Nightwing Volume 4: Second City

Author:  Kyle Higgins

Artists:  Brett Booth, Will Conrad, Norm Rapmund

First Publication:  July 2014

Source:  NetGalley

Publisher:  DC Comics

Collects issues #s 19-24

Graphic Novel Challenge #2

From NetGalley: Kyle Higgins sends Nightwing to the Windy City to track down his parent's killer!

After the Joker's attack on the Bat-family, Nightwing finds himself in a new setting with an unlikely ally, The Prankster. Together they are being hunted by the mysterious Mask Killer while Dick tries to find the man who killed his parents, Tony Zullo. Twists and surprises are at every turn in this exciting new chapter of Nightwing! 

Kyle Higgins, my favorite Nightwing writer, took him out from under the shadow of Batman and made Nightwing into his own hero.  The struggles with finding out that Tony Zucco was still alive and tracking him down helped define Nightwing.  The additional change of moving to Chicago also gave him a whole new environment to make his own.  Higgins is a master of plotting and characterization.  Dick Grayson sounds right when his dialogue is scripted by Higgins.  And the art is amazing.  Booth, Rapmund, and Conrad all do a fantastic job of bringing the scripts to life.

Highly recommended.  If you are any kind of Nightwing fan, pick up and read all of the Higgins collections.

Teen Titans #1, Demon Knights #1, and Stormwatch #1

Teen Titans #1

Writer:  Scott Lobdell

Penciller:  Brett Booth

Inker:  Norm Rapmund

The media is showcasing how the new teen heroes are out of control.  Many times they are causing massive damage due to their inexperience.  Now various super teens are starting to disappear.  Tim Drake decides it is up to him to gather, train, and protect the next generation of heroes.  Scott Lobdell has crafted an interesting beginning to the Titans series.  In this issue we find out that the group who is behind the creation of Superboy is the group that is doing the kidnapping.  The ending of the first issue of Superboy ties in to the end of this issue.  Lobdell is off to a good start with this one.  The art by Brett Booth is not my favorite but is good enough to get by.  I will continue following this series.

Demon Knights #1

Writer:  Paul Cornell

Penciller:  Diogenes Neves

Inker:  Oclair Albert 

I will confess up front that Paul Cornell is one of my favorite writers.  I enjoyed his work on Doctor Who, Captain Britain, and his recent stint on Action Comics.  Demon Knights takes place following the fall of Camelot.  Cornell pulls together Madame Xanadu, The Demon, The Shining Knight, and others to form a team to battle Morgan le Fay and Mordru.  This issue sets the stage for things to come.  I liked the way he is starting the series.  The art by Diogennes Nieves is amazing.  Nieves looked good on the previous run of Green Arrow but he has stepped it up with this title.  Nieves classic art influences combined with super hero storytelling is perfect for this series.  Join up now for this interesting series.

Stormwatch #1

Writer:  Paul Cornell

Artist:  Miguel Sepulveda

I have heard complaints about the art of Sepulvida on this title.  Personally, I liked the art.  I have no problem with his work.  The complaint I heard about the writing is that Paul Cornell put too many characters in the first issue.  This is the opposite of the complaints critics have of Justice League #1.  Cornell filled this issue with at least cameos of a large cast and more ideas than many titles have in their first arc.  So even though you might not get attached to the characters in this issue, the ideas are worth the price of admission.  I have a feeling that this series will only get better as Cornell takes the time to focus on the various characters.