The Good
Nightwing tracks down a thief and chases her around the city. At home, he realizes that living with other people is a bit tougher than it seems.
I really loved the back and forth between Dick and Mali AKA Marionette. Early on in the issue, we get to see Nightwing chase after her across the rooftops, with some back and forth banter between the two. It has a very Catwoman/Batman feel to it. It's familiar and I like the way Kyle Higgins adds this flirtatious scene to the opening.
Mali is one of the focuses on the issue, and as a new character (she first appeared in NIGHTWING #19), I really like her. This is a new city and a new world for Nightwing, and frankly, he could use another reoccurring hero or villain to interact with. One who isn't a part of the larger Gotham world. While Mali is a bit more of a villain, she could flip the other way. She has multiple personality disorder as well, so there's a bit of chaos in the mix. This is only her second appearance, but I'm really enjoying this character.
Will Conrad takes the reigns on art for most of the issue, with Pete Pantazis on colors. Conrad keeps the pages fresh by changing up the layouts and giving the reader a bit more of an exciting read to go along with the already exciting action going on inside the book. Conrad's and Pantazis' art is very clear and crisp and full of life.
We get to see a few moments of Dick Grayson just being Dick Grayson and having to deal with roommates, which if you don't really know the person that well you're living with can be incredibly weird and awkward. Higgins nailed every awkward conversation I had with stranger-roommates I had in college and probably the same ones you had (will have) too.
How about that final page? It seems Mila isn't the only person Nightwing has to watch out for since a familiar face from Gotham makes their way into this series. It's a character I really love, so I cannot wait to see how this plays out.
The Bad
There's scene where Mali goes into a room and there's a bunch of thugs waiting for here. She beats them up, while screaming and then injects herself with something. What the heck is going on here? I'm a bit lost. We all know she has multiple personality syndrome, but the scene is a bit confusing.
The cover to this issue a bit awkward. The eyes on Nightwing's face look angled weird and the overall look of it all is unappealing.
The only other real complaint is that the art switches to Cliff Richards for a few pages, about halfway through the issue. Richard's work is ok, but it's a bit of a shocker moving from Conrad to Richards when their styles are so different from each other.
The Verdict
I'm a big supporter of what Higgins has been doing on this book, since he moved out of Gotham. He's really developing this new world well, and it's a great read. Conrad does some great things with the art and page layouts here, and Mali is a super-cool character that I can't wait to see how this all plays out. There's a few not so great things like the art switch-up in the issue, but overall, this is a really fun read and I recommend it.
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