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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This one is mainly about the backstory of Dick Grayson's family ties to the Talon and the Court of Owls. It was pretty enjoyable but if you read the Court of Owls/City of Owls from the Batman series you've already seen most of this. Still good though. If you read it without reading those then this does deserve a solid 4/5 stars.
This series is so cheesy (especially with the Gray Son reveal), but I like it. I really like reading from Dick's point of view and seeing how he got to this point in his life. I'm not sure where some of the plot points, like the amusement park, are going, but I'm in for the ride.
I wasn't 100% into the main mystery, but I do really like how it touches on the nuance of living in Gotham. It isn't black and white, and it's never as simple as either side would make it seem.
I wasn't 100% into the main mystery, but I do really like how it touches on the nuance of living in Gotham. It isn't black and white, and it's never as simple as either side would make it seem.
Nightwing gets better with the 2nd volume, even if it's still not a homerun.
Unlike most people I see reviewing, I much perfer the first two issues here. The court of owls is one of the best things to happen to Batman and it helps elevate Nightwing's story. Giving personal issues + some fantastic fight scenes thanks to the art, the first two parter is brutal and exciting. I also loved the twist with the grandpa.
Now the second half isn't bad just tad bit boring at times. We have a new villain who is using his powers to manupulate people and trick a cop into going against Dick. It's a classic villain vs hero story with a so/so ending.
Overall, good but not great. Least it's better than volume 1. A 3 out of 5.
Unlike most people I see reviewing, I much perfer the first two issues here. The court of owls is one of the best things to happen to Batman and it helps elevate Nightwing's story. Giving personal issues + some fantastic fight scenes thanks to the art, the first two parter is brutal and exciting. I also loved the twist with the grandpa.
Now the second half isn't bad just tad bit boring at times. We have a new villain who is using his powers to manupulate people and trick a cop into going against Dick. It's a classic villain vs hero story with a so/so ending.
Overall, good but not great. Least it's better than volume 1. A 3 out of 5.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such vast improvement from one volume to another. That's really the important part and the key takeaway I want to give here, so skip the rest if you just want to know if this is better than what preceded—it very much is. I absolutely panned vol.1, with a long list of the aggravating plot issues that took me out of the story and made it unenjoyable. While vol.2 doesn’t strike me as particularly memorable, it did leave me feeling like it deserves high praise for getting this series on solid ground and turning it into one I’d like to stick with. After vol.1 I wouldn’t have bought vol.2 if I hadn’t already; after vol.2 I’m definitely interested in seeing where vol.3 is headed.
It seems like even the blurb on the back cover somewhat reflects my feelings: “It feels like this is how it always should have been… Dick Grayson is a better character now than he was before Night of the Owls.” It’s true. Vol.1 felt confused and misguided, like the team was dropped in the deep end, had to make a split decision about what direction to swim, and spent the rest of those issues trying to find their way back to land. Vol.2 feels established and thought through—maybe not that exciting, but no longer a mess.
The art’s decent, and it no longer feels like Dick looks stocky and blocky sometimes, but many of the action poses still look awkward and contorted, and the fight sequences struck me as a little vague and chaotic.
The closing origin issue seemed well done. Of course we all dread the constant origin rehashes of every comic character, and I didn’t really care for how Dick’s origin was updated to encroach on Tim’s a little, but it was well handled, and it has the strongest art of this volume.
* * Spoilers from here, I guess sorta * *
One complaint carries over: Nightwing takes too much damage too consistently. In his initial owl battle he gets cut across the arm and bare face by a sword, takes three throwing knives to the chest and one in the back, lands hard from a plunge off a building while already severely injured, gets cut across the wrist (seriously, not even the gauntlets provide any armor?), and ends up passing out from blood loss. He then wakes up, pulls off a surprise victory, and has the strength to carry the Talon out. Next issue, he’s totally fine, no huge gash on his cheek, and we even get a gratuitous shirtless shot to show us there’s not a mark on him where he just had multiple knives embedded. Seriously, cut the crap—if you want to write these kinds of battles, go write Wolverine or Deadpool. This is silly, distracts from the story, and gives the impression that the character details don’t matter, he’s just a generic hero to put through whatever.
And leave clock tower’s alone! As soon as we found the baddies hiding behind a huge old clock face, I thought oh no, this is about to get smashed. You can’t avoid all tropes and cliches, but this is just so lazy that it causes the reader to think about the mistakes the script is making instead of what’s happening in the story.
