Nightwing #110 Review

      

     

Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Sami Basri, Vicente Cifuentes
Colors by: Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by: Bruno Redondo (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: January 16, 2024

Nightwing #110 sets Jon Kent and Nightwing on Damian Wayne the catboy's trail amid the chaos of Beast World. They'll find a new villain who may give the Titans a run for their money.
Is Nightwing #110 Good?

Nightwing #110 is a strange issue as a Beast World tie-in because it only loosely connects to what's happening and doesn't get the same character (Nightwing) from the same writer (Tom Taylor) in the same place at the same time. You'd think the architect of both titles (Nightwing and Titans) and the crossover (Beast World) could keep his own story straight. C'est la vie.

When last we left Nightwing, he helped Bea Blud defeat her adoptive brother to become the Queen of the Bludhaven Pirates. Now, Nightwing teams up with Jon Kent to track down Damian Wayne after the newest Robin became infected with a Garro spore to become a temperamental catboy. Jon and Dick track Damian to an underground fight club where the latter is the prized fighter under the control of DC's latest villain, Ava Apex. Ava became infected with Sakutia, the same virus that almost killed Gar before he became Beast Boy. When she came into contact with Garro spore blood, Ava became the adult woman version of Beast Boy, complete with green skin and the ability to change into animals.

Jon and Dick save Damian, break up the underground animorphs fighting ring, and help Damian revert to normal, but Ava Apex gets away in the melee.

I say Nightwing #7 doesn't quite jive because, in the same week, Dick is fighting against Garth and Brother Eternity at Titans Tower right after he was cured from turning into a Fox. Yes, sure, comic time is different than real-time, but a crossover that takes place over one or two days doesn't have that flexibility, especially for multiple tie-in issues coming out the same week.

What's great about Nightwing #7? Simply for the pure novelty of it, catboy Damian is amusing. Further, Ava Apex works as a worthy opponent for Beast Boy, even if her origin is ridiculously contrived.

What's not so great about Nightwing #7? At the risk of sounding like a broken record when it comes to Tom Taylor's ongoing series, there's not a hint of dramatic tension or emotional punch in this issue. You never get the impression that Jon or Dick were in any real danger or that they wouldn't succeed. In effect, the issue is forgettable because it fails to get you to feel something.

How's the art? Sami Basri and Vicente Cifuentes deliver a perfectly good comic. The action is well done, the creature designs are excellent (including catboy Damian), and Jon's big lift to end the final battle looks great.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter


Bits and Pieces:

Nightwing #110 is a perfectly serviceable albeit forgettable tie-in to the Beast World crossover. The tie-in has little impact on the Beast World conflict, other than the setting, but Taylor introduces an interesting new villain to give the Titans trouble in the future.

7/10