Nightwing, Vol. 7: On The Razor's Edge

In Bludhaven, the head of its criminal element is the massively strong super villain Blockbuster. Thanks to some surgical enhancements, Blockbuster is a lot smarter than from his first appearances that pitted him against Batman. He's still as unstable as ever and even more ruthless and cruel. He's also at his wit's end. Since his arrival in town, Nightwing has taken an impressive bite out of Blockbuster's empire. To stop this, Blockbuster is testing out some new talent to pit against Nightwing: the assassin Shrike, who has some history with the hero from his days as the Boy Wonder. 

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson has finally made it to the ranks of the Bludhaven Police Department. It's long been Grayson's goal to clean up the BPD which rivals Gotham's police department as the most corrupt law agency in the country. Now if the rookie cop could only get an 'in' with the dirty cops on the force. Grayson thinks he might have that opportunity when his new partner, Officer Any Rohrbach, invites him to meet a special group of people. Only, this group of cops is unlike anything Dick Grayson was expecting. They're honest!

In the middle of all this is some pent up sexual tension. First, Nightwing encounters Catwoman in town to commit a heist against a very powerful crime lord. If there was ever a way that Dick Grayson could ever irrevocably betray Bruce Wayne, it would be hooking up with Selena Kyle. This story very well could be the flame that leads to a powerful explosive of passions. 

Then Oracle, with assistance of Black Canary, comes to Nightwing's rescue after escaping the clutches of Shrike. Babs Gordon and Dick Grayson have always been made for each other. This story proves just that. When will DC finally give the readers what they want and have Dick and Barbara get married?!

Chuck Dixon's writing on Nightwing is phenomenal as ever. I wish I could say the same about the art of Greg Land. Some pages, he's fantastic. In others, I feel like I'm watching scenes from the X-Man Beast's family reunion. It's so inconsistent! Especially in the action-packed scenes.

Another gem I inherited from my late, great best friend.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Nightwing, Volume 6: Big Guns

After the events of the 'Hunt for Oracle', which concluded in the pages of Birds of Prey, Bludhaven is in a power vacuum. Blockbuster is recovering from his heart transplant. The ultra-corrupt chief of police is MIA. And Intergang has come to set up a hub of operations, led by an utter lunatic. 

You take the Birds of Prey out of the storyline and Nightwing actually gets better! Grayson is finally on the Bludhaven Police Force. But he's going to have to prove that he's a good cop because his employment came at the hands of a real slime ball on the force. 

Then there's two new villains. One is a vision cloaked in a red experimental cloth that takes on a life of it's own. The other is targeting former cops on the Bludhaven Police Force. Both are interesting additions to the DC Universe. But they both must be limited to Nightwing's corner of the world as I have never encountered either of these characters before. 

One thing I have appreciated of the Chuck Dixon penned collections is the two-page 'what has happened prior' refreshers. But there was one factoid that didn't make a lot of sense. 

The summary had claimed that the position of police commissioner was abolished in Bludhaven in 1971. Yet, in the story, it's revealed that there hasn't been a commissioner for 10 years. The issues in this volume were published in 1999-2000. So either somebody goofed on the summary timetable. Or somebody misspoke about how long since the commissioner was ousted. OR Nightwing takes place in 1981. So which is it?

A very good group of Nightwing comics that unfortunately is marred by one irksome continuity conflict.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Nightwing, Volume 5: The Hunt for Oracle

Trying to make some room in my vast collection of 10,000 plus comic books and graphic novel, I was determine to choose between the 1990-2000s run of Robin or the 1990-2000s run of Nightwing to cut. My Robin read by Bill Willingham (Fables) blew me away. So, I was more than willing to say farewell to Nightwing after I read some of my trades. Blast if The 'Nam's Chuck Dixon didn't do an insanely good job on the post-Batman adventures of Dick Grayson!

In this trade, reprinting issues 41-46 of Nightwing and a pair of issues of Birds of Prey (1999-2009), Dick Grayson is set to become a cop having graduated from the academy. But because the police force of Bludhaven is so corrupt, nobody is willing to take on such a boy scout as Dick in their precincts.

This gives Grayson plenty of time to be Nightwing. However, the hero is finding the city to be a little crowded as he meets a loose-canon vigilante going by the name 'Nite-Wing.' Seeing potential in the lad (and hopes that he'll change his name), Nightwing decides to train this up-and-comer. 

Meanwhile, Oracle has run afoul of Bludhaven's major-domo, Blockbuster. Using her computer prowess to cull funds from the villain's coffers one too many times has resulted Blockbuster putting a bounty on Oracle's head. With her Birds of Prey indisposed, Oracle will have to rely on Nightwing to save her neck. But he's got his hands full with Blockbuster's new partner, a gorilla named Grodd!

While I am on the Nightwing wagon more than ever before, this book didn't really win me over to giving Birds of Prey a try. I like Barbara Gordon/Oracle and I'm okay with Huntress. But Black Canary has irked me for the longest time. For one, there's the extremely confusing origins that DC has given the character. First she's a golden age hero. Then Black Canary is a founding member of the Justice League of America. Then it's her mom who did all this. Then it's not.  Plus, I can't figure out how to correctly pronounce her real name, Dinah. And I think that's the part that aggravates me the most about the character!

Anyways, this volumes ends on a cliffhanger. Normally, I would be upset at not having the issues to complete that run. But 'The Hunt for Oracle' is completed in Birds of Prey, Volume 3 and I don't really care to know how that transpires. Yes- that's how much I despise Dinah Lance!

Chuck Dixon hit a home run with this issue. Plus there's the great art by Bruce Guice, Patrick Zircher and Greg Land. There's so much action and adventure in this collection. But what convinced me that I had found a winner was how the writer and artists made me nervous and concerned for the squirrel pet of one of the villains. If it had died at the hands of Blockbuster, I was going to be so pissed!

If a team of talent can make me care so much about a fake forest rat, then imagine how much they've made me care for Nightwing and his allies?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.