Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • All The Rage: Fortress Victoria

      Daniel Gehen
      March 18, 2007
      All the Rage
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Planetary #15: Dreaming of a New Tomorrow

      Daniel Gehen
      January 7, 2016
      Big Two, Columns, DC Comics, The Full Run
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Interview: Kyle Higgins: Superhero Storytelling, but with Giant Monsters and Robots

      Daniel Gehen
      May 17, 2016
      Boom! Studios, Indie, Interviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Review: 'Conan the Barbarian' #14 Shows What Happens in a World Where Couples Counseling Doesn't Exist

      Daniel Gehen
      March 19, 2013
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Dave & Liz Lillie from Dreamkeepers: Interview

      Daniel Gehen
      August 10, 2014
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Interview: Chris Claremont: A Life in Comics

      Daniel Gehen
      November 7, 2014
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns, Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • LUMBERJANES Returns for FCBD 2020

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2020
      Boom! Studios, News, Press Release
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'The Furnace' is a Fascinating Graphic Novel of Ideas and Relationships

      Daniel Gehen
      July 9, 2018
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Powerball, I will buy Amazing Fantasy 15
  • DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Columns

Friday Favorites: Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel’s Nightwing

Daniel Gehen
February 15, 2019
Columns, Friday Favorites

If you read Batman comics in the mid-to-late 1990s and into the 2000s, chances are you read a book written by Chuck Dixon. At one point or another, his name graced the pages of Batman, Detective Comics, Batgirl, and Robin. He’s credited with creating the superteam Birds of Prey. However, for many his finest work is the original 40 issues of Nightwing he penned alongside artist Scott McDaniel. Dick Grayson has been a comics mainstay since 1940, and he adopted his Nightwing persona in 1984, but these issues by this creative team built a foundation and set a standard for the character which few have come close to reaching.

On a surface level, Nightwing is an imitation of a Batman book. The hero is a discount-store Batman operating in a discount-store Gotham taking down discount-store villains. However, the series very quickly became its own thing thanks to a mission statement established in the first issue – to make Dick Grayson be his own person, both in and out of costume.

Prior to Nightwing, Dick Grayson’s publication history may be long, but it is not varied. For the first 30 years after his debut in 1940, he would epitomize the role of kid sidekick. He was always at Batman’s side, sometimes helpful but mostly needing to be saved. He did fulfill his intended purpose well in giving the Caped Crusader someone to talk to, since DC was worried that people might think the character was crazy for talking to himself (nevermind the fact that this is a rich guy dressing up in a costume and beating up the mentally ill). It wasn’t until Dennis O’Neil took over the title that Grayson saw some growth, graduating from high school and being shipped off to college. Though the real reason for this was to return Batman to his darker roots after the technicolor wackiness of the Silver Age, allowing Dick Grayson to grow up was an unintended benefit.

Related image

The character’s profile would continue to rise, as Marv Wolfman and George Perez chose Robin to be the anchor of their series The New Teen Titans. The title would be DC’s biggest hit for most of the 1980s and would provide for more character growth not just for Dick Grayson, but for other legacy characters in the DC universe like Kid Flash (Wally West). Not only did leadership of the team allow Dick to mature, but it also provide the opportunity for him to shed the role of Robin, taking up the new identity of Nightwing in Tales of the Teen Titans #44.

Nightwing would continue to lead the Teen Titans into the 1990s as well as make guest appearances in Batman and The Flash. He also would star in a regular feature of Action Comics Weekly. Following the multi-year “Knightfall” saga, Dick would temporarily take up the mantle of Batman in the “Prodigal” arc, before starring in the one-shot Nightwing: Alfred’s Return. After this, he would finally his first solo book – a four-part miniseries by Dennis O’Neil and a pre-porn-tracing (I think) Greg Land. The success of that series gave DC the confidence to launch an ongoing Nightwing title.

