[amazon_link asins=’B074KM3765′ template=’AiPTProductAd’ store=’aiptcomics-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’90c7ed3c-b9b5-11e7-80f9-a1b13d631922′]
The very system Dick helped create has turned against him and unless he can rescue his son soon, he may never see him again!
DC Synopsis
After an unthinkable tragedy strikes the Grayson family, Dick finds himself a prisoner of the very system he helped create–with his son’s life hanging in the balance. With nowhere else to turn, Grayson seeks out an old friend for help…but some mistakes are impossible to forgive.
What’s the skinny?
Dick’s in the custody of the Crusaders, the meta-human hunting organization he helped build and until a few days ago, led. His son Jake is on his way to a stasis pod and Alfred has been killed. So yeah, things aren’t looking too good right now. Unfortunately for the Crusaders they seem to have forgotten just how much of a dangerous ass-kicker their commander used to be. It isn’t long before Dick’s escaped, flipping down the side of buildings and on his way to rescue his son. But before Dick can rescue Jake he’s going to need his old uniform, some handy gadgets and most importantly of all, information.
On both sides of Dick’s struggle you can expect a lot of cameos from the Bat Family, John Stewart and more. As seen on the cover page, Kate Kane aka Batwoman and Tim Drake aka Red Robin both make an appearance. Kate’s not the villain of this story but she’s definitely not doing Dick any favors. Either way I’m glad to see the character make an appearance and I’d love to see Batwoman and Nightwing go at it.
What’s the catch?
Nothing. I love reading this comic.
Is it good?
Once again the flashback panels are my favorite part of Trevor McCarthy’s work. His choice to place the narrative lettering completely outside of the art, as opposed to on top of it, is the perfect layout for this part of the storytelling. The majority of Dick’s fight sequences and aerobatics are drawn with a style I greatly enjoyed, with straight lines and rectangles surrounding the action that makes it pop out at you. The cover deserves mentioning, too — as with the two previous covers, this one does a great job setting the propaganda tone of the tale.
After the adrenaline-fueled, heart-crushing conclusion of last week’s issue, I expected to see Dick kicking ass and taking names. So I was a bit disappointed and surprised that he was so easily overtaken by the Crusaders. Thankfully the pace has been kicked back into high gear and the tie wearing Dick Grayson is no more. We’re finally starting to see what I expected out of a man that just had his son taken from him and his close friend murdered in front of his eyes. Yet while Dick may have donned his old uniform and picked up a few fancy gadgets from the Batcave, he’s not the hero he once was and I appreciate Higgins’ attention to how the character would have aged and the effects of being out of practice.
[amazon_link asins=’B074KM3765′ template=’BottomAdAIPT’ store=’aiptcomics-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f1cef1ed-b9b5-11e7-8782-399cc9a2202a’]
I love all the cameos and old allies of Nightwing Higgins keeps dropping on us. Though unless I’ve missed something the cover mislead us a bit, as Tim Drake has retired from the public service and has nothing to do with the Crusader program. Kate Kane on the other hand was one of the people who helped put the Crusader program together and was overlooked to lead the department in favor of Dick Grayson, which makes it easy to understand why she’s so adamantly standing in his way. John Stewart’s presence is a welcome surprise and I can’t say I’m at all surprised to see him working with the government. As a space cop and former marine, it would be weird if he wasn’t. The best cameos by far though are what awaits you at the end of the issue, and man, what a great surprise.
After the previous issue’s insane conclusion I didn’t think we’d get another WTF moment so soon. Sometimes being wrong is awesome. Higgins has put foot on the gas — better yet, he’s floored it. Judging by the absolutely badass wrap up to this issue I can only imagine things will get crazier from here. I can’t wait.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.