NIGHTWING #13 REVIEW: SHIVA

RATING: ENJOYABLE ISSUE, decent fight scenes

For this issue and the next issue of Nightwing, Kyle Higgins (writer of Nightwing) will be on break. Higgins is gearing up for “Death of a Family” crossover with the Joker. The same thing for Eddy Barrows (artist of Nightwing) so for this issue, Tom DeFalco (writer of Superboy) and Andres Guinaldo (guest artist) did well with in creating a decent portrayal of Nightwing. DeFalco paid close attention to the action and the mystery surrounding Lady Shiva. However, when it came to the parts of the issue; it seemed to be lacking a bit.

Issue #13 is all about Nightwing investigating a weapons factory only to find it empty. The streets of Gotham are quiet due to Lady Shiva’s presence in Gotham City. You see a couple of familiar characters in this issue such as Batgirl and The Penguin. Apparently, this issue takes place after Batgirl #14 which will premiere next month. Batgirl in this issue seemed very bossy with a “Are you with me or against me” attitude. The way Guinaldo portrayed Batgirl; it was making Batgirl seem very witchy with the extended fingers. There were so many storylines packed into this issue so I am imaging that this is a setup for future issues.

DeFalco’s story telling seemed to fit nicely in Nightwing. He kept up with Higgins’ style of storytelling such as the close attention to voice-overs. The whole reason for getting DeFalco is to keep in touch with Higgin’s style of urban writing for Nightwing so that it didn’t seem inconsistent. As for Guinaldo being the guest artist, his attention was purely focused on the fight scenes. For the most part of Nightwing, this is where most of the artwork is focused on by Eddy Barrows (current artist of Nightwing). However, Barrows gives the readers something to munch on such as panels formed in a huge Nightwing symbol.  I actually miss Barrows’ artwork on Nightwing right now however; Barrows needs much rest just like Higgins. Even though, I do not miss the blowfish expressions by Dick Grayson when he is surprised or is reacting to something. Guinaldo did well in pushing the story along with to portray multiple build-up story lines.

Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind DeFalco to replace Higgins if Higgins was to ever leave Nightwing. For which, I hope to be never. DeFalco writes good urban style storytelling and this is evident in his writing for Superboy. As for Guinaldo, I think he can become a good artist for a solo comic book down the line. However, he needs to show off more than his skill to push out comic book illustration.

Check out some of the panels that I thought were cool.

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