Nightwing #10
I was incredibly impressed by the work done for Nightwing in this issue, especially by the characterization of Dick wanting to improve Gotham his way, not Bruce's.
His plan to rebuild the historic district is something that is patently of Dick's mind, and the fact that he's desiring to avoid working with Bruce's money on it is something interesting. A lot of people brought up that it is weird for him to be in talks with Tony Zucco's daughter, but the way DC's continuity has been recently, I wouldn't be shocked if her part in Dick's history is completely gone. As such, this could be a chance for her to start their history over, and so I'll withhold judgment.
I'm into the idea of a cop trying to undermine the Bat-family by using old Nightwing weapons as ways to frame him. It keeps with the divided police department theme that has run throughout the early, six-year history of Batman. (That still gets to me.)
Also, how often has Lucius Fox appeared so far in the Bat-verse? He's not been a very frequent character, and I liked the long bit of dialogue that he was given here.
My only concern with this new story is that it has the same secret society feel as the Court of Owls, which they just literally came out of. The team will have to be careful as to not make this gang of teens a knock-off of the Court.
Overall, this is an excellent investment of time and money, and I hope that this arc can continue to build off the strong start.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #10
I have been a fan of Starfire since watching her in the Teen Titans TV series, and have since read Wolfman-Perez era stories that have made me really enjoy the character.
While I enjoy the Starfire of this book, she appeared to be lacking in much of what made her awesome initially. This issue provides a better glimpse of it as Starfire does something epic: She leads a fleet of intergalactic military ships as a ruthless war commander.
There is a nice amount of humor in this book, don't get me wrong, and I enjoyed that as well. Jason and Roy both were on point with the running commentary on the situation, and Roy has slowly become my second-favorite Starfire love interest (behind Dick Grayson, of course).
The best part of the commentary is that Jason's most recent date comes along for the ride and is rightfully freaked out. I would have no problem with her becoming a recurring character after this arc ends.
There is a side story with Essence to finish the book. Honestly, it was a nice piece, and it's good to see what's happening with the Untitled storyline, but it did cut off what had been an amazing plot to that point. I would have rather this sidestory been a standalone issue than taking up parts of multiple books.
Still, it's worth the price of admission and there's a big selling point for next issue when next month's title is teased. Not going to give it away because the mark-out moment is the best thing of the issue, but those who know Starfire's history will understand why I'm excited.
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