Nightwing #19 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Honestly?  This issue was difficult to take seriously, since it felt like the hundredth time that this series has changed its M.O.  It's hard to even remember how many different approaches that we've had over the last 20 issues:  first, we had Dick setting down roots in Gotham after leaving Bludhaven, then we had him traveling around the United States with Haly's Circus, then we had him installing Haly's Circus as a permanent fixture on Amusement Mile.  Now, we've moved to Chicago, at least for a few weeks.  I'll make sure not to get attached to Mike.

Trying to move past my annoyance over the constant upheaval (heh) of this series, Higgins does an OK job establishing our new reality in this issue.  At the very least, Dick has a clear sense of purpose:  he wants to find Tony Zucco and he wants to find him bad.  My main criticism here is that Higgins throws a lot of characters at us at once.  I want to say that he makes tracking down Zucco a little too easy with the introduction of the "Dealer" character, but, given how many other series rely on a similar character to provide the hero with information, I can't fault him for it too much.  Plus, he actually makes the Dealer into something of a character, with the whole card shtick.  I was less impressed with the crazy woman in the bar, simply because she seemed to be a completely unnecessary distraction.  I think we would've been better served by him spending more time on the Dealer or on Dick adjusting to Chicago.  But, I'll also say that I find the Prankster intriguing; I love how s/he has the child trafficker burn his money to stay alive.  Higgins uses that moment to seemingly install the Prankster as an anti-hero, though it's still unclear why s/he would tip off the cops that Nightwing was in town.

Speaking of the Chicago authorities, Higgins introduces two mysteries related to them here.  The first is the fact that something clearly happened in Chicago to turn the city against masked vigilantes. The second is the fact that Tony Zucco happens to be the Mayor's driver.  I'm guessing that we're going to revisit both mysteries soon.

So, overall, it was a decent opening to Dick's time in Chicago, even if it was a bit of a mixed bag.  I'd like to think that it was a permanent shift and allow myself to get accustomed to the setting, but, again, given this series, I assume that he'll be rooming with Flash Thompson in Philly by the end of the year.  But, if Higgins actually manages to stay with this approach for, like, six whole issues, I could see myself really enjoying it.