NIGHTWING #27

[ MANIPULATING THOSE SALES ] 

Warning. The following comic book contains top secret information pertaining to transvestite-monkeys in drag. So if you're actually willing to take steps and read it, please, for the love of Liza Minnelli, I encourage you to eat a banana whilst throwing it at Kyle Higgins, Will Conrad, plus the Publisher: DC Comics, in February, 2014. I thank you.

To QUOTE Emilie Autumn: 'I'm bipolar, but I'm not crazy, and I never was. I'm stark raving sane'.

THE STORY:

In 'Curiouser and Curiouser', we get to see how Nightwing inadvertently teams-up with the schizophrenic-thief -- known as 'The Marionette' -- and together, try to track down her old friend -- the Mad Hatter -- just so he can cure her of her bi-polar condition.

Meanwhile, in another part of this adventure, Dick gets pissed off with his room-mate, Joey, because she keeps on tidying-up after him, and... errr... well... how am I going to put this?

Oh! I know. This leads onto someone cottoning on to who Dick really is. Ouch!

THE GOOD:

By in large I'd say this was a pretty decent issue of 'Nightwing' to read.

As per usual Will Conrad's artwork hit the roof, and I especially got a kick out of how he drew that 'Steve Ditko style page' -- illustrating Alice's own origins -- as well as the way he depicted Dick's personal life in a very homely fashion.  

Also, I have to give kudos to Kyle Higgins too. Despite his central narrative coming across as you're a-typical 'find the bad guy' plot-line, at the end of the day I have to applaud how he tried to tackle the subject of someone with a mental health condition, attempting to abate their woes.

Admittedly. On occasion that whole scenario with 'The Marionette' fending off the Mad Hatter did feel a little bit too far fetched. Nonetheless, it wasn't all that bad within the scheme of things. And it was more than made up for with another amazing sub-plot, involving... coff-coff... figuring out who Dick actually is.

But I won't go into that particular matter now, folks. No. I want to see how that pans out in the future before I can assess it.

THE BAD:

I suppose the only slight gripe I have with this adventure would be the rather benign nature of its 'Drexler Chemicals' sub-plot.

OK. I understand that plot-wise this dodgy-company spearheaded this story. Having said that, though, I still feel this fact came across in a very lucid fashion, and kind of felt tacked on, as if to say 'Here. Look. This was another part of the tale too'.

THE MUSIC:

How can I not pair-up this yarn with the musical hall classic, 'Where did you get that hat?'?

I can't, can I? Cause they're both kind of crazy, and involves' someone who's obsessed with hats.

THE COMPARISON:

Now without giving too much away, I'd say this tale's conclusion relied heavily on sitting down and having a nice cup of tea.

Yes. That's right. I said 'tea'. The bitter-sweet drink that can cure most people of their arduous ailments. Hint-Hint.

THE CONCLUSION:

I'm sure some of you out there have heard the bad news that DC might kill off Nightwing in the near future. Therefore, just to stake my claim on this matter, I would now like to present you with four reasons why DC should never-never do this.

1)    Before Bucky, before Speedy, and before "Doiby" Dickles, Dick came first. Dick was the first 'kid side-kick' to be partnered up with a reputable hero, and lasted at it for over forty whole years.  

2)    In many ways the concept of Nightwing does illustrate that a legacy hero can work when put into proper practice. Not only because it can expand upon the characters mythos, but because it can also enhance a characters life-cycle by taking him / her into a completely new direction.

3)    No matter what DC are doing now with their so-called 'New 52', we all know deep-down inside us that it was Dick, Roy, and Garth, who originally formed the Teen Titans, and were able to take the basic idea behind 'a teen book' to an unsuspected and hidden depth.

4)    Dick is a humane character, and he exhibits all of the humane foibles that come along with it. Granted, he may be no Batman in the detective department. Yet what he lacks in both skill and power, he more than makes up for in charm and charisma.

 Viva la Nightwing. Nuff said.