Nightwing #147 Review

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Don Kramer

Nightwing #147 represents a truly infuriating trend in recent comic books. It is marketed as a part of the "R.I.P." storyline taking place in the other Batman comics, but has absolutely nothing to do with it. This continues the pattern of soliciting comics as being a part of a larger story and then having it have nothing to do with the story at all. I believe this trend started with the "Avengers Disassembled" story line four years ago, in which both Thor and the Fantastic Four were solicited as a part of the story, but had nothing to do with it. It culminated with the disastrous Countdown to Final Crisis, which not only had nothing to do with Final Crisis but contradicted so many elements in it that it made Final Crisis even harder to read. Even if Nightwing turns out to be a part of the R.I.P. story in the end (is the guy falling into a cloud of bats a part of R.I.P.?), I have lost all faith that it will be.

So, Nightwing #175 puts me in an awkward position. Tomasi just wrote one of my favourite books ever, the wonderful Final Crisis: Requiem, and I want to read more of his work. On the other hand, I feel almost morally obliged to drop Nightwing immediately so as not to find myself taken advantage of. Since I am interested in both Tomasi and Nightwing, I will give this series a shot, and hold my nose at the stench of DC marketing.

Despite all of these concerns, Nightwing #147 is actually a pretty good book. It isn't especially insightful or moving, but is a well-paced, well-told action story in which Nightwing has to protect Two Face's ex-paramour from unnamed assassins. Every part of the action is well described and clear, and between the fight in the car, the battle on the rooftop and a mad leap through a crashing helicopter. Kramer has a great sense of visual storytelling that makes every scene seem like it is in motion.

The rooftop scene with Two-Face and Nightwing is a lot of fun. Two-Face has such a bizarre moral code that Nightwing can only laugh at him. However, he did love the assassin's target, and now he wants to save her life. Somehow, Two-Face blends not being willing to actually follow through on the affair because of his wife with dropping innocent people in a silo filling with sugar, and makes it seem sort of plausible.

Some of the elements are a little implausible, even from the standpoint of a comic book. The sniper on the roof battle is perhaps the worst sniper who ever lived. He literally kills every single person except for his intended target. However, no matter how implausible the occasional element became, the sense of desperation in the scenes made every dangerous decision people took make sense.

The cliffhanger has all the wind taken out of its sails by the fact that we know Nightwing will soon be in Gotham, perfectly healthy, and captured by the Black Glove. If this hadn't been marketed as a part of R.I.P., it would work well as an independent story, but since it is supposedly a part of R.I.P., it must happen before Batman #678, so we know that Nightwing gets up from his injury so fast, it seems like it happened two months ago. Not only is the marketing dishonest, but it actually hurts the story.

I'm not sure how to grade this comic. I want to fail it, because I want to punish DC, but I suppose at the end of the day, a grade isn't a weapon but a description of the quality of the book, independent of such considerations.

B-