The Virgin Read: She Came Not To Bury Nightwing But Will Leave The Praise To Others As Well

Nightwing # 150
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Don Kramer, Jay Leisten & Rodney Ramos
Published by DC Comics

Slim pickin’s this week.  Out of my four or so choices, there wasn’t a single comic that I haven’t tried before.  (Except for the japanese nun-raping radioactive sperm thing, which I'm not reading I don't care if it's important.)  Since I'm stuck in the repeat phase, I chose the comic where the most time had gone by since I last read it.  (Was that English?  Did that make any sense?)

I don’t have a lot to say.  I still think its hilarious that Nightwing hang glides.  He relies on hang gliding to get around.  That's a choice he makes, again and again.  I got to learn, in this issue, that his glider seems to also have some sort of voice activated GPS.  Isn’t that interesting.  So he's not only a hang glider, but he's a lazy hang glider?  He's used technology to take all the work out the sport of hang gliding.  But let’s face it, we’re not dealing in anything close to realism here – we're dealing in surreptitious hang gliding as method of transport in New York City.

So, here's some kudos.  Even though this is the conclusion and is a story that’s been going on for some issues, I was fully able to understand it.  I did not feel lost. It was "fine."  As a comic.  I didn’t fall asleep midway through, like I have with some comics.  So, that’s a plus.  Put that on the movie poster.

I feel like the entire comic book is the “B” Cast – no that’s too good – the “D” cast in every way.  It just feels like someone really wanted Nightwing to happen, that they really wanted Nightwing to be a super-hero.  But that someone wasn't the boss, and the boss was not down with the whole thing.  So, the original someone was pitching the idea, I imagine, and he's saying, “Okay – I’ve got this great idea for a super-hero.  He’s totally stealthy, strong, saves the day…he’s some sort of creature of the night, like a bat, or a I don’t know, what do you think?"

Big guy says, “Nah.  Nope, can't do it.  Not a bat.  Already taken.  How about part of the bat..say the wing?”

“Oh…um, well, okay.  Sure Wingman….Wingman of the Night – OH!  Night Wing.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

‘Okay, boss.  Well check this out--he lives in some cool place that is like a mansion, and he's got it all to himself at night and, look, this place--it'll be the perfect cover...how does the the Metropolitan Museum of Art grab you?  Perfect, right!"

“No.”

“No?”

“Nope.  Don’t like it.”

“Museum of Natural Hist—“

“NO. No…"

"Well, I think the museum thing is a great ide—“

“Fine.  The Cloisters then.”

“But the Cloisters are at the top of Manhattan, and I think he should be in the heart –“

“Do you want this job or not?”

“Um, yeah.  Okay.  The Cloisters.  But listen, at the end of this big story line that I’ve thought up, two Face will have 50 jumbo jets filled with Acid that he’s going to use to destroy--

“No.”

“No?”

“No jets.  No.  Blimps.”

“Blimps?  But sir…”

“Blimps I say!  Damn it, who writes the checks around here?  Twelve Blimps or nothing.”

“Okay.  Blimps."

You see what I'm getting at?  Everything feels like the runner-up.  Like all the cool stuff is being used in other stories, so Nightwing has to use the left overs.

Now, I only know Harvey Dent/Two-Face from the most recent Batman movie.  That’s the only story I know about the character, only time I've seen him, read about him, that's it.  He's in that movie, I saw it awhile ago, it was pretty good, whatever.  I thought they did an amazing job with the make-up.  Terrifying.  Anyhow.  So, of course I was surprised, I guess I'm not supposed to be, that not only is he alive, but with he's talking to himself?  That was just weird.  As always, yes, I get it.  The comic one has a split personality.  That was just weird.  It just was.

I don’t really have a lot more to say.  I’m really tired and desperately want to go to bed.  This was sort of rambly.  I just wanted to express the things that struck me, so to speak.  There wasn't much.  To be honest, I have no desire to read this series again.  And apparently, I’m not the only one who feels this way, since the series is being canceled.  Sorry, Nightwing.   Rest In Peace.  Next time, you should work harder.

-Nina Stone, 2008

Comments

[hugh stewart]

Ahahahahaha, did Tucker try to get you to read Bureiko Lullby?

[Tucker Stone]

I pushed Bureiko pretty hard, and I never push. But yeah, I figured that could make for a great column.

[Kenny]

You're not alone, Nina. I'm not reading Bureiko Lullaby because I don't like gross out humor - unless it's Mark Millar having Spider-Bitch decapitate a man with a shotgun! Hey-o! (Watch the Funnybook Babylon/ 4th Letter guys jump all into my shit again....)

Anyway, this line was hysterical:

“Blimps I say! Damn it, who writes the checks around here? Twelve Blimps or nothing.”

Both because I've had a boss who said dumb shit like that and because I can actually imagine the DC people saying something that silly. I imagine working at DC is a bit like working at a crackhouse that would rather smash junkies' heads in with bricks. Yeah, the same end result is achieved, but someone is making a horrible mistake. Maybe the customers, maybe the suppliers with the bricks. It's hard to say.

[Sharif]

It makes me tired to even read ABOUT Nightwing.

[Chris Mautner]

Japanese nun-raping radioactive sperm things are all the rage these days

[Brian Nicholson]

Tucker, are you going to review Monster Men Bureiko Lullaby as an extended essay?

[Tucker Stone]

Yes, when the Brave & The Bold stuff is finished. It's a really interesting comic, if you can tolerate the content.