Writer: Tim Seeley
Artists: Travis Moore, Otto Schmidt
Writer Tim Seeley gives us a glimpse of an important wedding tradition: the bachelor party. But first, NIghtwing needs to deal with Hush.
This issue is straight-up bonkers. It uses concepts that seem at home in a Grant Morrison comic: robot limo drivers, superhero themed restaurants, and alternate realities populated with identity vampires. It is insane. Seeley makes it mostly work. A lot of it has to do with Seeley paring Nightwing and Hush. That duo is not one that immediately springs to mind for famous rivalries, but it works so well.
Both Nightwing and Hush are on a search for their own identities. They also both struggle with living in Bruce Wayne’s shadow. But of course, since Hush is a villain, he is unable to reconcile with himself and takes it out on the rest of the world. It is a perfect dynamic. In fact, Seeley sows the seeds for Hush to return as a regular Nightwing adversary, which is a fantastic idea.
This conflict of identity is made sweeter because Nightwing also struggles with a more mundane, but personal issue: will he be Bruce’s best man at the wedding? It is a silly problem, especially since Nightwing was also dealing with a horde of faceless zombies at the same time, but it is a real insecurity for many people. It grounds the entire story and humanizes Dick Grayson moreso. It is also a question that many fans have on their minds in light of the Bat-wedding. And readers do get a definitive answer in this issue on who is Batman’s best man.
So what is the weird part about the issue? The main conflict is Nightwing and Hush trying to escape a universe of faceless zombies who feed off of peoples’ strong sense of self-identity. Given the whole theme of the issue is about self-identity, it is incredibly on-the-nose. No offense to Seeley, but the concept sounds like a child’s idea of “subtle theming”.
The other downside of the issue is the epilogue that teases the Joker’s involvement in the wedding. It is meant to be foreboding, but it is so silly. It is over-the-top in the its implied violence, making it more laughable than scary. Furthermore, it is really odd given what the Joker’s actions in this week’s Batman #48.
Conclusion
Seeley pumps out another awesome and satisfying wedding prelude comic. This comic answers some fan questions about the Bat-wedding and also gives a good insight into the Nightwing and Hush dynamic. Only the strange alternate reality plot and epilogue drags the issue down a bit.
Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment