REVIEW: Nightwing #89

Nightwing #89, “World’s Finest Sons: Part 1” effortlessly brings Dick Grayson into Jon Kent’s world.  Still reeling from the events of Superman: Son of Kal-El #8, Jon finds himself in need of guidance and Nightwing answers the call. 

All three covers to this issue feature the great whimsical nature of Nightwing. The regular cover by Bruno Redondo clearly shows how much Dick Grayson enjoys being Nightwing as he has obviously just dived off a building wearing a smile. Jon Kent, on the other hand, is showing a bit of concern with folded arms and a quizzical look while flying backwards down Nightwing’s trajectory, which is a bit of a show off move as well.  Most importantly is the promise of a connecting cover with the giant insignia of both heroes outlined in the background, cut in half because they’re too big to fit on one cover. 

Jamal Campbell gives us a relaxed Nightwing atop a steel girdle enjoying a slice of pizza and the Bludhaven sunset on the first variant cover.  It’s a great piece that showcases how at home Nightwing is in high places. The sad thing is there’s no Superman on this variant, but that’s probably just a bit of bias on my part. 

The second variant by Bengal has Nightwing and Superman clasping hands in a friendly greeting. The non-verbal worry of Nightwing getting his hand broken by such a gesture is a fun punchline that’s sure to bring out a smile. 

Nightwing #89 opens on a flashback that recounts Nightwing and Jon Kent’s first meeting when Jon was younger. The art team does a great job of rendering the New 52 designs of the characters involved and it was neat to see Jon in his old hoodie and torn jeans outfit again. 

We’re then brought to the present where Jon is still struggling with the consequences of his recent events. Tom Taylor then quickly reminds us of Clark’s appearance in Nightwing #83 and his request for Nightwing to check in on Jon before he left for Warworld. There’s some fun dialog involving Kelex and it has me hoping for more frequent appearances in the future.

Grayson wastes little time teaming up with Jon on multiple fronts which is sure to have lasting effects on both characters moving forward. What began as a seemingly isolated event quickly becomes an incident with ties to major players and it’ll take a World’s Finest team to get to the bottom of it.

The interior art team of Bruno Redondo, colourist Adriano Lucas, and inker Jordi Tarragona create a classic comic style allowing the colours to pop while still feeling natural to their scenes. The use of the “comic book dots” for the occasional shading gives the book a nice retro feel to it as well. 

Being the writer of both these crossover titles, Tom Taylor flawlessly brings Dick and Jon into each other’s world and crafts the beginnings of an adventure all their own. Be sure to keep reading Superman: Son of Kal-El to see how this story concludes.

Haven’t picked up Nightwing #89 yet? You can get the standard cover by Bruno Redondo, you can get that here (UK), or here (US). If you prefer the variant cover by Jamal Campbell you can get that here.

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