10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The continuing saga of Dick Grayson, June 2, 2001
This review is from: Nightwing Vol. 2: Rough Justice (Paperback)
NIGHTWING: ROUGH JUSTICE kicks off the second collection of DC Comics' NIGHTWING series with a bang, a wild, hallucinatory ride through Nightwing's mind as the Scarecrow tries to use his fear toxins to unhinge the super hero. It continues with the same, high-energy, Hong Kong action flick style that makes this comic so great.
But that's not all! What really makes the Nightwing series tick, and ROUGH JUSTICE is as good at it as any of the Nightwing collections, is the characterization. The relationship Nightwing has with Batman, Barbara Gordon and the others in his life is the glue that keeps the series together.
There are so many wonderful story elements in this volume that the best recommendation I can give you is to buy it and find out for yourself! If you love super hero comics and wild, over-the-top action, illustrated by the best in the comics biz, you'll love NIGHTWING: ROUGH JUSTICE. It's a great sequel to the first book in the series, NIGHTWING: A KNIGHT IN BLUDHAVEN, and reads like a complete collection of short stories. Don't miss it!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rule #1: This ain't Gotham, May 17, 2007
This review is from: Nightwing Vol. 2: Rough Justice (Paperback)
"In Gotham the corruption is from the street up. Here it's from the Mayor's office down."
That phrase sums up Dick Grayson's stint in Bludhaven perfectly. He's made a few friends since he arrived but he still has no allies in the crime fighting aspect of his life. The local law enforcement is still corrupt and most of the town is still under the finger of various mob bosses, most prominent being BlockBuster.
'Rough Justice' collects issues 9-18 of the regular Nightwing series and is broken down into three separate (yet, interconnected) stories.
The collection kicks off with a little Scarecrow induced delirium. Dick's married, has two kids, lives in the suburbs, and works in a cubical. If this seems a little odd, just wait...His boss is non-other then the Joker, Poison Ivy is shacking up with The Penguin, Bruce Wyane is killing off Dick's kids, and Jason Todd is a zombie paper boy on Dick's route. It takes Grayson a little doing but he's finally able to shake off the Scarecrow's influence and gives him the ol'one two. It is revealed that Soams was behind Scarecrow's sudden appearance in Bludhaven and Grayson decides to bump him up on his to do list, it's time to take him down. It becomes quiet apparent that he's not the only one after Soams either, the cops (having no other choice) are hunting him down and BlockBuster wants him dead because of what information he could hand over to the badges. In this chapter we really get to see why they call him "Deadly" Soams because he opens up a big can of whoop ass. In the end he has a really 'twisted' encounter with BlockBuster.
In the next story Batman comes to town (to check up on Grayson) and there is a lot of funny banter between the two former partners (Bats really presses 'wing about needing a lair). The dream team pair up to take on the 'haven underworld working their way through the under bosses to get some dirt on BlockBuster. Batman learns how things are done in Bludhaven and Nightwing picks up a few new tricks from his old mentor (and they both enjoy a romp with carnivorous pigs). It all boils down to Nightwing vs. BlockBuster 2 but this time Grayson's come prepared.
In the third and last story of this collection Man-Bat comes to town. Grayson tries to catch him so they can return him to his human form and take him back to his wife (whom has stuck by his side over all these years) but just when he has MB within his grasps, Deathstroke shows up. He delivers Man-Bat to a Cryptozoologist who plans to cash in on the Man-Bat myth and film his own series of straight to video documentaries on the 'living vampire' of course it's up to Grayson to foil this plan as well.
Throughout the entire collection two subplots exist. The first being Soams operation and the other being Tad Ryerstand the crazy vigilante.
After a turn of events (which you will have to read about for yourself) Soams lands himself in an experimental hospital. He ends up the oddity that he is later on in the series.
Tad Ryerstand (the guy who beat down the bum in the first collection 'Knight in Bludhaven') tries to become a vigilante. The `havens own personal guardian angel...but he's a little on the psychotic side. In his mind everyone is a criminal. He attacks innocents just as often as he does legit criminals. After reading up on the Tarantula (former vigilante) he decides that he needs to give himself a name and a proper costume.
This collection isn't as good as the first ('Knight in Bludhaven') but it's still worth picking up. It was slow at the beginning (Scarecrow's delirium panels are always a slow read for me) but it picks up after that and proves to be quiet the entertaining read. This is a must for anyone who wants to make heads or tails of how Soams came to be in his current 'condition' and for anyone interested in keeping with continuity. However, if you're new to the series this is a terrible place to start. It picks up exactly where 'Knight in Bludhaven' left off so without that collection you will be rather lost.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nightwing + Chuck Dixon = Funny Book Bliss, January 25, 2006
This review is from: Nightwing Vol. 2: Rough Justice (Paperback)
This trade collects issues #9-18 of the classic run by Dixon and McDaniel. I loved A Knight in Bludhaven, but Rough Justice is even better.
Nightwing teams up with Batman for a few issues, and Blockbuster continues to harass Bludhaven. There is also a wonderfully creepy turn of events with Detective Soames, and I can't wait to see how it plays out in future issues.
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