DC Comics
Kyle Higgins, writer
Eddy Barrows, artist
We're still in the middle of the first story arc of this title wherein Nightwing travels back to Haly's Circus where he grew up. He reconnects with some old friends and uncovers a mystery tied to the circus just in time to be handed control of the entire circus operation. At the same time, an assassin sets out to kill Dick Grayson, who he believes to be the "fiercest killer in all of Gotham." While trying to eliminate Grayson, the assassin, Saiko, learns that Grayson and Nightwing are one and the same.
This issue sees the circus traveling to New Orleans where one of the clowns is attacked by a voodoo-conjured demon. Adding a supernatural element like this seems a little out of left field for a book like Nightwing, but even moreso, this particular plot line has nothing to do with the overall story of the assassin or the circus mystery.
The book does contain two pretty key scenes that advance the circus story line and serve to tie that mystery in with the one of the assassin. This is achieved by both revealing the true identity of Saiko at last, and revealing another character who seems to be setting Nightwing up for betrayal, but neither scene is crucial to the other events in this issue.
To be fair, Higgins comes up with a very logical way for the non-superpowered Nightwing to use his detective training and defeat the demon with only his wits and acrobatic skills. And this isn't a bad stand-alone story judged on its own merits. But in this age of writing for the trade, this story feels like extra padding and breaks the natural flow of the overall tale.
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