Comic Book Review: Nightwing #20 - DC Comics (2017)

"Nightwing Must Die! - Finale"
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Javier Fernandez
Colors by Chris Sotomayor

Nightwing is on a mission to find his girlfriend Shawn Tsang.  Professor Pyg has his army of demented doppelgangers, including Deathwing(who is figuring out what side he is on).

There is so much more going on in this book than that little blurb I included.  This is the finale in what has been an emotional roller coaster of a story.  Nightwing has been hot on the trail of finding his girlfriend(who also may be pregnant).  Robin(Damian Wayne) is tagging along as he is upset that many feel that Nightwing is the heir apparent to the Batman helm.  Plus you get to throw in layers of bad guys and top layer bad guys taking out the bottom layer of bad guys.  Tim Seeley did a masterful job with this story line.  I'm so glad Superman recommended Bludhaven as a destination for Nightwing(issue #9).

The Nightwing series is wonderful since we have a steady writer in Tim Seeley.  The one thing I wish it had is a steady artist.  Everyone who has worked on this series has been very good, but I feel like it would be that much better with the same artist.  Javier Fernandez did very nice work in this particular comic book.  He gave it a very gritty look which is something I that definitely works when it comes to the street level heroes.  Chris Sotomayer's colors were excellent as well.  The scenery was dark but Nightwing's blue and Deathwing's red really popped nicely.

Nightwing is one of my absolute favorite comic books going.  I look forward to each issue.  Tim Seeley is writing Nightwing/Dick Grayson the way a hero should be written.  Nightwing is a hero full of hope, even when that hope can backfire.  He looks for the good and fights to keep that good alive.  The looking for the good in people works out to Dick Grayson's advantage as Shawn Tsang, his girlfriend, was a villain who was known as The Defacer(it's not as bad as it sounds, she just spray painted artwork).

What are your thoughts on Nightwing?  What other comic books would you like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?

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Casting Batgirl

It was recently announced that DC's Batgirl will be an upcoming movie from Joss Whedon.  I was immediately excited by this news.  I feel like Joss Whedon is an amazing fit for a strong female superhero.  I have enjoyed his works in film, tv and comic books.  Whedon was the writer for Astonishing X-Men for Marvel and what he was able to do with Kitty Pryde's character makes me more than confident he will make an incredible film.

Batgirl's alter ego is Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham police chief Jim Gordon.  She is trained by Batman and has a little something going on with Dick Grayson aka Robin/Nightwing.  This could be a really interesting story so I'm glad Joss Whedon is the guy in charge.

Since Joss is going to busy with all the writing and directing and such, we at Maskerpiece Theatre though we would lend a helping hand in the casting department.  I posed the question to the Maskerpiece Theatre contributors: Who should be cast as Batgirl?  I have the responses below.  They are in no particular order as we each picked somebody.

Addison Timlin

Karen Gillen

Summer Glau

Rhonda Rousey

Emily Browning

Shailene Woodley

Liv Hewson


I used the cover photo of each actress' IMDB profile.  What are your thoughts on our choices?  Who do you think would be the best actress to play Barbara Gordon/Batgirl?

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Casting Nightwing

News of a Nightwing movie has been all over the internet this week.  I personally just about leaped out of my skin as I have felt this is the direction DC should be going with their films as the lesser known heroes seem to do pretty well in the box office.

There is all kinds of speculation about this film already and I don't even know if there is a script.  The rumor is that a director has been tapped; Chris McKay, the director of Lego Batman.  I don't know how concrete these rumors are, but there are multiple sites reporting.

So that's the news end of things.  I'm sure it's all stuff you have already read about so let's get into the fun stuff.  What do we want to see in a Nightwing movie?

A full on origin story is not necessary.  I bet an excellent Nightwing movie could be two hours or less.  You can let it be known he was Robin and his parents died so he was raised by Batman and Alfred.

If you want to get a fun origin story in the movie, give insight into where the name Nightwing comes from.  It has nothing to do with bats or Bruce Wayne's alter ego altogether.  Big Blue himself was the inspiration for Dick Grayson's choice in crime fighting name.  Nightwing came from a Kryptonian legend.  I know, you would probably have to tweak some things as the current DC movie Universe probably doesn't make this feasible.  Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad aren't exactly stellar so why not go off the path?

Don't be so grim.  Have some fun with this movie.  Lighten up DC!  I keep hearing how DC is going for realism with the darker themes but I don't think most of the world sucks that bad.  Maybe it does, but Dick Grayson/Nightwing don't need to bring us down any further.

There are plenty of villains we can choose from but I think, before we go any further, we should look at who should play the title character.  On Maskerpiece Theatre, we like to cast films and figure out who we would like to play certain characters.  Follow us on Twitter, we play this game quite often as it's not just on the podcasts.  I'll give you names but without explanation.  You be the judge and let us know what you think.  Photos are from the actors' IMDB profiles.

Joseph Gordon Levitt

.




Matt Bomer

Steven R. McQueen

Ian Somerhalder

Jon Rhys Meyers

Please feel free to comment below or contact us on Twitter to let us know your thoughts.


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Comic Book Review: Nightwing #4 - DC Comics (2016)

"Better Than Batman" Part 4

Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Javier Fernandez
Colors by Chris Sotomayor

Nightwing continues his personal mission to take down the Parliament of Owls.  Nightwing and Raptor obtain a copy of the Book of Wisdom and now are on their way to get the coins to decipher the book.  Nightwing has been playing the "long game" with Raptor and is having a tough time with the morality of his undercover choices.

I have absolutely been enjoying this series.  Tim Seeley is crafting a Nightwing story that truly tests the hero's moral limits.  There are people suffering at the hands of the Owls and Nightwing has constantly struggled with saving a few or waiting to save many. Nightwing is also struggling as he has befriended a man called Raptor, an admitted outlaw but he seems to be a good person(or is he?).

I also enjoy Nightwing's interactions with those in the Batman world.  Whether it be Bruce Wayne or Damian Wayne, Nightwing proves to be an individual and makes him a compelling character in the comic book universe.

Javier Fernandez is a remarkable artist and is doing great work on this title.  Nightwing is an acrobat and the poses are fantastic.  If I had a complaint about the look of this book, it's very minor.  I don't like the bird on the costume.  I prefer the larger bird personally.

I highly recommend picking up this series.  If you're having difficulty finding the first couple issues, don't worry.  It looks like issue #5 will start a new story line and tie in with Batman #7.

Chris Sotomayor's colors look wonderful as well.  The blood stains on Turkeyhead(not really his name...I don't think) show his incredible talent.

What are your thoughts on Nightwing?  Are you enjoying the DC Rebirth as much as I am?  What other comic books would you like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?

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