u/Field-of-Hats

I started following Guillem March on Instagram a while back because some of his DC artwork was recommended to me. I saw that he had come out with a new comic, but didn’t pay it much thought. I was just at one of my local comic shops, and after some deliberation I picked it up (along with some other new #1s from DC).

Spoilers for Ofiusa issue #1 ahead.

Firstly, the artwork is nothing short of incredible. It’s bright and brilliant, and March truly captures the serenity and of the island of Ofiusa. Honestly, it’s worth it for that alone.

The story seems interesting so far. The two concurrent stories are interesting, although I can’t say I have any interest at all in the Madrid story. I think the version of the two characters in Ofiusa are much more interesting, particularly Mar. I’m really interested in her spirituality, and her process of holding her breath underwater as a form of prayer.

Speaking of, the most interesting thing about this book was the exploration of sexuality. Our primary character, the Mar of Ofiusa, connects with nature as a form of spirituality, it seems. The nudity presented in these pages feels natural and beautiful, and not inherently sexual.

On the other side of the coin is the Mar of Madrid, who uses nudity as a means to an end. The goal, it seems, is power and pleasure. When she’s locked out of Joan’s car, she uses her sexuality to halt traffic and embarrass Joan. This isn’t problematic, I just think the juxtaposition is interesting.

March’s explanation of Ofiusa’s openness toward nudity was a fun tidbit, and explained a lot. But still, it seems like March is leaning on nudity a bit too much here. I like it with the Mar on Ofiusa, but the Madrid scenes seemed a little overkill to me.

I’d really love to know what everyone thinks about this. I think modern American society can be a pretty puritanical when it comes to nudity, so March’s book can easily come off as shocking or unnecessary. But I think there’s a lot of nuance here that’s really fascinating!

Also, I haven’t seen any discussion or looked up much about what people are saying, so if there’s some big controversy or common talking points, I don’t know them. I’m coming in with fresh eyes.

(Side note, I tried posting this with the standard cover for issue #1, but the post got removed by Reddit.)

In my journey to read through Nightwing’s history, my primary goal is to read all of his solo series. I’m not worrying too much about crossovers, with some notable exceptions. But even still, I couldn’t skip over his origin — Marv Wolfman and George Pérez created Nightwing in The New Teen Titans storyline “The Judas Contract.” Wolfman never wrote a solo series for Nightwing, so this is more of a prelude than anything. For this prelude, I’ve read The Judas Contract; Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies; and Batman: Year Three. All three were entirely written by Wolfman, with the exception of Old Friends, New Enemies, which had some guest writers.

Here’s my ranking:

1. The Judas Contract. This was just a really fun book. I loved the team dynamic, I loved the character relationships between all the Titans, and the villain is legendary for a reason. In terms of Dick’s actually development, I like that he took his time to do some soul-searching, but his ultimate decision was very quick and somewhat anti-climactic. He references Batman and Superman as influences, but we don’t get to see those conversations. Still, it was very good!
2. Batman: Year Three. I read this in tangent with A Death in the Family and A Lonely Place of Dying, so this isn’t essential Nightwing reading, it just has an interesting arc for Dick. This book retells his origin story, with the looming threat of his parents’ killer getting out of jail. All the while, Dick has to help Bruce after Bruce lost Jason — there’s some powerful character work here, and the climax is very emotional.
3. Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies. This is a collection of stories that were previously serialized in Action Comics Weekly. Aside from one story, they all revolve around Speedy’s life and his internal struggle, where Dick is more or less a side character. And, to be fair, if you’re a Roy Harper fan, this is a great book! But I bought this thinking it was Nightwing’s first stories as a solo hero, and I felt a little mislead. Not bad, just not what I wanted. Also, it’s very hard to find on paper, so that’s a negative for me.

Issue Standouts:

1. Secret Origins, Starring Nightwing and Johnny Thunder. This is the first issue of Old Friends, New Enemies, and the only one that focuses solely on Dick. It’s also one of the only issues in this era not written by Marv Wolfman, but instead Dan Mishkin. Dick recounts his origin story to Jericho (one of my favorite characters from The Judas Contract). Mishkin’s writing style is so fun to me because he does what many silver-age comics do and puts an emphasis on every sentence! Everything is important! But he also clearly cares for this character and the weight that his story has. The theme of this issues is that friendship overcomes loneliness, and it’s just so nice. This is one of those early issues that proves that Nightwing has always been a lighthearted, kind hero. Is it groundbreaking? Far from it, but it is very sweet. The art by Erik Larsen and colors by Carl Gafford also make Nightwing shine. Call me crazy, but I love his first suit and the art in this issue just makes it pop.

Favorite Cover Designs (pictured above):

1. Action Comics Weekly #613. Classic Nightwing looking out from a city on high — he’s confident, a little cocky, and knows exactly what he’s doing. Simply a fantastic cover.
2. The New Teen Titans #39. This cover represents the end of an era so poignantly and gracefully. It depicts the characters’ internal struggles with body language so clearly. I also like the thematic touch of Robin’s costume hanging off the Titans logo, and Wally’s laying on the ground; it represents how they both thought of their roles, and how they imagine they’ll each be missed.
3. Batman #439, “Year Three, Part 4 of 4.” This cover requires context for the storyline, but I love how we see Nightwing’s physical struggle against his foe as Batman looms above him almost godlike, making no move to help. It shows what Batman could become if he continues down the path he was on after Jason died, the path he could have gone on if Dick didn’t help him.

I know there’s more that I could have read from the pre-Dixon era of Nightwing, but my priority is on solo series, like I said, so I didn’t feel the need to linger with The New Teen Titans or Batman any more than necessary.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! After making my review of Tom Taylor’s era, I realized how divisive Nightwing as a character can be, so I ask that you be kind. We all love this character and many of us are very passionate about that. Feel free to disagree all you’d like, just be kind.