Originally published on Patreon
One of the best things about this series is that we're getting to see these characters that we know and love in new and interesting situations, ones that feel kind of fresh, and manage to inject a lot of levity and enjoyment into them. Super heroics isn't all doom and gloom, and sometimes the characters can just have a bit of fun; and that's what the latest issue is about. Kind of.
I say kind of, because this might be one of the worst first dates I've seen. Beginning after the date has already gone disastrously wrong, both Dick and Kara tell Bruce and Clark about their night out, recounting the events that led to Kara feeling that humans are beyond strange, and Dick wondering if he can get away with just changing his secret identity altogether. I do love the idea that he originally came up with the Nightwing design as a way of hiding away from being Robin so that he can dodge the embarrassment of seeing Kara again.
So, where to begin with this one? They're both from two different worlds and Kara is pretty alien to human customs, and Dick is a nervous teen on a date with Supergirl, so of course neither one of them knows what to talk about or how to engage with the other properly. There's also the fact that Kara turned up in a nice dress and Dick was there in costume. The food is late. Kara flirts with the waiter. They both talk about the people in their lives who've died. Dick has money issues. And a monkey causes a major pile-up outside the restaurant.
Things are pretty ridiculous at times, but luckily Waid manages to keep things charming and entertaining enough so that it never feels like it's gone into full farce. This is one of the things that this entire series has done well, it's injected some wonderfully funny moments into some pretty dark stories; and this issue shows how that humour works in a lighter story. Yes, it makes it feel a bit sillier, but it's still great.
Perhaps my only real complaint about this issue is that I'd have loved to have seen it drawn by Dan Mora, and I didn't get that. Emanuela Lupacchino does a great job, but I've come to really love Mora drawing these characters. The only thing about Lupacchino's work that stood out as a bit odd was that Dick was dressed in a different outfit from the rest of the series. The other issues have him in an updated and more modern version of the Robin suit, with trousers instead of the shorts; but in this issue he was drawn in his classic gear. It's odd that he'd been off saving the world with Kara in his trousers, but as soon as it's a date he turns up in his small underwear. Getting a bit ahead of yourself there Richard?
Overall this was a really enjoyable and a bit silly issue, one that let us see some of our characters in a rare moment of downtime, where they got to be less than perfect. Great stuff.
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