On that note, the clock face got destroyed when the main villain knocked out that whole section of the building with his energy blade saw thingies… the same weapons that blast apart whole groups of regular thugs, but on Nightwing they cut right through his "armor" (that never protects against anything) but only leave flesh wounds. They’re super destructive but NW is able to avoid them, or he gets hit but they only do minor damage—pick one and stick with it. Or is Paragon’s commentary on Nightwing’s stun electrode escrima upgrade supposed to imply that he has his weapons also switched to a stun mode? Too subtle for me if so, and they still cut through his armor so…
I could continue on the details of that scene but this isn’t a negative review like the last one so I’m just going to skip that.
Some praise: The whole Haly’s ownership thing in the previous volume was a mistake. The vibe in the second volume is that they know it was a mistake, and resolving it and pushing it out of the way has become a boring formality of a subplot here, but it’s kept very minimal. It feels like simply housekeeping and damage control. And, again, that’s praise, because that’s exactly what was needed here.
It seems like even the blurb on the back cover somewhat reflects my feelings: “It feels like this is how it always should have been… Dick Grayson is a better character now than he was before Night of the Owls.” It’s true. Vol.1 felt confused and misguided, like the team was dropped in the deep end, had to make a split decision about what direction to swim, and spent the rest of those issues trying to find their way back to land. Vol.2 feels established and thought through—maybe not that exciting, but no longer a mess.
The art’s decent, and it no longer feels like Dick looks stocky and blocky sometimes, but many of the action poses still look awkward and contorted, and the fight sequences struck me as a little vague and chaotic.
The closing origin issue seemed well done. Of course we all dread the constant origin rehashes of every comic character, and I didn’t really care for how Dick’s origin was updated to encroach on Tim’s a little, but it was well handled, and it has the strongest art of this volume.
* * Spoilers from here, I guess sorta * *
One complaint carries over: Nightwing takes too much damage too consistently. In his initial owl battle he gets cut across the arm and bare face by a sword, takes three throwing knives to the chest and one in the back, lands hard from a plunge off a building while already severely injured, gets cut across the wrist (seriously, not even the gauntlets provide any armor?), and ends up passing out from blood loss. He then wakes up, pulls off a surprise victory, and has the strength to carry the Talon out. Next issue, he’s totally fine, no huge gash on his cheek, and we even get a gratuitous shirtless shot to show us there’s not a mark on him where he just had multiple knives embedded. Seriously, cut the crap—if you want to write these kinds of battles, go write Wolverine or Deadpool. This is silly, distracts from the story, and gives the impression that the character details don’t matter, he’s just a generic hero to put through whatever.
And leave clock tower’s alone! As soon as we found the baddies hiding behind a huge old clock face, I thought oh no, this is about to get smashed. You can’t avoid all tropes and cliches, but this is just so lazy that it causes the reader to think about the mistakes the script is making instead of what’s happening in the story.
On that note, the clock face got destroyed when the main villain knocked out that whole section of the building with his energy blade saw thingies… the same weapons that blast apart whole groups of regular thugs, but on Nightwing they cut right through his "armor" (that never protects against anything) but only leave flesh wounds. They’re super destructive but NW is able to avoid them, or he gets hit but they only do minor damage—pick one and stick with it. Or is Paragon’s commentary on Nightwing’s stun electrode escrima upgrade supposed to imply that he has his weapons also switched to a stun mode? Too subtle for me if so, and they still cut through his armor so…
I could continue on the details of that scene but this isn’t a negative review like the last one so I’m just going to skip that.
Some praise: The whole Haly’s ownership thing in the previous volume was a mistake. The vibe in the second volume is that they know it was a mistake, and resolving it and pushing it out of the way has become a boring formality of a subplot here, but it’s kept very minimal. It feels like simply housekeeping and damage control. And, again, that’s praise, because that’s exactly what was needed here.
I'm still really enjoying this new Nightwing series. This did cover some ground I'd already read in the big Night of the Owls collection that had all of the Batverse stories involving that event, but it was nice to reread them within Nightwing's timeline.
I especially liked the reworking of Robin's origin story in here. Dick Grayson gets a lot more initiative and choice than it normally feels he had as a kid, and all the other origin stories I remember he never once picks his own alias. I rather liked that in here! Looking forward to more.
I especially liked the reworking of Robin's origin story in here. Dick Grayson gets a lot more initiative and choice than it normally feels he had as a kid, and all the other origin stories I remember he never once picks his own alias. I rather liked that in here! Looking forward to more.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was going to be a 3-star review until the very last issue. The Owls stuff started strong, but really never lived up to the potential. The issues with the tomorrow people were just alright. I feel like Dick's personality is wrong in this New 52 relaunch. He's too similar to Batman. The final issue showcased Dick's origin with him becoming Robin. That was just right. It was updated enough to feel fresh, and served as a way to highlight the differences (and similarities) between him and Batman. I'd love a fresh series set when Dick Grayson was Robin... as long as Frank Miller doesn't go anywhere near it.
