Sunday Splash Page #395

"Bodyguard," in Nightwing #81, by Devin Grayson (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Jesse Delperdang and John Nyberg (inkers), Gregory Wright (colorist), T Bone (letterer)

This is the only issue of Nightwing I own, as well as the only issue I can recall ever buying. I knew the book took place in Bludhaven (though I had not idea where that was), and Nightwing was the original Robin, grown up. At some point, I think I learned Dick Grayson was working as a cop, though the "whys" were unknown. Somewhere along the line Deathstroke got a grudge against him, maybe? I know there was some reason Deathstroke had Chemo dropped on the city during Infinite Crisis (by which time Nightwing wasn't even living there so, kinda pointless by One-Eyed Willie.) That was all gathered passively from Wizard, or the Internet, or who knows.

As for this specific issue, I picked it up years ago because, back when I was reading Anderson Gabrych's run on Batgirl, Deathstroke showed up to cause problems, and there was a reference made to a previous confrontation between he and Batgirl. This is when that confrontation takes place, as Dick Grayson's in the hospital after being wounded in an earlier run-in with Deathstroke. Dick asks Cass to go check something out for him. "Something" being a video camera aimed at the police station where Dick works, a camera set up by Deathstroke.

The fight stretches over several pages, but is less than half the panels on any given page. The remainder taken up by Dick's attempts to slip away from a nosy reporter who feels like Devin Grayson could intend as antagonist, irritant, stalker, or future love interest. The fight itself is inconclusive; neither lands any serious hits, and eventually Deathstroke just pulls out a grenade. But Batgirl does escape with a disc that reveals who the target is, which enables Nightwing to keep the target (the lady cop up there) alive. So count it as a win for Batgirl.

It's strange to me Deathstroke went with a rocket launcher for the assassination attempt. Feels kind of clumsy and graceless for a guy who's supposed to be so skilled. I guess even a hired killer isn't feeling it some days, just wants to do the job and go home.

What I Bought 11/2/2017 - Part 2

I've been on the road since yesterday morning, and will be until sometime tomorrow evening. That goodness for being able to set these things up ahead of time. Today, it's one of those Marvel Legacy one-shots.

Power Pack #63, by Devin Grayson (writer), Marika Cresta (artist), Chris O'Halloran (color artist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I thought that was that reject from Age of Apocalypse, the Sugar Man or whatever his name was. One of those creepy scientist types, second-rate Arnim Zola. But no.

Katie Power tried to write about one of her experiences for a story at school, but tried to modify the story to remove the more fantastic elements, rendering it unintelligible to her teacher. Once she understands she can go as weird as she wants, she tells the teacher the real story of a villain called the Boogeyman possessing her oldest brother Alex, and the rest of the kids trying to stop him. At the end, her teacher suggests Katie should contact Alex, since it's clear he's important to her, and we're reminded Alex has been off with Reed, Sue, and the other smart kids ever since Secret Wars ended.

That's it. If the idea is the story is meant to make us want to see more of the characters (as the back page of the comic suggests), this doesn't seem like a great effort. We know Katie is in school, and Alex is far away. That's it. We don't have any idea what's happening with Jack or Julie, if the kids are still living with their parents, where they're living, if any of them are still fighting crime, none of that. I remember Julie joining Avengers Academy sometime after Fear Itself, but no idea beyond that. Presumably you'd want a Power Pack book to involve the entire quartet, so giving us some idea what the entire group is up to might have been a good idea.

There are a few panels, as the teacher reads Katie's initial story, where we see how she's picturing based off what's written, versus how Katie is remembering it. The colors are more vivid on Katie's side, and we get a better look at the character's face. The panic or anger is clear. In the teacher's version, the characters are often either turned away from us, or the faces are more indistinct. Katie's held back so much, she hasn't conveyed any of the sensation of the experience. The fight scene between the possessed Alex and the rest of the team is pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but a solid job showing off the kids' powers. Although, could Jack use his cloud form as a soft cushion? I figured he'd be too dispersed, the person would just pass through. Maybe he has that much control.

If it were part of a larger story, or a breather issue in a longer arc, it would be OK. But as a one-shot, designed to intrigue a potential audience, I don't think it works.