Collects Nightwing #19-25, Nightwing #1/2 and Nightwing/Huntress #1-4.

Nightwing/Huntress #1 is written by Devin Grayson, with art by Greg Land. When an undercover cop is killed, seemingly at the hands of a mob boss, Nightwing and Huntress find their different methods in sharp conflict.

Anybody who has seen at last one buddy cop movie will know where this mini-series is going. Nightwing thinks that killing bad guys is a big no-no, but Huntress isn't so fussy. The two don't get on, but they inevitably end up coming to cae for each other. It will remain to be seen whether the relationship lasts or not.

The whole conflict starts because Huntress wants the gangster gone because her whole family were killed by gangsters and he should be put away regardless of the fact whether he killed this particular victim. He still has blood on his hands, right? Nightwing agrees that the guy should be put away, but not for a crime he didn't commit.

Nightwing/Huntress #2 is written by Devin Grayson, with art by Greg Land. Nightwing and Huntress play good cop/bad cop with the mob boss that is their prime suspect.

You know, I wouldn't have known that Greg Land was on art for this mini-series. Maybe it's down to Bill Sienkiewicz's distinctive inks. I don't usually like Sienkiewicz's art when he is inking somebody else, it always makes everything look so sketchy. This time the inks really mesh well with the other art. Sometimes the art looks more like something from Terry Dodson. It certainly doesn't look like Land has traced anything for his artwork on these issues.

Nightwing/Huntress #3 is written by Devin Grayson, with art by Greg Land. Mafia boss Malfatti is back in control, and that is just the way he likes it. Meanwhile, a wrench is thrown in the case when the wrong man confesses.

Frankie Black, the gangster that started this whole mess, wanted to get out of the business so he set up a meeting trading weapons with a rival family to get enough money to start a normal life. He needed an alibi so that the boss didn't catch on and that was where the hotel room with the prostitute that turne dout to be an undercover cop came in. Obviously, it didn't work out the way Black thought and now he stands falsely accused of killing the woman.

Nightwing/Huntress #4 is written by Devin Grayson, with art by Greg Land. The case reaches its violent conclusion and in the aftermath, Nightwing's new relationship with Huntress may not survive.

It is revealed that the real murderer was a patrolman who thought the prostitute would be an easy bust. If not, then she might have done him a favour, if you know what I mean. Of course, it all goes wrong and he kills the poor woman.

It was almost inevitable that Frankie Black's boss found out about Frankie's plan to leave the business, so he has him busted out of jail and taken out of town. Things get violent when everybody converges on the place where Malfatti is holding Frankie.

Nightwing #1/2 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. Nightwing has to protect one of Blockbuster's underlings when the authorities take him in to protective custody. Unfortunately, Blockbuster won't stop at anything to make sure that his former employee keeps quiet.

I'm not sure where this issue is supposed to be placed in present continuity. It is marked as #1/2, but it can't be set before this series begins because Nightwing is already established in Bludhaven. I'm not sure if the events of this issue even amount to anything. I do remember Lunchmeat Deevers, the informant that Blockbuster is trying to silence, being mentioned a couple of times in the regular issues, so maybe this story will have an effect on the main issues.

Nightwing #19 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. When news of the massive earthquake hitting Gotham City reaches Nightwing, he races off to help as many people as he can.

This is a tie-in to the Cataclysm event running through the various Bat-titles, where Gotham City is struck by a massive earthquake. Dick Grayson is working his day-job as a bartender when he sees reports of the quake on the TV, so he runs off to help out. Dick is able to save a group of people, but he knows there are many more people to help.

I already covered these issues in detail in my review of the Cataclysm trade, so I'm not going to go into too much detail here for fear of repeating myself.

Nightwing #20 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. Nightwing and Robin investigate the ruins of Wayne Manor to determine the fates of Batman and Alfred.

Most of the buildings in Gotham owner by Bruce Wayne were quake-proofed. Bruce couldn't quake-proof Wayne Manor for fear of somebody unearthing the Batcave underneath. That means that Wayne Manor took it bad when the earthquake hit. Batman and Alfred were trapped in the cave and with communications down all over the city it wasn't know whether they survived or not. Now it is Nightwing and Robin's job to try and find them in the ruins of Wayne Manor.

