Nightwing 18 is probably the second best of the books dealing with the death of Damian Wayne, the first being last weeks Batman and Robin 18. Read Full Review

The comic ends on an extremely positive note. Sonia reveals that someone who she and Grayson thought was dead is anything but. I won't give it away. But it's possible that Nightwing has finally found his own way in the Bat-family. Not only that, but it looks like he's found an outlet for all of this anger he's built up. I guess we'll find out when he gets to Chicago. That's right; Nightwing is getting out of Gotham! Read Full Review

Now that's a cool twist! Tony Zucco is the man who killed Dick Grayson's parents way back in the day, and he was supposed to be dead. We've been told as much. So it's definitely a cool twist that Zucco only ever faked his death, and now he's back as a crime boss in Chicago. Nightwing is going to be moving to Chicago soon, so I think this'll be a fun new direction for the series. Hopefully Higgins can keep out of big Bat-family crossovers for awhile and actually get to tell his own story with Dick Grayson. Not that I haven't enjoyed the various tie-ins to other events, but it's dragging the book down. We're only at issue #18, not even two full years of Nightwing, and this will be the third or fourth status quo change for the character. That's just too many. Nightwing needs to be able to settle down and have a life for once. Let's hope this is that opportunity, at long last. Read Full Review

Nightwing's gone through some tough times and everything is about to change. This issue is a great way of looking back over the recent events and reflecting on them while also setting up a huge new direction for the character and title. Kyle Higgins clearly has a plan with what he's constructing in this title and the level of excitement has been elevated to a new level. There were some moments the art became a distraction, which was unfortunate for an issue full of emotion and action. This was an issue containing separate sections but each event flowed nicely into the next without having a jarring feeling. If you haven't been reading NIGHTWING for some reason, this is the perfect time to find out what you've been missing. Read Full Review

The issue is solid for another reason, it's a good jumping on point. There's some big changes coming for Nightwing, and this is the point new readers can hop on to find out this change's motivation. It accomplishes two things, allows Nightwing to deal with the past and look towards the future. It's one of the best of the “Requiem” tie-ins. Read Full Review

So if you take away those last three pages, this comic was an easy 8 1/2 to a 9 for me. Kyle Higgins had Dick down perfectly here. He brooded for a while, he bitched at people, but in the end, he was still Dick Grayson. Sure, this story was done before, you know, back when Jason died, but still, I enjoyed reading this. Read Full Review

While Kyle Higgins does a good job navigating Nightwing through his feelings of guilt and depression, it's kind of overkill. And not because of how it's written, but because most of Dick's emotional eureka moments happen twice. He talks about the destruction of Haly's Circus twice, he gets pissed at Bruce for lying twice, and he mentions how he and Damian were like brothers twice. It would have worked better if Higgins had perhaps worked his way from having Dick simply understand his situation to Nightwing accepting and processing Damian's death. Instead, the sentiments are played out by the middle of the issue, leaving Higgin's big reveal as the main focus of the second half. It's an interesting enough surprise, but already feels contrived. So, we'll see. Read Full Review

The issue is fine, but I can't help but feel disappointed in the lack of Dick's emotional reaction to Damian's death. Perhaps some would say that's Dick Grayson, that he's not a mourner, but someone who prefers to remember someone's life rather than their death. There is some emotion there, and it's touching to hear what Dick has to say. Without Damian, Dick feels like he's lost someone truly important, and that he has to be strong without him. Read Full Review

This is one of the titles that is in the most need of a change of scenery. Luckily it looks like it will be, as the character is going to Chicago, hopefully for quite a while, and also getting an upgrade in the art department (Check out the interview with new artist Brett Boothhere). Nightwing can be a huge success in the sales and storytelling, but the hero needs to carve his own path and not get sucked into the rest of the Bat-books to simply become “Batman-Lite” Read Full Review

Were my expectations a little too high for this one? No. I won't say that. I truly believe that Nightwing #18 should have been as heartbreaking as Batman & Robin if not more. Does that mean that this was a bad comic? Heck no. It's quite good and I recommend you pick it up. The time we do spend with Dick's grief is powerful and there's some great action plus there's an absolutely thrilling finale that will have everyone talking. I know I was incredibly shocked by it and I can definitely see it leading to one of the most memorable Nightwing stories to date. It's simply that I came into this comic looking to have a good cry but I left it feeling more excited than sorrowful. Read Full Review

Juan Jose Ryp's artwork occasionally gets a little into caricature-land with Dick's stubble and slouch, but his layouts and fight choreography are clean. A good show, and one of the better DC "Requiem" books. Read Full Review

Writer Kyle Higgins has done well by Nightwing, and he understands what makes the character tick. Dick's ability to rally and move forward after awful events is a big part of his makeup, and Higgins deserves credit for at least raising the question of how best to proceed when bad things happen. Do you put up walls or let people in? While life must go on, this issue seems in too much of a hurry to check mourning off of the list and get to the next chapter. Read Full Review

Visually, faces are not Ryp's strong suit and the overabundance of wordy dialogue highlight's the arts weaknesses rather than emphasizing its strengths. As it stands, both the writing and the art hint at an emotionally powerful story that could have been without going far enough to tell it. Read Full Review

"Nightwing" #18 is a comic book that focuses on what a hero does after his world is torn down around him. Nightwing has always been a beacon of light and hope in the DC Universe and the Batman family in particular and to have that beacon dimmed by recent events takes some of the luster off the character. This isn't dissimilar to what we've seen in comics dozens, if not hundreds of times since Frank Miller's and David Mazzucchelli's "Born Again" storyline in "Daredevil." Higgins ties up some lose ends nicely, seeds things to come and caps it all off with a cliffhanger that is certain to entice readers to come back for the next big thing in Nightwing's life. Read Full Review

But I can't shake the feeling that "Requiem" is more of a "required" send-off of Damian. It's an almost forced acknowledgment of the death of an inconvenient character in a "new" DC Universe that never really had a place for him. I'm one of many readers who continues to read Morrison's Batman Incorporated as an extension of the "pre-boot" DC Universe, while the events of the other Bat-titles take place in the "current" DCU. It's best not to think about this stuff too hard. Nightwing #18 is a good comic, and it's as good as can be expected given the circumstances, but now that all of these unfortunate formalities are out of the way, it will be really good to see Higgins and friends move forward. Read Full Review