Nightwing #82: A Look Back

There are many stories in comics involving a hero finding out about a long lost relative. It’s nothing new. Though, when it comes to Nightwing, his family story has always just kind of been, “Well, they died.” But things seem to be changing for the last of the Flying Graysons…

Issue #81 of Nightwing left us with one heck of a cliffhanger. Dick Grayson has… a sister!? Now, comics are no stranger to soap opera reveals such as this. Throw a dart onto a chart of the Justice League and I’d wager $5.00 you hit someone who has a long lost sibling, parent, child, etc. It’s a staple of the medium if we’re being honest.

One might think to themselves that the trope of long lost family is overplayed and can anyone really do anything good with it?

Tom Taylor is someone who has written family oriented stories before. So when it came to the reveal last month, I had no doubt he would deliver something interesting and life-changing for our main character, Dick Grayson.

From the start of Taylor’s run with issue seventy-eight, Nightwing has been a story about Dick trying to reclaim who he once was. Along with the city of Bludhaven he holds so dear. He’s been reconnecting with Barbara, expanding the family with Haley aka Bitewing and fighting alongside his brother Tim. It feels fitting that the series would have him grapple with a life-altering thing such as having a half-sister. Especially one raised by the very people he swears to bring to justice.

As I said before, I had no doubt Tom Taylor would deliver a story that would catch my interest. And he did just that. A story of dark connections, death and estranged family isn’t out of place for the Bat-Family. So the origin of Melinda Zucco and her mother fits in like another jigsaw piece to the ever growing puzzle that is the larger Batman mythos. It’s a story of rage, longing for freedom and a lack of family connection. While I do wish it had been fleshed out more, as it did feel rushed at times, I fully believe it did a good enough job of getting me interested in how Dick and Melinda’s relationship will develop.

Now, we can’t discuss a comic without talking about the art. Bruno Redondo and Adriano Lucas continue to make for a stellar pair of pencil and color. But for this issue, I want to specifically mention how awesome it is to see Rick Leonardi back on Nightwing. His style meshes beautifully with Lucas’ use of color. Their work together feels like a book out of time, granting a very nostalgic feel. Leonardi hasn’t lost his touch for action and expression. Neil Edwards doesn’t slack either in the art department. The three pencillers along with inkers Andy Lanning and Scott Hanna provide a once again, fantastic looking issue of Nightwing. Of course it needs to be mentioned that Wes Abbott does a stellar job of giving weight to the words of our characters as well as providing some cool looking sound effects.