Nightwing #66: Talon’s #1 Overall Draft Pick

While Dan Jurgens leaves it open ended on just how effective Cobb’s plan is and through Grayson’s new boo reminds us how much of a hero he is….things don’t look too hot for the good guys. Following up the single greatest issue of Nightwing since the whole Ric Grayson thing started with even more high stakes awesome, Jurgens further cements that he was the right man for this job.

I’ve seen writers take lemons and make lemonade plenty of times before, the greatest example probably being the Return of Donna Troy but I can’t stress enough how much I love what Dan Jurgens is doing with the concept here. Granted yeah the idea itself was bogus but the issues that followed Batman #65 weren’t terrible…but they weren’t great either. It seems like even the artwork despite the same team has even kicked it up a notch or more likely just have something better to work with aside from Ric bemoaning not being a hero anymore while literally doing the exact opposite. We finally see a concrete direction for the book that feels like a real story instead of “just making the best of it til we figure something out”.

The other part of this is the fact the Court of Owls is actually threatening again. I mean let’s be real, after being trounced in We Are Robin they didn’t hit the reader like the greatest cabal of secret villains Batman has faced like they did before. So in this arc we’re getting to see not only Nightwing become something to care about again but one of the greatest creations in the Bat mythos of the last 15 years or so as well. It’s pure win for everyone who waited anxiously for the Prince of Gotham to be something to look forward to reading again and that patience is being duly rewarded page after page.