Release: March 2026 | Writer: Dan Watters | Artist: Denys Cowan | Inker: Norm Rapmund | Colorist: Francesco Segala | Letterer: Wes Abbott
*Nightwing #135 & #136 SPOILERS ahead!*
With Blüdhaven left in disarray following the Cirque Du Sin, Nightwing battles with a new mayor making needed changes to the city. Changes that lead to deaths and heartbreak. Denys Cowan joins on with Dan Watters to give us a look at the darker, and more dangerous Blüdhaven!
DEADLY ROADS
In a dark and dingy alley, two men can't believe what they're seeing. Is that really Dick Grayson living in the slums with everyone else of Blüdhaven after the city literally collapsed on itself? With even Dick Grayson seemingly having a form of housing in warehouses in the beaten down parts of Blüdhaven, this demonstrates the true level of devastation the city has felt.
Nightwing takes to his car to get around Blüdhaven that has now implemented a massive highway that was put in place by the new mayor. Mayor Bisogni. But this super highway has taken the place of buildings where people used to walk and talk with each other. Now confined to traffic-jammed cars, the city is a shell of its former self. And even weirder, there's been odd sightings on the highway. A highway that has already seen about 34 deaths since its construction.
Wanting to follow these leads, Nightwing takes to the roads, finding a woman that is wandering the highway with nowhere to go. He tries to talk with her to see where she's going before she begins talking about "The Crossroads". He tries to get some information out of her, but she stays silent. He alerts her that with his police scanner he hears of all the problems going on in the city. Especially of one involving a woman walking down a highway that almost killed a truck driver with a knife.
As he mentions this woman was talking about witches, she pulls out her knife and puts it to his neck.
"They used to bury us at crossroads. Do you know what that was like? You will."
She threatens Nightwing and when someone like Batman would punch first and ask questions later, Nightwing takes a different approach and talks with her. Trying to help her and see what's wrong with her. Is she actually some sort of witch? Or just a crazy woman? Either way, Nightwing continues the drive, apologizing to her for whatever was done to her in the past. But she isn't a killer, the driver lived and he wants to help her.
This woman tells Nightwing that it was men like him who came and tortured witches. Hanging them and burying their bodies at the crossroads. A place where no one would find them or know where they were. As she begins to cry, he notices some marks on her arm. He tries to tell her that her scars tell her story. A story of hardship and pain, getting very close to getting through to her. But it's to no success.
Tears of blood come from her eyes as her knife digs closer to Nightwing's throat. Upon seeing this horrific sight, Nightwing tries to take the exit to bring her to the Hospital. Causing her to to panic. Slicing part of Nightwing's neck before grabbing his steering wheel and driving his car into a frenzy on this busy highway. Before he knew it, exactly nine seconds pass. Nine seconds of pure destruction. His car swerves, crashing and causing a deadly pile up on the highway. As he frantically tries to save lives, he tries to go back for her body that has vanished from his car.
In those nine seconds, nine fatalities occurred due to the pileup. A pileup that Nightwing feels he may have caused because of this witch.
COWAN & WATTERS JOIN FORCES!
After the announcement of the legendary Denys Cowan joining onto this title, I think the only person more excited than the readers was Dan Watters himself. And what a pairing this is! Dan has a way of having every word on the page mean something. Every sentence matters and when paired with the visuals provided by Denys Cowan, its a recipe for success.
Cowan was a perfect choice to take over the title, giving this gloomy Blüdhaven the impact it needs when looking at these pages. It feels night and day from Dexter Soy's time because its SUPPOSED to be. This is an entirely more depressive time period for Blüdhaven. And while I'd have like to see Denys stretch his wings and give us some high octane fight scenes, this is just setting up the story and it was needed to provide the proper groundwork for what's to come. I can't wait to see what this creative team has in store.
Final Thoughts:
As stated previously this isn't a high speed action issue. But it doesn't need to be. Every issue so far has had that feeling so after the major city changing catastrophe that happened in issues 134 and 135, this was a great contrast. Showing the reader that this isn't the same Blüdhaven we know and are accustomed to. World building the city in a way Gotham City has desperately needed over the years. This is evident with the big bad of the story, going from gangs and corrupted government officials to witches that are literally haunting the new highway in the city. Causing issues for Nightwing that he may not be fully prepared for.
Very excited for what's to come on the horizon!
Overall Score: 7/10