With “On With the Show”, the first arc of Dan Watters’ time on Nightwing, over, it’s time for the next chapter in the series. Here, Nightwing is investigating a mysterious death and butting heads with Detective Maggie Sawyer. In this new arc, “By the Book”, Watters is teaming up with superstar artist Francesco Francavilla. Francavilla is no stranger to Dick Grayson – most notably, he was a collaborator on one of the most famous Batman stories, Batman: Black Mirror. Much like Black Mirror, Nightwing has had a grimdark tone lately, offering a different perspective to the series than readers may be used to. Nightwing has been pushed into more corners than I can count, found the circle of people he can trust to be narrowing, and is not as well loved by everyone as he was not too long ago. In short, this is an exciting time to be a Nightwing reader because On with the Show did a spectacular job adding a more realistic and traditional approach to Dick Grayson for readers to acquaint themselves with. That said, does this issue succeed in continuing the intensity, high-paced action, and mystery that the first arc immersed itself in? Yes and no. Which is great!
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For a Nightwing book, this issue sure is lacking in the Nightwing department. Yet, I did not even notice because of how well-crafted the story itself is. In the second arc of his time on Nightwing, Dan Watters is focused on the mystery behind the death of a police officer. While Maggie Sawyer has been a trusted ally of Superman for a long time, her relationship with Nightwing is far from as friendly as readers should expect. However, this conflict is only a small part of the bigger picture; it seems that Nightwing is not the only one feeling isolated and without help in Blüdhaven. Throughout the story, it becomes more and more apparent that this arc is likely to be less about our titular character and more about the mysterious killer on the loose in the city and how our protagonists are going to stop them.
Batman: Black Mirror is without a doubt my favorite Batman story in existence, so it should come to no surprise that I’m a huge fan of Francesco Francavilla. Part of what Francesco Francavilla does that worked so well on Black Mirror, and most importantly on Nightwing, is that every page feels as ominous and intense as it is meant to be. For example, the shadows in this issue blend quite well with the foreground here, which causes the story to perfectly encapsulate the noir tone it seems to be going for. A great example of this is within the opening pages as the murderer creeps out from the shadows, not too different from scenes in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
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Additionally, since Francavilla handles all of the art duties in this issue, the colors are able to blend perfectly with the darker shading. This issue is primarily shaded in red, black, and blue (fitting, considering these are the main colors of Nightwing’s most popular suits). A great moment where the colors in this issue feel like they radiate off the page is near the end of the book, when Nightwing bursts onto the scene in true superhero fashion. In this moment, he’s practically glowing, which helps add a sense of heroism to the moment. Altogether, this issue is perfectly illustrated and is nothing short of a master piece.
In Nightwing‘s second arc, “By the Book”, Dan Watters and Francesco Francavilla open with nothing short of a perfect introduction to this new story. While some may not like how little Nightwing appears in the story, it works very well to bring attention to those moments he appears in the narrative while elevating how realistic the story itself is despite its ominous nature. Additionally, the story feels very moody and much like a noir, which is only elevated by incredible art. As a result, Nightwing #125 is an excellent story from start to finish.
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