Who is Bea Bennett? Created by Benjamin Percy and Travis Moore, Bea came around during a controversial period in Nightwing’s career. After being shot in the head and losing his memory, Dick Grayson became Ric Grayson, and the only constant in his life at that time was his loving girlfriend, Bea. Then Dick’s memory came back, and Bea was gone…until she wasn’t. When she returned to Nightwing, her character was explored at a deeper level than before. She is the Quartermaster. Head of the underground band of pirates monitoring Blüdhaven. But what about her past? Who was Bea before we met her? In this annual, Travis Moore takes up both pen and pencils to tell the story of Bea Bennett. This also seems to mark Moore’s first time writing an entire issue on his own!
DC Comics
Before she was Bea Bennet, she was Destiny Alston. For nine years, she had a loving mother and a happy life. But that all changed, and she was alone until she wasn’t. Suddenly, Destiny/Bea’s story becomes more familiar as Travis Moore interweaves familiar narratives into this issue. Throughout the story, we see Bea grow up into someone unrecognizable until she’s the character we met in Nightwing #50. The storytelling in this issue is a bit choppy at times and feels a little predictable because of it. This unfortunately weakens the issue as the intentionality of having Bea narrate her life becomes a little too wordy. That said, the story does a nice job of filling in the gaps into one of the most important additions to Nightwing’s mythos while showing how interconnected her life has been to Blüdhaven. Altogether, the story is easy to follow, but enjoyable as it provides a detailed history of Bea.
DC Comics
Travis Moore’s art is on another level in this issue. Seeing the progression of his capabilities over time is truly an awesome experience, and it’s great to see how he properly reflects his script in this annual. Additionally, the paneling in this story is well done and makes room for the dialogue to balance itself with the art in the story. A great example of this is depicted later in the story when Bea is forced to make a major decision about her loyalties, and Moore presents a page with an intense amount of dialogue that perfectly fits into a page reliant on boxes to encase each moment. This works well to have every part of the page fit into a space that cumulates to make a strong visual. This art is further elevated through the vibrant colors of Alex Guimarães and Ivan Plascencia. Moreover, the art in this annual helps to convey a lot of the emotion of the story through beautiful colors and crafty paneling.
Altogether, Nightwing 2024 Annual #1 offers an interesting exploration of Bea Bennett and her greater role in the DC Universe. Through this story, Travis Moore does a great job detailing how she fits perfectly into the mythos of Blüdhaven. This makes for an overall enjoyable issue that seems to close this chapter on her life while possibly leaving room for future stories for her.
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.