Nightwing #39 The Untouchable Part 5
Last issue Sam Humphries and Jamal Campbell left the titular hero at the hands of an old foe not seen since his days before becoming Nightwing. With help from master artist Phil Jimenez (Infinite Crisis, The Invisibles) this issue flashbacks to the first encounter between Nightwing and The Judge as well the villain’s origin story. By far the best issue in the infancy of Humphres’ run between the stunning art and truly selling the new villain to the reader, this issue is not to be missed. Even while being part five in the current run, this issue does a great job of leaving plenty of room for new readers to jump on.
From the absolutely gorgeous cover to both flashback stories, Phil Jimenez shows exactly why he is a master artist and any writer's dream to work with. Jimenez stylizes every page leaving no lack of detail and totally elevating the story to a higher level. His ability to add a larger amount of panels in each page while maintaining the high detail in each one sets him head and shoulders above the average artist. Jimenez adds so much intricacy and personality to all the different characters capturing them perfectly. Alex Sinclair on colors is the cheese to Jimez’s wine, once again this duo hit it out of the park flawlessly.
Jamal Campbell wears multiple hats working in the current timeline as artist and also on colors. The new villain, The Judge, is easily the highlight of the present day storyline as Campbell brings the villain to life. Portraying him through the use of mannerisms, Campbell gives The Judge a very confident and regal yet wicked personality. Even going as far as having The Judge attempt to slowly drown Nightwing while telling him about his past spoke volumes giving him a classic but still dark thematic feeling.
While the art sells this issue alone it also manages to be a great jumping on point for readers wanting to get into Nightwing. Although the main storyline didn't progress very far, the flashback stories add more context to the overall story arch on top of being visually stunning.
Sam Humphries shows his attention to each character, especially with Dick and stays true to form doing a great job portraying his detective skills. Humphries is off to a great start with his new run on Nightwing, as this story arch draws closer to its end anticipation for the next one grows.
