DC Comics has been teasing us that Nightwing #87 was going to be a special issue we would all want to pick up. Was the publisher right, or did we fall for the oldest trick in the book? I have a few thoughts…

NIGHTWING #87

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Editor: Jessica Chen
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 21, 2021

Previously, in Nightwing: Dick Grayson is taking his fortune and using it to save Blüdhaven. Only, someone is very resistant to change.

TIME IS ON MY SIDE

If Tom Taylor were channeling a movie, Nightwing #87 would definitely be the opening shot of The Player (1992), or perhaps even Rope (1984). A hit has been taken out on Dick Grayson – not Nightwing, and in the process, Dick’s dog, Haley, aka Bitewing, has been abducted. If we are continuing the movie metaphor we should probably add John Wick (2017) to the list. If you are concerned about the fate of the dog, you should be, as the villain ultimately pulls a National Lampoon magazine moment in an attempt to get away.

While this story is a giant chase sequence, Taylor spends a fair amount of time sharing Dick’s inner monologue on how his fortune can help the city, even if it can’t help those in immediate need. Taylor’s writing seems to reflect the struggle many have when it comes to giving.

“Do I write a check to a local food kitchen so they can stock their pantry for the next month, or do I buy a meal and give it to the person on the street corner so they can eat right now?”

The answer is, “yes” to both, but Dick’s debate on which does the greater good in the long run is fascinating, and something I don’t think many readers consider when they read about the extreme wealth of the Wayne family.

Often, times of great stress give us the moments necessary to reflect; it gives us a chance to reaffirm our goals, and confirm our desires and commitments to others. I like that the events of Nightwing #87 give Dick (and Nightwing) a much stronger resolve in his desire to save Blüdhaven, and its people (and animals).  Perhaps, it also serves as a notifier to the reader to also have that same monologue.

TIME, AND TIME… AGAIN!

Comics are a lot like film – every panel a new camera angle, the area between panels representing a cut. So when we read a comic, we are seeing a static representation of film; brief moments of time captured by the artist and shared with the reader.

But, if we could take a step back (or up) to a higher dimension, we might be able to see all of time and space displayed before us in a single image, from the Big Bang to the Big Freeze all at once, all at the same time. Since we can’t step to a higher dimension, then what? How do we show motion, how do we capture the passage of time in a single frame?  Marcel Duchamp presented one take in his 1912 painting “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2.” Inspired by a series of photographs taken by Eadweard Muybrige (Woman Walking Downstairs, 1887), the image at first appears to be a mess of lines, and cubes – abstract visual noise, until you realize you are seeing slices of time overlapping one another, giving us a glimpse perhaps at the world from that higher dimension.  While the image was initially rejected by art critics, Duchamp would later go on to try and clarify his attempt to capture the relationship between motion and his nude model:

“My aim was a static representation of movement, a static composition of indications of various positions taken by a form in movement—with no attempt to give cinema effects through painting. The reduction of a head in movement to a bare line seemed to me defensible.”

I think I agree with Duchamp’s statement.

Let’s take Duchamp’s concept a step further, and assume that capturing recognizable art is part of the goal in representing, say, Batman and Nightwing breaking into Maxwell Lord’s hideout, and we end up with Nick Derington’s fantastic sequence from Batman: Universe #5 (2019).

Again, we are presented with a single static image, but because the slices of time being sampled are further apart, the art is clear and distinct. We can can see the path the heroes take, and how they overcome obstacles. While there is not a lot of discourse surrounding this single page, the image has spawned a number of variations and imitations, including a LEGO version of the scene.

Nightwing #87 appears to stand up and tell anyone in the room, “Hold my beer,” taking the concept and expanding it to an entire issue; page after page a single panel, telling the story in one take.