Image result for nightwing mcdaniel

I vividly remember the first time I saw marketing materials for the new Nightwing book. During the summer of 1996, my family went on a summer vacation on lake in upstate New York, during which I managed to pick up a copy of Wizard Magazine. Flipping through, I saw a full-page ad that essentially showed Scott McDaniel’s cover art for Nightwing #1. Right then, I was hooked. I had to read this title. I remember liking the book as a kid, and upon revisiting it over 20 years later, it might read even better today.

Chuck Dixon’s comics are very “meat and potatoes” in that they will never be considered for the greatest of all time, but a worst they are solid books. This is true throughout his tenure as the writer of Nightwing. Even when McDaniel stepped away from art duties, the title continued to be good. But it is those initial 40 issues with McDaniel that are among the best stories Dixon ever produced.

Beginning with “A Knight in Bludhaven,” the creative duo sought to expand Dick Grayson’s world beyond the familiar faces of the Bat-family and Teen Titans. Right away, a new big-bad for Nightwing would be introduced in the form of the hulking Roland Desmond, aka Blockbuster. A perpetual thorn in the side would manifest in the form of Tad Ryerstad, who would adopt the unoriginal moniker “Nite-Wing.” Meanwhile, characters such as Bridget Clancy would act as a great foil in Dick Grayson’s civilian life.

Image result for nightwing #25 the boys

As much as Dixon and McDaniel worked to establish a world solely for Grayson, they also secured his role as the bridge between DC’s JLA-tier heroes and the rising class of “young justice” heroes. Legacy would be a defining trait of the publisher’s 1990s comics, and although Dick Grayson would only briefly assume the role of Batman in the “Prodigal” arc, in Nightwing he would develop into a mentor for younger heroes. More importantly, he would show the other members of the Bat-family that they could be a hero without being mentally unhinged.

There is no better example of this than in Nightwing #25. Titled “The Boys,” this bottle issue sees Dick Grayson and Tim Drake take on the mean streets of Bludhaven… blindfolded. It is a training exercise which goes just bit differently than planned, as is the case in most stories. However, the events of the issue are not the primary focus, but rather the brotherly bond between the former and [at the time] current Robin. Dixon’s script for this issue is full of banter as he peppers wise anecdotes into Grayson’s good-natured dialogue. Meanwhile, McDaniel’s artwork keeps the pacing brisk, fitting giving the nature of the story. Nightwing #25 is arguably the crown jewel of the creative team’s run.

Though both creators have faded into relative obscurity in recent years, there is no denying the influence that their time on Nightwing has had on all succeeding creative teams. Whether it was the succeeding work by Devin Grayson, the New 52 run by Kyle Higgins, or the current Rebirth series, they all are compared to the work of Dixon and McDaniel. This is the bar which must be met, and few runs since have come close.

Chuck DixonNightwingScott McDaniel

Share On:
Tweet
Micro Reviews: Wonder Week!
Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

About The Author

Daniel Gehen
Editor-in-Chief

Dan was introduced to the 1960s Batman show at a young age, which developed into a lifelong passion for comics. When he's not grinding out his day job, he can be found reading about Scarlet Speedsters, Web-Heads, or Sagas just about anywhere. If it's good he'll read it. If it's bad... there's a chance he still might read it.

Related Posts

  • What Looks Good Quarantine Week 6 – Presto!

    Andrea Tessie, Daniel Gehen
    April 27, 2020
  • 4.0

    Review: “Batman Troika TPB” Brings Back The Classic Bat

    Jason Jeffords Jr.
    February 9, 2019

Latest Columns

  • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

    Daniel Gehen
    December 4, 2020
  • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

    Daniel Gehen
    October 30, 2020
  • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

    Daniel Gehen
    October 27, 2020
  • What Looks Good for the Week of 10/14/2020

    Daniel Gehen
    October 12, 2020
  • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – Monster Mash!

    Daniel Gehen
    October 9, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders