Nightwing #75: Return of the Mack

They say you can’t go back home again and to an extent that’s true, however who’s to say it can’t be better? Jurgens skillfully melds the classic elements of everything we love about the best Gotham/Bludhaven has to offer with the select elements of his “new life” that work well in harmony. The addition of the Faux Nightwing team as his own “Robins” is actually an inspired choice, for my money I assumed they’d all get bumped off during Joker War but I’m actually glad they didn’t. Building up Nightwing to fully have his own world is something that hasn’t been done since Dixon took the reigns and Seeley much later in Grayson. Even during the shimmering Infinite Crisis era (probably the best in our time for DC across the board), there was always a feeling of listlessness when it came to Nightwing rather than self containment. Still got some great stuff but that problem is why some of the more questionable things have occurred in Nightwing over the last 10-15 years or so. With Nightwing #75 however we see all that settled and Dick Grayson primed for fresh stories with a quality mix of new and familiar faces in the fold.

The art of Moore, Filardi and Cliquet is more than up to the task, maintaining the one constant even the most salty of Ric haters would be hard pressed to argue. The inclusion of Garth and Donna is great for the narrative but also provides a nice contrast and expansion to the vibes of the artwork as well. There’s exceptional quality here as we switch from seeing the looming return of KG Beast, Nightwing teaming up with Batman and Batgirl as well as some touching moments I won’t spoil for you.