Nightwing and the Signal take center stage in Batman: Gotham Nights #8

(Image credit: DC)

Gotham City is back on the itinerary for DC Digital First’s line, with Batman: Gotham Nights #8 on the schedule for a Tuesday, June 9 release.

Batman: Gotham Nights #8 features a pair of stories, starting with “Puppets” by writer Steve Orlando and artists Tom Lyle, Jeromy Cox and Troy Peteri – a Nightwing-centric story that takes a deep dive into Dick Grayson’s past and his origins as a hero.

Here’s DC’s official synopsis for “Puppets”: “As a child, Dick Grayson saw his world come crashing down when his parents were killed by mobster Tony Zucco. Now Zucco’s son has been kidnapped by the Ventriloquist, and Nightwing is his only chance to make it home alive. Dick must make a choice: How far is he willing to go to save the son of the man he hates most?”

As a brief refresher, Dick Grayson’s parents were killed by Tony Zucco who sabotaged their circus act during a performance. Bruce Wayne was in the audience and witnessed Dick’s parents’ death, leading him to adopt Dick and eventually take him under his wing as Robin.

Then another Batman ally, the Signal, takes the spotlight for a tale that brings his crimefighting career way too close to home in “Lifelines” by regular DC editor Andrea Shea, and artists Neil Edwards, Scott Hanna, Jeromy Cox and Troy Peteri.

Here’s DC’s synopsis for “Lifelines”: “A kid from the Narrows, Duke Thomas, a.k.a. the SIGNAL, trained under Batman to become Gotham’s daytime protector. But his responsibilities as a superhero have vastly outweighed his responsibilities at home, and Duke becomes painfully aware of this fact when he realizes the member of the Xiqu gang who just stabbed him is none other than his childhood friend Danny Wong!”

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)