The rest of the Bat-family don't know it yet, but Batman is out and about helping people in Gotham disguised as police detective Hawke. He encounters Commissioner Gordon, who gets the feeling that he has met Hawke before.The Commissioner gets it when Hawke says that they have met before, but during the night shift.

Nightwing #21 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. In the aftermath of the cataclysm, Dick Grayson's building is condemned, forcing him and his neighbours to resort to desperate measures. Meanwhile, a new vigilante appears his town and his name is Nite-Wing.

Dick arrives back in Bludhaven just in time to find out that his apartment building has been condemned. Dick saves the day by buying the apartment and making sure that all the work is done to make sure the building is up to code.

Minor Batman villain Amygdala is one of the other tenants in the building. I think Amygdala is one of those villains only ever appears in crowd scenes. Maybe there isn't enough to his character to warrant a whole story around him. Any way, the first I became aware of him was as one of the inmates that escaped from Arkham during the Knightfall storyline. I don't think he has appeared much since then.

Nightwing #22 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. Nightwing must battle Blockbuster's goons for the life of Tad, aka Bludhaven's newest vigilante Nite-Wing.

Tad's first night as Nite-Wing went just as well as you would expect and he got shot full of holes. One of Blockbuster's pet cops got wind of the news and mistaking the rookie for the real Nightwing, told him that he is lying defenceless in bed at the hospital.

Don't feel too bad for Tad Ryerstad. He thinks he is doing good, defending his neighbourhood from the bad guys, but more often than not he ends up targeting innocents. One time he attacked a man walking about with two kids and attacked him, thinking he was a child molester. The guy was only taking his nephew and niece for ice-cream. Then there was the time he killed a homeless man. You can see why it wouldn't be so bad if Nightwing let Blockbuster's goons take him out, but you know that Dick would never let that happen.

Nightwing #23 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. Nightwing and the other heroes take the battle to to the Monkey Cult's Gotham lair.

This issue is a crossover where Green Arrow teams up with Batman, Robin and Nightwing. Thankfully, this isn't the Oliver Queen version of Green Arrow. Oliver Queen is dead and this Green Arrow is his illegitimate son, Connor Hawke. Let's just say that I like this version of Green Arrow better than the original. This Green Arrow isn't a dirty old perv and he doesn't have the stupid beard either.

I didn't particularly care for this crossover when I started reading this issue. It was just a bunch of heroes fighting generic martial artists. That was until I found out who the paper Monkey was. I guess you can't have a Bat-family story about martial artists without Lady Shiva showing up. Now I'm intrigued about reading he rest of this crossover.

Nightwing #24 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. Dick meets a cop on the verge of retirement with one last wish to solve an unfinished case.

The dying words of the guy that was shot implicates a boy with no hair. That leads Nightwing to a clubhouse full of skinheads. Then we have the pleasure of seeing Nightwing beating up a bunch of racists. He even dangles one of them off the roof threatening to lower him down in-between a bodega and a mosque. I'm sure the occupants there will be ever so happy to see a racist hanging about outside.

Nightwing #25 is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel. Nightwing runs the present Robin, Tim Drake, through a training exercise Batman used to run him through during his days as Robin.

Scott McDaniel's art may not be to everybody's taste, but I quite like it here. The way he draws people makes them look all bendy as if they are doing somersaults. Dick Grayson was raised to be a circus acrobat, so artwork that makes it look as if he is doing aerial moves all the time is a natural fit.

The Nightwing/Huntress mini-series was a bit of a slog to get through. I'm just not all that interested about heroes fighting generic criminals. The Bat-family has so many memorable villains, so why have them bother normal criminals that nobody cares about? At least the main Nightwing issues have some villaisn that are actually memorable. I am particularly intrigued about the crossover with Green Arrow. Lady Shiva brightens up any story she is in. I look forward to reading future volumes.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Next time: Power Pack Classic Vol. 3