Nightwing

I'll just say it right now, this series is teetering on the edge of getting dropped. This really isn't turning out to be the book I was hoping it would be. Anyway, we start off with Dick fight a cowboy in Mickey Rourke from Iron Man 2 armor, named Shox. I will say that I love the part where Dick makes fun of his spelling. He's fighting him to get to a guy who may know something about Saiko. Dick defeats him because the the floor is an Aquarium. Yes that is as stupid as it sounds. After ripping off the "Swear to Me!!" scene from Batman begins, Dick basically gets no information. So, what did we accomplish with this opening scene? If you said: F*ck All, congratulations you win the grand prize. Raya, who if you recall is in league with Saiko, then tells Dick about a flying Graysons Tribute show, we'll get to why this is stupid later. Dick, not being a moron has this reaction,

However, because Raya and the other guy running the circus are in on the scheme, they bullsh*t Dick until he gives in. Meanwhile, two Gotham City detectives discover two murdered Gangbangers that were killed by weapons similar to Nightwings, huh, that's interesting, I'm actually really curious about where we're going with this...

Dick is overseeing the preparation for the show when we get the best part of the issue. Alfred shows up and gives some advice to Dick, who's been under considerable stress as of late. It's a great scene. As the show starts Dick realizes Saiko is hiding in the rafters and goes after him. Saiko reveals himself as Dick's undead(?) friend Raymond. Raymond appears to believe that Dick killed him, then he blows up the circus, and yet even that feels under-whelming.

What Works:

The Alfred scene is fantastic.

What Doesn't:

There's a lot to talk about so let's dive right in. 1. What kind of moron has a glass Aquarium as their floor. I don't give a crap how rich you are, that's just poor planning on your part, especially when you're expecting a superhero brawl to take place in your club. 2. They say that Dick was the only person who knew the flying Grayson tribute show was in the works, that would be fine if he was the only one in the circus, but apparently the show is already sold out. How the hell do they keep that a secret. Dick was trained by Batman, he's not too easy to delude. 3. Saiko is really boring as a villain. 4. The most intriguing part of the comic is scarcely a page long. 5. This story is really underwhelming and I am quickly losing interest.

Overall

2.5/5

Even though I usually finish out a story, I'm seriously considering dropping this one. I'll mull it over until next month and make my decision then.

Nightwing has broken the chain of atrocious even numbered issue covers. Not only is this one a nice compelling image, the logo is done in blue, which recalls fonder days of Nightwing's blue costume. Nightwing himself really stands out atop the monolith of thugs they way they're stacked in this image, true to his circus nature, Nightwing hogs the eye attention and spotlight.

This issue cements the need for the more filler-esque stories, though not exactly in a great way. See, this is the kind of story that apparently needed padding out because otherwise it rushes too quickly in a return to Gotham. That's mostly nice and fine, except Night of the Owls is coming up, and thus, we don't have many filler issues left. Of course, using the crossover as its own side story might've been better, but whatever. This is clearly leading into the conclusion, but it just feels a little rushed. I would've liked more time to mull things over. As it is, all the answers have to be squished into one next issue.

This issue just feels rushed. It starts off with a painfully obvious, if still entertaining, framing device in the form of a lead that pans out into nowhere, Nightwing ends up being lead by the nose right into his final encounter, where Saiko reveals his identity so offhandedly. And Raymond really worries me with his motivation. The circus itself being part of the conspiracy does add some hope, but overall Raymond seems like one of those cheesy "You left me to die so it is automatically definitely your fault!!!!!11111one" kind of villains. But honestly, everything just flies by in this issue without enough tension built to give things a good pacing. The final battle just isn't built up enough. But the observation of continuity and fantastic appearance of Alfred do kind of help things out.

And then there's Raya. I just have no idea where they're going with her, but it seems like they're taking her in an obvious 'Realize Raymond's a nutjob so she like's Dick now and possibly sacrifice herself to stop Raymond' kind of path...

In Conclusion: 3.5/5

..I guess that's my real problem with this issue. There was a ton of mystery, and a lot of it seemed to be wiped away to reveal a heaping pile of cliche beneath. There's still enough good to make this a good read, but it's like a deflating balloon, looking good but starting to lose it it might not be able to regain.

Kyle Higgins has been giving Dick Grayson a wonderful reason to be Nightwing again and now that we know who the assassin is, we can finally start getting to the conclusion of this great arch. 
 
THE GOOD: 
I really like the art in this series. They draw the paneling like acrobatic like and I think that it works well for the character. I also really like the action in this series. We get to see how the character jumps from a building and kicking someone's face. The story is really good in this issue. We start off with him fighting a random machine, but then you find out why he is and it's satisfying. Nightwing is also acting how I want him to be. He's funny and I think that Nightwing should be a bit fun. I really liked the direction this issue went and is probably one of my favorite. 
 
THE BAD: 
I really wish that we would know a little more about Raymond. I think that I would like the villain more if I knew just a bit more about him. I also really didn't like how many days this issue jumped around. I think that they could have done more with the plot if they would've have cut a few issues that didn't have anything to do with the main plot. 
 
THE VERDICT: 4.5/5 (Amazing) 
Nightwing is a great series and I think that it gives Dick Grayson a reason to be Nightwing. I really like him as the character and I think that when this arch is done, he is going to be more in Gotham. If you like Dick Grayson then you should be reading this. Picture it as a light heart Batman but ten times better then it sounds. If you like good comics, this is one for you. 

This is my video review for Nightwing issue 6. This issue is about Nightwing finding out the assasin trying to kill him had said this is a personal job. When the Flying Grayson's have a tribute he knows this will be the perfect chance for the assassin to strike.