Nightwing #107 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 107, December 2023

There’s arguably an awful lot for Nightwing fans to enjoy inside this second instalment to Tom Taylor’s “The Crew Of The Crossed” storyline, ranging from a frantic fist-fight with a group of burly pirates through to the super-hero walking a thin line between his old flame, Beatrice Bennett, and the current love of his life, Barbara Gordon. Furthermore, the twenty-two page plot also hints at the high-flying vigilante no longer having the chops to throw his body into danger like the acrobatic genius he ordinarily is; “I… I can’t move. Pulse is racing. Heart is pounding. Something’s wrong with me. I can’t jump.”

These ingredients all come together to create an utterly enthralling situation for Batman’s former side-kick, and debatably help keep this comic’s audience completely hooked, despite a lot of the book being rather dialogue-driven. In fact, apart from the titular character’s short-lived, violent scuffle with the big-boned Lucas and his similarly disagreeable deck-swabbing cronies, the vast majority of this publication revolves either around Dick Grayson establishing just what Captain Blud wants of him, or investigating the underground syndicate behind the mysteriously enigmatic Hold.

Fortunately, the Australian author is able to navigate such sedentary set-pieces by punctuating them with moments of high melodrama and adrenaline-fuelled action, such as Nightwing freezing atop the pirate vessel’s guard-rail and helplessly watching one of its crew drown in the ocean. The revelation that at least a single member of Bennett’s crew is actually a traitor, and on the payroll of the woman’s criminally-inclined brother, also adds another fascinating element to the mix – firmly placing a question mark over the motivations of an entire secondary cast who already strongly dislike Grayson already.

Prodigiously pencilling all these gripping goings-on is Stephen Byrne, who does a first-rate job of making Beatrice appear as if the entire weight of the world rests upon her shoulders. The new captain clearly still feels very strongly for her former lover. Yet her eyes also convey the sadness of her father’s recent death, and the female swashbuckler’s grim determination to ensure that she remains in charge of "a secret bank serving the rich and powerful", no matter what the cost.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #107 by Bruno Redondo