Nightwing Issue 83 Review: “Leaping into the Light – Part 6”

Nightwing issue 83 brings us to the conclusion of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s first story arc in the series. This storyline started out strong and ended even stronger. This was a tale of hope and a Nightwing story that needed to be told.

Please note that there will be some spoilers below.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Nightwing fan. I’ve been a Dick Grayson fan for as long as I can remember. While I can’t say that I’ve read every single issue of a comic that he’s ever been in, I’ve read all of his solo runs other than some of the Rebirth series. What I can say is, that without a doubt, this is my favorite story and character arc out of everything that I have ever read for Nightwing. I don’t say that lightly.

Nightwing issue 83 starts out where number 82 left us. Dick and his sister Melinda are still talking. However, their time is cut short due to Blockbuster having eyes on the mayor’s home. Dick makes his escape, but not without some trouble along the way. I for one was happy to see some more action in this issue again. Nightwing using his escrima sticks as a trapeze to fly through the air attached to a helicopter was death-defying and incredibly fun to see.

Huge props to artist Bruno Redondo for bringing the whole action sequence to life. He uses one of my favorite artistic elements which is Dick not being able to stay within the lines of the panels. He’s a bigger-than-life character who is always in action; he simply cannot stay within the lines. The scenes where Nightwing is in the air are big and beautiful. Anything else happening uses smaller panels, showing the reader what Dick’s true focus is. Everything else is a bit more peripheral to his flying through the air.

Once Dick gets away from Blockbuster and his men, he is completely worn out. As you’ll remember in the last couple of issues, Dick isn’t doing so well considering the traumatic brain injury he had. He shows up back at his apartment worse for wear, but Tim and Barbara are there to take care of him. I can definitely appreciate that Dick has a great team of people to support him when he needs it.

When Dick finally recovers, it’s time for him to enact his plan. After all, he’s now a billionaire. Just what is Dick planning to do with his money? Well, he has a plan, but he wants to run it by his friends, family, and outside people who understand these kinds of things better than him before acting. There are some particularly great moments here, especially when he consults with a certain big man in red and blue. Dick is very loved by the superhero community, and it shows so much in this comic.

Of course, not everything can be hopeful and bring warm fuzzy feelings. It’s not just Blockbuster who is opposing Nightwing and Dick Grayson. There’s Heartless too. I think Dick has a lot of work ahead of him. But he’s also just the person to do these things and he is definitely not alone. It is heartwarming to see.

I can’t really say enough about how excellent Tom Taylor’s writing has been in Nightwing so far. I can remember how excited I was when he announced that he was writing the title, but this has gone well beyond all of my expectations. I’ll even forgive his writing of Dick and Barbara’s relationship as someone who prefers Dick and Kory (Starfire) because his writing is just that good.

I think Taylor truly understands Dick Grayson. He knows that Dick is a hopeful, good-hearted character, who really wants to help people. He understands that Dick not only values his family but his friends as well. All of Dick’s relationships are important to his character and helped make him into who he is. Seeing Dick’s siblings support and encourage Dick in this issue was especially touching. I loved Jason’s (Red Hood) text to Dick in the group chat, “Nice work. Before you give it all away, don’t forget you owe me twenty bucks.” That’s exactly how I’d expect Jason, who is Dick’s younger brother, to sound in a group text setting.

As much as I love the writing in this series, it would not be nearly as amazing as it is without Bruno Redondo’s art. As I mentioned earlier, Redondo has such a creative way of setting up the panels on each page. One of my favorite parts was a full-page spread that included paneling, but the largest section which takes up two-thirds of one of the pages shows Superman flying over Nightwing who is kneeling on a building. The flow of the panels is not typical, which I think is done to make you slow down and really pay attention to what is being said on the two pages. Batman may be Dick’s mentor, but Superman has always been a great inspiration to Dick Grayson.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Adriano Lucas’ coloring in this series. Redondo’s art of course is beautiful on its own, but Lucas takes it to a new level. The palette of colors he uses with the blues, reds, yellows, and violets are just gorgeous. His use of colors makes the characters pop right out of the page. I really appreciated the difference in lighting and colors used when Nightwing was in Metropolis in comparison to Bludhaven.

Nightwing issue 83 was such a deeply touching story. I feel like each new issue that comes out with this creative team becomes my new favorite and the same can be said for this issue. It’s amazing to see how this series keeps getting better and better. The next few issues will veer off into Gotham for a time, but Dick will be back in Bludhaven soon and I know that I’m excited to see just what he does with his plan to help the people of Bludhaven!

Author: Jessica Rae

Jessica has a BA in music with an emphasis in voice and spends her day typesetting, editing, writing, and moderating webinars. Jessica primarily reviews anime and comic book series. She also offers insights on various movies, books, games, and other geeky topics.

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