NIGHTWING #25

[ THESE COMIC BOOKS WILL FLY ] 

Look. The circus is coming to town. Wouldn't that be fun to watch, folks? Huh? What's that you say? No it wouldn't? You'd rather read this comic book created by Kyle Higgins and Will Conrad instead? Fair enough. That leaves more pop-corn for me and the Publisher: DC Comics, in November, 2013. Spoil sports.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this STORY entitled 'One Dark City Night'.

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: When a young Dick Grayson goes to the cinema by himself, suddenly, the lights go out. Thrusting him into an adventure involving a deranged monster and a band of friends, ready to split.
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: Well, let's just say that everything works out OK in the end, shall we?
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: We get to see the birth of Amygdala: Miley Cyrus' new pen-pal, who hates the sight of little people.
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With a mob-boss making light with an owner of a travelling circus.

All in all, what is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Can someone please explain to me why Amygdala hates 'little people' so much? I mean, he spouted this stock phrase so often during this tale; a part of me was getting a mite tired of reading this rather bland expression again and again and again.

'Little people', huh? Couldn't he have called them 'gnats' or something? Ha!

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) Good on you, Willy Conrad. Once more you've given this book some great visuals that lent to its global pathos and charm. Honestly. From my point of view, you've added that extra bit of timely 'Zero Year' exuberance, and allowed for this story to unfold in a very quaint and adventurous fashion.  

(+) Hey! While I'm on the subject of adventure, in many ways this word is precisely the word I would use to define this issue as a whole. Adventurous. It reminded me of one of those Nick Cardy Teen Titan's tales of old, where 'the gang' would get into a scrape, only for their 'parental figures' to brush them down afterwards. Hmmm. Class in a comic.

(+) Now for those of you who are not in the know, Sal Maroni was the mob-boss who originally gave Harvey Dent his two-faces. Granted, I'm not too sure how he fits into this tale, especially now he's been written out of Harvey's own origins. But still. It was nice to see a long-forgotten 'blast from the past'.

(+) I did enjoy reading that scene where Dick did some grandstanding under the big top, because in a round about way it nicely foreshadowed some of his future encounters with Raya and Raymond. Hint-hint!

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) Oh dear. DC are at it again. This time updating Amygdala's origin's to something other than what they originally were. Why are you doing this, DC? He was OK before. Heck, this funny-faced brute popped-up from time to time in 'Shadow of the Bat' and 'Detective', exhibiting his more... errr... alternate ways. Why rewind his origins to intertwine with Dick's? It doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.

(-) Something else about this story I wasn't too keen on, was the way in which the overall narrative felt a bit too bouncy in execution. Not that this was a major gripe of course. It was just something that distracted on occasion, giving the larger story that start-stop quality that I'm not too fond of.

Choose TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and then compare them to FRUIT.

A STRAWBERRY AS DICK GRAYSON: Well. Let's face it. Strawberries are rather full of themselves, aren't they? Once upon a time I remembered watching one of these redish-rascals punched a watermelon in the face for no reason whatsoever. The git.

A WATERMELON AS AMYGDALA: No. I'm not paring-up this clod and to this citrus based fruit because I stated watermelon previously. But then again, maybe you're right? Maybe it is because of this reason. D'oh!  

What QUOTE would be appropriate to sum-up this story?

'Adventure is worthwhile in itself' -- Amelia Earhart

What SONG, THEME-TUNE, or MELODY, would complement this tale, as well as add and extra dimension to it by default?

'BRAIN FLUID EXPLOSION DANCE' BY SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW: Now there are three very good reasons for comparing this song to this story. Firstly, they're both very adventurous. Secondly, kids are involved. And thirdly, they both imply some sort of neurological overload.

ANYTHING Else?

Does anyone else out there know who Josh, CJ, and Jana really are? Or do you think they were just constructed for this story on its own, only for DC to pluck them out for a tale later on?

Personally speaking, I presume the latter option myself. Mainly because DC are pretty good at doing this sort of thing, cause it gives them the excuse to lay down plans and sort out continuity, without any major hiccups afterwards.  

But I wonder why this should be the case, in Josh, CJ, and Jana's case? Could it have something to do with segwaying a 'familial link' between one of these characters and the boss Maroni character? Then again, could these characters also play a major turning point in Dick's future 'death plans' too?

Yep. That's correct, dear reader. I said 'death'.

You see, a couple of weeks back, someone at DC insulated that Dick is going to kick the bucket once 'Forever Evil' draws to a close. Furthermore, this insinuation also implied that his death would not be an actual 'death type death', but rather a 'resurrection' of something alternate for our pal Dick.

Ohhh! Sound's very intriguing, doesn't it? Let's just hope that all involved know what they are actually doing.

Fingers crossed. Nuff said.