Nightwing #26

By Kyle Higgins and Will Conrad

Kyle Higgins’s second Nightwing story is based in Chicago and begins with issue 26. In it we see a new villain, Marionette, introduced as well as seeing some more of Dick’s roommate woes as he discovers not living alone and having a secret identity is harder then it sounds.

Higgins continues to build a new gallery of characters for Nightwing to interact with in Chicago, both good and bad. The move to Chicago continues to be the best thing the writer could have done for the character to help make him his own hero. The drama with Dick and his roommates over a few tongue in cheek laughs, Nightwing’s relationship with Marionette or Mali the mimic, were also highlights and have a lot of interesting places to grow.

It is difficult to read issues of Nightwing knowing that he is in much dire straits in the Forever Evil storyline. Yes, continuity shouldn’t matter if the story is good but it is going to be hard not to think of what is going on with the character in other event books until it is acknowledged in the characters own title.

Will Conrad draws another impressively acrobatic issue. Conrad has a great grasp on motion, and continues to be the strongest artist on this book to date. His style fits so well with the character and it’s proved in the chase scene between Nightwing and Marionette.

Also, lets all take a moment to marvel at the beautiful cover, drawn by Scott McDaniel. It’s quite a sight to behold.

For newcomers to Nightwing, this is a great jumping on point. If you plan on jumping on hoping for some Forever Evil content you’ll be a bit disappointed. Hopefully that won’t deter readers from continuing with the book. Nightwing is as good as its been in a long time.