Nightwing #18 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Man, this issue did not do what I wanted it to do.

I mean, on some level, Higgins gets the job done.  I thought the use of the video game as the vehicle for Dick's mourning of Damian was a nice touch.  It struck at the tragedy of a sudden death, the sudden removal of the person from a whole pattern of expected plans.  Moreover, he really conveyed how dizzying it has been for Dick to have his life fall apart so completely over the last two weeks, from discovering that Batman's lying to Joker's assault on Haly's Circus to Damian's death.  As we see in his conversations with Sonia, it's shaken him to the core, leaving him wondering why he lets anyone into his life given that the one constant in his life seems to be that they'll eventually leave it.  Moreover, Sonia gets some great moments here.  I was genuinely touched by her sad story about Cocoa, the dog at the home of a set of foster parents who wound up thinking that she wasn't a good fit for them.  Her loss is so poignant there, both in losing Cocoa but also the possibility of a family, and it made me, possibly for the first time, hope that maybe Dick and Sonia do get together.

And then we bring back Tony Zucco.

Seriously, I have no idea what Higgins is thinking.  It seems to be an almost cruel inverse of the above formula:  the only people who stay in his life are the ones that he doesn't want.  Higgins seems to be doing it to specifically keep Dick and Sonia apart, because I can't for the life of me figure out a reason why he'd do it otherwise.  I mean, what does Tony Zucco being alive bring to Nightwing's story?  Moreover, why now?  Why would he suddenly resurface after all these years and send an e-mail to his daughter announcing his return?  It's all way too convenient and I can't say that I have any interest in seeing where it goes.

Moreover, the art in this issue is truly abysmal.  There's a scene where Dick is at a coffee shop with Sonia where it looks like someone has beaten him in the face repeated with a bat.

Honestly, I really just wish this series could find its footing at some point.  It's been 18 long issues and I feel like we've been all over the place, never letting Dick's story gel long enough to make it interesting.  It doesn't have to be tragedy all the time.  He can get the girl and fight crime and just be a guy.

(Also, in yet another example this month of pet peeve #2, Batgirl appears nowhere in this issue.)