Bruno Redondo’s art is charming in so many ways in this issue. From the incredible cityscapes, to the minute details hidden on the walls of the city, Redondo is encouraging you to slow down and enjoy the journey in this massive single panel. I particularly enjoy the moment when the Mystery Mobile makes an appearance (coincidentally at the same moment Bitewing is dognapped), and the fact that so many cultures, ethnicities, and disenfranchised groups are presented here. It makes Blüdhaven feel like a real metropolis (but not THAT Metropolis). The fact that so much is presented on the page can actually be a bit frustrating at times, too. There is a bit of wall graphite that runs off the top of the panel, and I kept wanting to swipe down on my digital reader to see what it said. With so much going on, a reader can get lost in admiring all the “stuff” that they might forget about the story. But, then again, that is why we reread and reexamine comics.

The colors by Adriano Lucas also display the passage of time as readers move from left to right in the panel. What starts out as a late afternoon, turns to dusk by the end, and those paying careful attention will see the subtle shading of the sky and the environment reflect the setting of the sun. The purples and the oranges give a warm feeling to the story, while the blue of Nightwing’s suit contrasts well, and make the character stand out against a very busy environment.

The only issue I had with the coloring was when Oracle spoke. The green of her dialogue is easily lost against the lighter green of the word balloon, which in turn is lost against the oranges of the sky. It makes reading her words a bit more difficult overall.

BOTTOM LINE: TIME ENOUGH AT LAST

Is Nightwing #87 a gimmick? Definitely. Is it art? I think so. We look at the cover to Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, and marvel at the wonderful job George Perez did in capturing the pain and suffering Superman must be feeling at that moment in time. There is no question the cover is art. It moves us. It is also Michelangelo’s Pieta, just in a different medium. Nightwing #87 takes an idea presented initially in one form, adapted to another, and then expands upon it, making a definite statement that comics do not have to be constrained by the storytelling conventions we have come to associate with newspaper strips and narrative film.

Except, it fails in the execution.

Reading Nightwing #87 in a digital form is fine; you get to see the story play out, it makes sense, but what is missing is the grand scale of the art; the frame of my tablet literally boxing me, and the reading experience in. Likewise, those purchasing the physical comic, will need to turn page after page to experience the story. On the flip side, not having the issue folded in a giant polyptych ensures that the story is presented in a way that creates pacing, and builds drama to the very last moment. At one point, I literally uttered the word, “Whoa” when the action abruptly changed, while still remaining part of a single panel.

So, while I applaud the method in which the story is being told by Tom Taylor, to fully experience the magnitude of Bruno Redondo’s art, you really need to buy three copies of the comic: one to keep hidden away in the hopes that one day you will be able to pay off your debt, and two to disassemble. That’s right, dear Spoilerite, buy two comics, cut them up, stick them together, and hang the resulting image on your wall!  We’ve been told Nightwing #87 is two Jess’s in length, which is just about 147 inches (the same height as Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2,” by the way).  So either you destroy two comics in an attempt to experience art as intended, or DC Comics looks at this as an opportunity to sell high end prints of the issue (suitable for framing).

It’s NIGHTWING #87 final order cutoff week!
🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤
If you’re wondering just how LONG this special ONE CONTINUOUSLY CONNECTED story is…it’s about 2.5 Jess’s 🤓🖤

{in stores Dec 21th!} pic.twitter.com/8SVpiobcxB

— Jesschillin (@jesswchen) November 16, 2021

Nightwing #87 is one of those rare moments where creators are allowed to try something radical, and to an extent, it works. Beyond the gimmick, the issue does tell a thought provoking story. The art is fantastic. Pick up the issue, for no other reason than to see Nightwing and Batgirl team to save their dog. Nightwing #87 earns 4.5 out of 5 Stars overall.

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Nightwing #87

93%

93%

Great Concept!

Ultimately a tale on what matters most to the hero, utilizing the medium in a way we don't get to see often enough. Buy three copies!

• Writing

  9
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  10
• User Ratings (3 Votes)
  9.3