Nightwing #18

I suppose Dick is going to blame himself for Damian's death since he was right there and couldn't stop it.

Last issue ended with Damian trying to help Dick process what The Joker did and said. It was a nice conversation and a nice moment and I wonder if Kyle Higgins knew Damian was going to be dead when he wrote it. I think if Higgins knew, he would have spent more than a couple of pages on their conversation. But that's exactly the way it should have been, I think. Dick couldn't have known that Damian was going to be dead within the week. He makes future plans with Damian. They vow to spend more time together. And then death happens. Just like real life. So now Nightwing has Damian's death to process as well as the rest of his life falling apart. Nightwing is not in a good place.

The art isn't in a very good place either.

Did I ever mention that time I harshly critiqued one of Marcus To's Justice League International covers and he posted about it? Artistically, the cover really wasn't bad and I think his work is some of the best. But the composition was horrible and I was probably in one of my moods and I'd probably just read another stinking issue drawn by Rob Liefeld and I was simply at my most hyperbolic and venomous and what I said really was completely unfair. So I ripped it apart. He found it and commented on it. I messaged him and said some nice stuff. No harm done. But his fans hated me for saying what I said! And one of the most common retorts was "Let's see how well he draws!" As if my art somehow limits my ability to judge whether a hand is drawn properly or not. It seems that if you hate the way something is drawn, you're not allowed to say so or explain why unless you can draw better. But if you like the way something is drawn, you're allowed to say so without ever offering up how well you can draw. And apparently your opinion only matters if you can draw as well or better than the artist you're critiquing.

Also, I probably shouldn't be able to judge writers so harshly when I've never written a comic book published by an actual publisher. I hate people that put limits on who can say what and who can do whatever. Let people be negative as well as positive! If the person ranting actually has a point or something to add to the overall conversation (the conversation being Life), don't tell them to shut up simply because you don't like what you're hearing. Now if I had simply said, "Marcus To is an asshole and his art sucks," please, have at me. But I explained why I didn't like the cover and some of it was poorly said and the art was actually well done but I still think the composition for the cover was unimaginative and lazy.

It's also good to call out people like me who run their mouths and often don't actually mean everything they say and can sometimes be a bit too mean-spirited. But if you do call me out, I'll just post that you're a jerk who doesn't know anything and should probably shut the hell up.

I guess I'm trying to explain why I can look at the above panels and say, "Holy heck! When did Sophia Branch contract some kind of degenerative facial disease?!"

Later that night, Batman shows up as if nothing has changed. Forget that he lied to everyone. Forget that he caused The Joker to fuck with Dick and completely screw up his life. Forget that Damian just recently died while Nightwing was only twenty feet away. Batman can still show up, tell Nightwing to get dressed, and they're swinging through Gotham in silence not ten minutes later.

Thank you, Kyle Higgins. At least somebody is remembering that Death of the Family should have had some kind of lasting effect on how members of the Bat Family feel about Batman.

Batman leaves Dick to deal with The Dealer himself. Is this Batman being charitable? Is this what passes for emotion or an apology in Batmanland? "You know what Dick might like to cheer himself up? Cracking a few heads and saving his father's tights! And if I help him to do that, he'll forgive my atrocious ability to be an intimate and a friend!"

The Dealer and his henchmen hang out in gas masks. I don't know if that's mostly for disguise or because he likes to use gas in his criminal activities. Whatever the case, Dick actually goes into battle using a rebreather. That means he's smarter than Batman who attacks The Scarecrow in his hideout without using any kind of gas mask. Because The Scarecrow isn't nearly exclusively known for fucking people up with gas or anything.

Once the auction is ruined, The Dealer sets everything ablaze with one of the items on sale. All of the auction items burn up and some of the horrible people trying to buy The Dealer's deranged goods become trapped by the fire. If this is the way The Dealer conducts an auction, I have a feeling he's not going to be in the business for very long. Burning the items you just sold is one thing. Burning the items AND the customers? Not even in Gotham, sir.

How do you show your face in your circle of evil friends once you call for help from one of the superheroes you hate so much? The shame. The shame!

The next day, Dick Grayson goes back to visit Damian's grave because he can finally bring voice to his feelings.

This scene was really, really touching and it absolutely made me tear up, so forgive me when I turn into a cynical bitch in the next sentence. You just wish you could have been there for him? YOU WERE THERE! You were groggy and near unconscious and unable to save his ass, you gigantic failure!

I get the feeling that Kyle Higgins wasn't exactly aware of the particulars of Damian's death when he wrote this scene. It doesn't really change that much but I would expect Dick to be really blaming himself for his part in Damian's death. Not that Dick is to blame at all! But he was thoroughly enjoying that moment in Batman Incorporated when he and Damian were working together again. And then Nightwing was knocked out and Damian tried his best to defeat Talia's Batthing and failed. And Dick would see that failure as partially (if not mostly) his own failure for not protecting Damian. I'm sure if Dick could have stood at the end of that fight, he would have died in Damian's place. Perhaps when things settle down and Kyle is completely in control of this book without the other Bat Forces acting on it, he'll take some time to allow Nightwing to reflect on that scene more.

Until then, Dick is feeling better and ready to try to get into Sonia's panties. But first Sonia has something to show him that could potentially destroy their relationship. Maybe you can guess what it is from Dick's reaction (and knowing the seven or eight Preboot years previous to The New 52 better than I do!)?

My guess: a sex tape was released starring Sonia and Starfire?

Oh! I guess I don't have to wait until next month to find out like I thought I was going to have to. Apparently Sonia's father, Tony Zucco, is still alive! He's part of some criminal organization in Chicago. Or maybe he's helping law enforcement? That could be complicated! Anyway, the guy that killed Nightwing's parents is still alive. So now Nightwing has to deal with this shit too!

Nightwing #18 Rating: +1 Ranking. The art was all over the fucking place, from horrible to not very good. So I guess it wasn't ALL over the place. Just all over the bad side of the place. But I liked the rest of the book. And I'm glad Nightwing hasn't quite forgiven Bruce for the shit he put everybody through by not being honest about The Joker. And since Nightwing's amusement park has been destroyed, he has nothing left to keep him in Gotham for now. Hello Chicago!