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.

Nightwing Vol. 5: Setting Son

Author:  Kyle Higgins

Artists:  Will Conrad, Cliff Richards, Russell 
Dauterman

Publisher:  DC Comics

Source:  NetGalley

First Publication:  December 2014

Collects:  Nightwing #s 25-29, Annual #1

Graphic Novel Challenge #58

The finale to Nightwing’s solo title was a good one.  I have been a fan of Kyle Higgins tenure on this title.  He has fleshed out the background of Dick Grayson, especially his life at the circus.  The main focus of this collection is a battle with the classic Bat-villain the Mad Hatter.  Nightwing becomes involved with trying to help a victim of the Hatter who suffers from multiple personalities.  A side effect of her mistreatment at the Hatter’s hands is that she is able to imitate any fighting style once she sees it.  Higgins uses it to show the emotional, mental, and physical struggles of this battle.  

Also included is a Nightwing Annual that shows Dick’s last day in Gotham as he leaves Babs Gordon behind. An epilog to the series is the final issue in the collection.  It is written by the team who are writing Grayson.  They use it to set the stage for that Dick Grayson/spy comic.  

Highly recommended.