For more (much, much more) on Dick Grayson, tune in to a special spotlight over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-241-holy-robin-spotlight-batman
For more (much, much more) on Dick Grayson, tune in to a special spotlight over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-241-holy-robin-spotlight-batman
A solid companion piece to Snyder's Court Of Owls storyline.
I'm not a big fan of the talon flashback sequences used as a template for the first couple of issues but it appeared to be a Batman-wide requirement during the Night Of Owls crossover.the rest of the story about Grayson's relaitonships to Batman, The Court Of Owls, the daughter of his parents' killer, and the circus were a fun read. I'm enjoying Higgins's run on Nightwing, and am curious how it's going to lead to the Grayson title in the fairly near future.
The art was a little dark for me. I understand that all the Bat books tend to have a dark color pallete, but Dick Grayson is the brightest of the family members. The circus angle should really allow more white yellow and orange into the mix, as opposed to the browns, blues, and dark greens that dominate the books's spectrum.
If you're a Dick Grayson fan, I think this is a four star book.
I'm not a big fan of the talon flashback sequences used as a template for the first couple of issues but it appeared to be a Batman-wide requirement during the Night Of Owls crossover.the rest of the story about Grayson's relaitonships to Batman, The Court Of Owls, the daughter of his parents' killer, and the circus were a fun read. I'm enjoying Higgins's run on Nightwing, and am curious how it's going to lead to the Grayson title in the fairly near future.
The art was a little dark for me. I understand that all the Bat books tend to have a dark color pallete, but Dick Grayson is the brightest of the family members. The circus angle should really allow more white yellow and orange into the mix, as opposed to the browns, blues, and dark greens that dominate the books's spectrum.
If you're a Dick Grayson fan, I think this is a four star book.
Reviewed First at Brunner's Bookshelf
The Court of Owls was one of the best Batman stories I have ever read and the fact that this spilled over into the Nightwing universe was even better. We get to learn all kinds of great secrets about Dick and his family in the past. There are a few references to the events that happen in the Batman books so you might be a little lost if you haven't read them but the story in this collection was really well written.
Not only do we get more of the Court of Owls story line but we get a new group growing in power in Nightwing's neck of the woods and these people hate all things with a mask. Nightwing has been framed for murder and now he has to deal with the Court of Owls and a new group hunting him down and their leader Paragon. This may start with the court of Owls but a new story line takes over the rest of the book and it was a good one. I can't wait to see what happens next.
The story was great and so was the artwork. I actually borrowed this from my library so I don't have examples like when I get a digital copy for an ARC so you will have to take my word for it. There is a lot of detail in every panel in this book. I loved this book and can't wait to move on to Volume 3.
There is so much I want to say about this book but fear that it would be full of spoilers and I don't want to ruin this book for anyone. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. One of my favorite reads of this year so far and the very first book I will give 5 out of 5 stars. The next volume revolves around the Death of the Family story line from Batman and that was the only thing better than Court of Owls and other new series beginnings in the New 52. The books I have read from the Nightwing series have been reat so if you enjoy comics these all are good reads.
The Court of Owls was one of the best Batman stories I have ever read and the fact that this spilled over into the Nightwing universe was even better. We get to learn all kinds of great secrets about Dick and his family in the past. There are a few references to the events that happen in the Batman books so you might be a little lost if you haven't read them but the story in this collection was really well written.
Not only do we get more of the Court of Owls story line but we get a new group growing in power in Nightwing's neck of the woods and these people hate all things with a mask. Nightwing has been framed for murder and now he has to deal with the Court of Owls and a new group hunting him down and their leader Paragon. This may start with the court of Owls but a new story line takes over the rest of the book and it was a good one. I can't wait to see what happens next.
The story was great and so was the artwork. I actually borrowed this from my library so I don't have examples like when I get a digital copy for an ARC so you will have to take my word for it. There is a lot of detail in every panel in this book. I loved this book and can't wait to move on to Volume 3.
There is so much I want to say about this book but fear that it would be full of spoilers and I don't want to ruin this book for anyone. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. One of my favorite reads of this year so far and the very first book I will give 5 out of 5 stars. The next volume revolves around the Death of the Family story line from Batman and that was the only thing better than Court of Owls and other new series beginnings in the New 52. The books I have read from the Nightwing series have been reat so if you enjoy comics these all are good reads.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes