Tom Taylor does a great job juggling all these things and Bruno Redondo does a awesome job on art duty. Depending on how long this storyline is going to be, so far this is a perfect jump-in for anyone wanting to read the solo adventures of Dick Grayson. It’s not a badly-written book, it’s just mostly very easy to put down because nothing that gripping is happening - until that final chapter, which has a great scene where Dick escapes Blockbuster and takes down an attack copter.

Who is this terrifying new menace named Heartless and will he be able to resist plucking out the biggest heart in all of Bludhaven? When the Bat-Family receives misleading information and incorrect directions from Oracle, ones Barbara Gordon didn t send herself, they realise Oracle s system has been hacked! In general I don’t read current DC comics, but Taylor does a wonderful job of not making you feel like you’re missing out on anything. I think this approach often creates problems, which is why he has Dick mention his aspirations to do more than just punch people. Many readers won’t even see this as a problem and understand that the first volume in a longer run is often just an introduction, a promise, for bigger (although not necessarily better) things to come.But Taylor is also, luckily, self-aware enough to wrap this bluntness in candy-colored art from Bruno Redondo and tons of action, which is breezy and fast-paced, so that you almost don't see the heaping portions of moralization thrown at you. In many ways, Leaping into the Light demonstrates how theme, character, and world building can often be as fulfilling and exciting as a tightly wound narrative that puts a character through the wringer.

With the Bat-Team s comms unreliable, Nightwing heads to Gotham to find the source of Anti-Oracle s transmissions. Nightwing has to get to the bottom of this Heartless character whilst also snooping on the new mayor Zucco, but the info he’s going to find is the last thing he’d expect. He’s a young man, perpetually stuck in that nebulous transition into adulthood where living on your own and forging your own path is only the start to becoming who you are meant to be. Bruno Redondo’s art was very expressive and Adriano Lucas’ colours were not overly rendered yet remained effective and atmospheric.

Who is this terrifying new menace named Heartless, and will he be able to resist plucking out the biggest heart in all of Bludhaven? Even the more comedic moments nail the landing due to Redondo’s expert ability in rendering character “acting” and portraying a sense of ease and comfort between Dick, Barbara, and Tim as they investigate the various criminals of Blüdhaven. But protecting Blüdhaven is no small task, especially now that it's being menaced by Nightwing's most terrifying foe yet—a mysterious and murderous villain with a penchant for stealing his victim's hearts, known only as Heartless. It’s a soft reboot at its core, throwing Dick into a new situation and given a problem he can’t solve via his usual methods. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.

It’s all once again top notch work that is a must read for any fan of Nightwing, or like in my case, if you’re trying to get into the character. Tom Taylor has done it again as he has always done wonders with Elseworld stories like Dceased and Injustice down to then doing one of the best Suicide Squad runs in a long while. It’s about sacrifice, putting yourself before others, and showing the world that standing up for what’s right is worth fighting for. In Blüdhaven, kindness is a rare virtue and Heartless is there to take Dick’s “heart before he gives it to the city”.

My little nitpick about this is that the billionaire charity foundation is not a good model for saving the world. Rick Leonardi and Neil Edwards draw the handful of pages that make up the flashback sequence, which aren’t bad but aren’t that special either, and I wasn’t that impressed with Heartless’ character design.

There is a strange semantics to some of this as Dick refers to his biological parents as…parents and Bruce and Alfred as his two fathers. Who knew that the recently departed Alfred invested his salary and pretty well so he died a billionaire and gave it all to Dick. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Although they could’ve easily made Batman a main player here, Taylor is very conscious of telling a story of Dick, who is looking back on his history, which includes reacquainting with the current Robin, Tim Drake, and more importantly, a possible romantic rekindling with Barbara Gordon. When it comes to Robin, Batman’s sidekick, Dick Grayson is the first and most iconic to take on the mantle, even though he hasn’t been the Boy Wonder for a long time. A lot of the best stuff in the comic is Dick’s interactions with the few members of the Bat-Family, especially with Babs as their banter has been delightful.