Review by Ian Keogh
The primary villain Tom Taylor has created for this run of Nightwing is Heartless, a killer so named for his distasteful habit of removing the hearts of his victims. He’s not been ever-present, but is generally lurking in the background somewhere, and he closed Standing at the Edge. His transformation from remorseless serial killer to schemer from the shadows makes little sense at first, but consider him a villain who’s actually learned from his defeat.
As the Fallen Grayson title indicates, this is a fall and rise arc, which begins with all the good Dick Grayson has done for Blüdhaven very publicly revealed to be funded by criminal enterprise. It’s not true of course, but what matters in 21st century USA is public perception, not truth, and for Dick the situation deteriorates rapidly from there.
Bruno Redondo drew the first of Taylor’s Nightwing stories and he draws the last just as immaculately. There are plenty of spectacular action pages creatively laid out, but the sample art is an even better indicator of Redondo’s diligence. The page is a transition taking Dick from one place to another, a standard story page, yet Redondo’s effort is exemplary from the perfectly reproduced 2CV to the backgrounds. You know he can be amazing, but consider how well he delivers the ordinary. He saves a great moment until the end, possibly suggested by Taylor given the circumstances, but it’s still a wonderful homage.
Beyond the bare bones of what’s happening Fallen Grayson delivers the greatest enjoyment if read without knowing what’s happening. Taylor subverts a now familiar scene involving Batman and Nightwing, there’s a surprise appearance from another DC superhero in the role of coach, and Dick has an existential crisis connected with how effective he can be as a hero. Yet there’s so much more.
At heart this is a relatively simple story, but it’s so well told. It speaks to who Dick Grayson is, Taylor really knows how to deliver that cinematic, punch the air moment, and knows how to build toward it. Taylor and Redondo’s Nightwing has been consistently both thrilling and interesting, and it’s only due to the involvement of other creators that the volumes with their name on the cover don’t all rank higher. This, though, is great.
