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mysteryfan (

mysteryfan) wrote in

scans_daily,
@ 2009-06-14 11:57:00

Entry tags:

char: alfred pennyworth, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, char: robin/red robin/tim drake, creator: peter j. tomasi, series: one perfect moment week, title: nightwing

One Perfect Moment: Alfred, Dick, Tim and an Empty Chair

This issue and this arc (Freefall) are so. very. good. It was difficult to pick a perfect moment, even from a single issue, I realized while looking through it again. I thought of this moment, though, when reading Batman #687. It's a nice precursor, with it's own sense of mourning and an excellent use of minimalism.

Context:

Later:

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	merseybeatler 2009-06-14 12:11 pm UTC (link)
	...Dick = Joe Kittinger? =D I KNEW it! (Reply to this)

	lieut_kettch 2009-06-14 12:11 pm UTC (link)
	Awww... you left out the FAP! panel. (Reply to this)

	parsimonia 2009-06-14 12:30 pm UTC (link)
	...Excuse me, I have something in my eye. sobs ♥ (Reply to this) (Thread)

	sherkahn 2009-06-14 12:45 pm UTC (link)
	For those of you who asked the 1st time and didn't scroll down far enough, or don't know your classics, they are watching Seven Samurai, the dubbed version of the Japanese classic. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ladymirth 2009-06-14 12:57 pm UTC (link)
	The giveaway line was: "Only the farmers won." And I haven't even watched that movie. =) (Reply to this) (Parent)

ladymirth
2009-06-14 12:56 pm UTC (link)

They even made one extra milkshake and popcorn. I didn't get why they were making four of everything until I saw the chair...

...which kind of left me cold, actually, since Bruce is due back in about two years anyway. But Tomasi can't help the ways of comics.

What I did love was the fact that we post-humously get to see Bruce as a real person, instead of just a crazy-obsessed grim dark avenger of the night. This shows that he routinely set aside time to kick back and spend time with his family, just watching a movie or something ordinary and pleasant. They couldn't have loved him so much if he hadn't. I wish we had got to see more of that side of Bruce. I wish we could have seen more of BRUCE, period. It's like that character disappeared into the ether completely after Knightfall.

This was such a great Nightwing issue. Ironically, Dick turns out to be the thrill-seeking, adventure sport-playing, lover-of-all-beautful-women that Bruce so painstakingly played all his life. And breaking four Guinness records and for recreational purposes? Can this guy get any more awesome?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

mysteryfan
2009-06-14 03:07 pm UTC (link)

get to see Bruce as a real person
Absolutely.

I was just re-reading that arc and I really like that about it.

We get to see things like: Bruce financing buildings for Dick's route (Alfred: Shall I get your checkbook, sir?); reminding Dick the Bat-resources are absolutely his to use whenever he needs them; Dick and Tim adventuring together, talking about balancing being Robin and working for the Titans, Dick pursuing a personal goal re: the record breaking; Dick and Alfred and the 'Jimmy Olson' joke...)

I feel that we are too often given family member conflict in an attempt to excite us about a story.

But Tomasi was able to deliver an excellent multi-issue story without including that at all. And also included some exceptional family moments.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ladymirth 2009-06-14 03:19 pm UTC (link)
	But Tomasi was able to deliver an excellent multi-issue story without including that at all. And also included some exceptional family moments. That was what characterized Tomasi's run for me - the subtle character bonding. No huge soap-operatic blow-ups, just elements of the Batfamily's lives sprinkled over the pages. It felt so... healing, somehow. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	aaron_bourque 2009-06-14 08:37 pm UTC (link)
	They even made one extra milkshake and popcorn. I didn't get why they were making four of everything until I saw the chair... ...which kind of left me cold, actually, since Bruce is due back in about two years anyway. Now I want the first thing that happens when Bruce comes back to be Alfred pulling out a frozen milkshake from the freezer for his long lost son. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sistermagpie 2009-06-14 01:06 pm UTC (link)
	I love that "movie night" has become such a tradition in the Bat family. Because they all care about being a family. Also I think the TV's translating the subtitles and they're really watching it in Japanese. (Reply to this)

	lipsofpoison 2009-06-14 01:38 pm UTC (link)
	This really was perfect. I haven't smiled like this early Gotham Knights. (Reply to this)

killermoth1
2009-06-14 04:13 pm UTC (link)

And this is why Tony Daniel's BFTC was so bad, because rather it was as subtle as an crate full of pathos and angst, which it was.

This on the other hand, I love this scene so much. Tomasi is certainly a writer who knows how to realistically portray reactions to the loss of a love one without having a character moan about it for three issues. It was great to see them as a family too, which won't be happening for a while now.

(Reply to this)

lyraeinne
2009-06-14 11:15 pm UTC (link)

I'm not sure why, but I find it so cute that they have a Wii next to their TV. I'd bet anything it's Tim's, but the thought of Bruce and the Wii-Mote in any combination is just too adorable for words.

But it's the small, almost invisible details like that that stand out so much in this story, and they really do wonders for conveying the humanity of the characters and that heavy sense of loss lurking over everything.

(Reply to this)

	oath5 2009-06-15 07:58 pm UTC (link)
	I like that Dick and Tim have DIFFERENT face shapes. (Reply to this)