I’m not denying that Tom DeFalco, at one point, was a big deal in comics. In my last review I talked about his many accomplishments at Marvel and if you read his old work you see why he was such a big deal. But his style of writing has not changed over the years and that isn’t a good thing. If he did a Nightwing comic back in the 1980s then it would fit right now. But thirty years later and we can see just why he is considered a ‘relic’.

The dialogue in this particular issue is so cringe worthy that it is almost painful. I feel like I am reading something from the past because DeFalco has to keep nailing the same beats over and over again in the issue. We gotta know how everyone is thinking, everything feels melodramatic, and there are just some clunky speeches in here. Lady Shiva can be a great character but in this she feels like any typical assassin you’d see in a comic. What gets me frustrated on this issue is that there is no reason why Kyle Higgins couldn’t have done this. Hell, the story line continues with Dick starting up Amusement Mile and dealing with Sonia Branch. While I appreciate it that DeFalco is not ignoring these elements of the overall story, but it puzzles me on why this couldn’t have been written by the original writer.

What continues to be the ultimate reason I didn’t skip out on this two issue filler was the art by Andres Guinaldo. He continues to shine with this book and I hope DC picks him up to do more work down the line. There are a few double page spreads here that look really impressive. He’s no Eddy Barrows but he brings his own style that suits a character like Nightwing. I do admit there are some wonky faces in this issue which was a bit annoying to see. Dick Grayson looks like a middle age man then a twenty something superhero. But I’m willing to skip on these flaws when I see some great action sequences throughout this piece.

While I really do appreciate the career of Tom DeFalco, I can’t stand to read his work written today. He hasn’t evolved in over thirty years and it doesn’t read well with today’s comic writers. At least the fill in artist of Andres Guinaldo (with Mark Irwin) was able to show his chops and boy do I think DC has a nice find on their hands if they can keep him.