Review: Nightwing Vol. 4- Blockbuster

Quick Summary

Pros: The opening storyline is full of action and contains several great twists. The book’s second half is also exciting and brings back some awesome features from the Grayson series. Both storylines provide character development and help set up tantalizing plotlines for the next volume. The artwork looks beautiful throughout the book.

Cons: Fans unfamiliar with the Grayson series will miss many of the volume’s positive features.

Overall: The quality of the Nightwing series remains high with its fourth installment. Once again, this comic takes captivating storytelling and combines it with gorgeous artwork to create a book that is enjoyable all around. Plus, this volume really emphasizes development for Nightwing as a character and for the comic’s main conflict, both of which give readers a reason to come back for more. Any fan of Nightwing should not miss out on this collection or the collections preceding it.

Story

It seems like the Nightwing series just can’t stop delivering hit after hit. Nightwing Vol. 4: Blockbuster, by Tim Seeley, is another exciting and compelling entry in this era of Dick Grayson’s life. It starts with a blistering display of action and superhero theatrics. Then, it shifts over to a return to Grayson’s days as a super-spy and brings back some awesome features from the Grayson series. Both of these storylines develop Nightwing as a hero and help build even more excitement for the next story arc. The success of this volume makes this series a serious contender as one of the best comics in DC’s Rebirth era.

(spoilers start here)

The opening chapters of Blockbuster focus on Nightwing’s problems in Blüdhaven, specifically those surrounding Tiger Shark and Blockbuster. This portion of the read is an action-packed thrill ride that constantly has Nightwing facing off against powerful enemies and, at one point, has him take on an entire menagerie of supervillains. It also contains several narrative twists to keep things interesting, as the main villain switches from Tiger Shark to Blockbuster at unexpected points.

Then, Blockbuster shifts gears as Nightwing teams up with Huntress and goes on to face off against Spyral. This portion of the read is just as tense and exciting, as the main characters dodge assassination and kidnapping attempts. It also continues this comic’s trend of returning elements of Dick Grayson’s past by bringing back characters and concepts from Dick’s time as an agent of Spyral. As a big fan of the Grayson series, I was incredibly happy to see these elements return and thought they were utilized well here.

Both of these mostly separate storylines also have the added benefit of continuing to explore Dick Grayson and the world around him. The first has him struggle with the separation between his life as a superhero and his life as a civilian, with this rift causing him to lose his relationship with Shawn. The second explores how he used his life as a spy to isolate himself from the people around him and suggests that he no longer wants to do this.

This development also builds excitement for the next volume. Dick’s broken relationship with Shawn, Giz’s death, and Dick’s renewed relationship with Helena all provide the basis for drama in the future. Plus, Blockbuster’s powerful position in Blüdhaven and the potential return of Raptor add action and excitement to this drama.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Like the collections before it, Blockbuster contains beautiful artwork from several highly-talented creators. Miguel Mendonça and Minkyu Jung bring out the bold and bright action found throughout the book’s first half, which is further enhanced by colors from Chris Sotomayor. Here, both super-powered clashes and emotional conversations play out well and are accomplished through some impressive work. Though I preferred Vicente Cifuentes’ inks to Diana Conesa’s, the rest of the visuals are every bit as good as they were in previous collections.

The book’s second half maintains this same level of quality but does it with a different style. Javi Fernandez takes over for darker and grittier chapters. The tone found throughout these chapters pairs well with the return of a super-spy organization and the darkness behind the main villain’s intentions. Plus, Chris Sotomayor’s colors handle the transition perfectly, maintaining a sense of consistency but still reflecting the darkness of these chapters. All in all, this entire book contains plenty of fantastic artwork and is genuinely a joy to look at.

Continuity

Nightwing Vol. 4: Blockbuster continues the story from Nightwing Vol. 3: Nightwing Must Die (Review).

The story here continues in Nightwing Vol. 5: Raptor’s Revenge (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Nightwing’s most recent fight against Blockbuster is mentioned. This fight took place in Grayson Annual #2, collected in Grayson Vol. 3: Nemesis (Review).
• An “Algorithm-Model War-Droid” was most recently seen in Teen Titans Vol. 5 #4, collected in Teen Titans Vol. 1: Blinded by the Light (Review).
• Many events from the Grayson series are mentioned throughout this collection. This includes Dick’s time as a spy and his connection to many of this volume’s characters. This period of time started in Grayson Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral (Review) and continued until Grayson Vol. 5: Spiral’s End (Review).
• Helena Bertinelli (Reading Order) joined the Birds of Prey (Reading Order) in Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Who is Oracle? (Review).