A Robin Gets His Wings
By: Andrew Hines
Here we see Dick Grayson's journey to becoming the original Boy Wonder. We see him meet Gotham's Dark Knight as they both learn that what separates the two of them and what makes them so similar. After a year of great issues, it's nice to go back and see what made him into Robin and sent him down this path. As with much of the New 52, I was interested to see how much of his past was changed. There have always been minor changes to the origin, and this one is no different. The usual staples are there, though some extra pieces show his differences with Bruce.
Kyle Higgins is still doing well with the writing. From issue 1, we saw the classic Dick, always trying to help simply because he enjoys doing so. In the last year we got some deeper insight into the kind of guy he is in and out of the costume. In this issue, helped out by Tom DeFalco, Higgins does a great job of showing us the character's, well, character. This issue just helps out that particular cause quite well. They show the transition period between when his parents died and when he took it upon himself to become Robin. That initiative speaks volumes and sets the tone for his life as Nightwing.
After Eddy Barrows stopped working on the interior art on issue 10, we saw Andres Guinaldo for 11 & 12. It's nice to see Barrows back in the game as the penciller for Nightwing. On the first 10 issues he quickly became a favorite of mine, especially since Nightwing is one of my 5 favorite characters of all time. That being said, he really doesn't miss a beat on the artwork here. His work is complemented by the inks of Eber Ferreira. On top of that, Rod Reis' colors both inside and on the cover, are fantastic. There's really nothing wrong with the art here. Now, whether or not you like the suit, is another matter entirely.
The creative team is superb here. Even with the minor tweaks to the origin and the overhaul of the suit, this still gets a solid "A." For the reasons previously mentioned, it's a great issue and one I recommend adding to your list of monthly purchases.
