We continue to weave through the impossibilities of the New 52 Batman timeline and end up getting what is actually a pretty nifty little retelling of Dick Grayson’s beginnings as Robin.
Written by Kyle Higgins
Illustrated by Eddy Barrows– It’s the origin of Dick Grayson in The New 52! – From orphan to super hero — it’s all here!
Much has been made of the “5 years old” continuity of the DC New 52, which purports to compress the history of all of our heroes into 5 years time. That is to say whichever stories DC thinks still carry over from the past (most of which we fair readers are still in the dark about). Meaning that we are to believe that Batman had 3 or 4 Robins between the beginning and now – it’s anyone’s guess whether Tim Drake counts. I’m going to make a recommendation to everyone reading this that you should just forget about the five years thing. On it’s own merits, this book is a fine match of compressed origin story writing and emotive comic art.
In the last year, Kyle Higgins has done a balancing act of his own with this book. He has taken the character of Dick Grayson forward and maneuvered him through crossovers and guest spots while never losing sight of where the arc of his own creative run has been going. He has forced Dick to confront his past and take ownership of it. As a result, an age-old DC Comics character is still developing in an interesting way. While other zero issues have taken the wind out of comics by interrupting their ongoing arcs, “Nightwing” #0 enhances what Higgins was already doing.
Higgins navigates us through a few short segments of Dick’s life, each of them carrying some sort of emotional payoff that is only enhanced by Eddy Barrows’ art. More on that in a bit. The tragic death of Dick’s parents is handled well and elegantly bridged to his wardship under Bruce Wayne. From here, we get a post-tragedy pre-Robin look at Dick’s time with Bruce that I’m not sure we’ve seen before. Higgins has smartly expanded Dick’s transition well, showing him begin to take responsibility for himself and gain focus. His relationship to Bruce Wayne feels natural and logical as he highlights the similarities between their origins. The only really clunky part of the issue concerns Dick’s knowledge of Bruce Wayne’s identity as Batman. It parallels early moments in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Such an easily deduced fact felt too convenient there and it’s not any better this time around. On it’s own, it’s just not a moment that rings true in a universe where Batman is the ultimate secret. Furthermore, there are seemingly conflicting ways that Batman reacts to Dick’s heroic exploits throughout the issue. I’ll chalk this up to a grumpy Batman.
Regardless, this issue is packed full of little emotional moments, both quiet and dramatic. There are so many reasons that the art matches the tone of the story so well, but most of it has to do with the earnestness that Barrows puts into the characters. The sheepishness on Dick’s face as he wishes his mother a “Happy Birthday”, the sorrow on his face amidst a tragedy, and the solemn determination of a hero finding himself all works to create a fully-formed character that the reader connects with. Barrows’ knack for nostalgia and Rod Reis’ slightly washed-out colors blend for an evocative work of art that tugs at the heart strings in between high flying action scenes. The duo takes it even further in flashbacks within the issue, which are even further washed out and greyed to create the desired mood. Barrows has been doing consistently good work on the title and this has to be his best work yet.
Higgins and Barrows have been combining to build fresh new aspects into a decades old character. New readers can easily start here, as the creative team sweeps the reader briskly through a rollercoaster of an origin tale worthy of the #0 label. If you can overlook an odd moment or two, and a timeline that has been completely screwed, you’ll find an enriching story at the heart of this book.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
