you say. Or he could get several of those at the same time, I think Nightwing has a high enough profile they could get away with a few different projects running at once; Nightwing *is* fairly well known outside the LCS after all. Far from a global icon, but he's been in plenty of cartoons, video games, and shows and he's far from a unknown.
The only real question is whether his monthly, direct market solo sticks around. I think they're saying the comics line will be cut by 40%....but that isn't very clear; does that include every book DC makes, including imprints and mini's? They're dropping Black Label, does that count towards the 40%? Or are they talking only about the regular ongoing titles? Whatever floppy books are left over, will DC try to cram as many faces in those titles as possible, turning most of their books into team/ensemble titles, or will they double down and focus on the individual A-list characters and leave the B- and C-listers to other formats?
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.