A review by siskoid
Nightwing, Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light by Tom Taylor

5.0

Collecting Nightwing #78-83 (2021 series), Stepping Into the Light, while not a full story, is an AMAZING comic. Dick, Babs and Tim have rarely been so well written. Or funny. Tom Taylor is emerging as one of my favorite current-day writers as a result, and it's almost unbelievable given past assignments like Injustice and DCeased. There is a darkness in his Blüdhaven - it's a cesspool, after all - but he makes Nightwing (and newly-minted billionaire Dick Grayson) such a guiding light for the city that it never feels grim even with a serial killer on the loose. Part of the charm is Bruno Redondo's beautifully designed art and Adriano Lucas' colorful palette. An acrobatic hero like Nightwing deserves to be clearly seen in motion, and these artists are clever in their portrayal of action (and also produce some of the best covers on the stands since this chapter of Dick's story began). Easy to jump into (I haven't read any Nightwing since early issues of the New52), the notion is that having inherited wealth, Dick needs to decide what to do with, a decision that's sure to contrast with real-world billionaires. Not even Bruce Wayne is in the same league as Dick. There's a new mysterious villain that's connected to this take, but also a new ally Dick didn't see coming, but it's how the book made me feel that makes me recommend it so highly. Rare are comics that can make me burst out laughing one minute, and start weeping the next. It's the GRACE with which Dick comports himself that does it. This run may well turn out to be the high water mark for the character.