Kyle Higgins got a chance to sit down with Comic Book Resources to talk about the new direction he's taking the book and the character. He also talks about Nightwing in Chicago and some of the city's landmarks, The Prankster, Tony Zucco, Dick's new roommate Michael, and a bunch of other things.
CBR: I feel like a premium has been placed on making Chicago feel like Chicago in this run — particularly in the scenes where Dick is riding the L train past the backs of apartment complexes and such. Did you and Brett plan a lot of this out before the run started?
Kyle Higgins: Yeah, I sent him a lot of reference. Brett and I had long conversations about how we were going to do the city, because he's never been to Chicago. Brett lives in the middle of Texas in a trailer with like 20 dogs on 50 acres. [Laughs] To him, a city is kind of just a city. But I wanted to make sure we nail it as much as we can — the specific qualities that make Chicago unique and make Chicago "Chicago." This is kind of like "Chicago plus" is how we described it. If you look at New York in "Spider-Man," no one ever addresses the fact that swinging from downtown to midtown would be impossible because there aren't enough tall buildings. It's kind of the same thing with our Chicago. There are extra buildings — it's more of a glamorized, stylized version of the city. But having said that, in issue #20 there's some stuff with the Congress Hotel and the Museum of Science and Industry, so there's definitely callouts. I'm looking forward to those future issues coming out.
CBR: I've got to say, when we get to the end of issue #19 and see that Tony Zucco is working for the mayor of the city, I really wanted it to be Rahm Emanuel.
Kyle Higgins: [Laughs] Well, DC doesn't want to get sued, but the mayor we've got is an interesting character. You'll get to know more about him.
CBR: I feel like there's a tradition of fictional politicians at DC, including things like President Lex Luthor, that allow you to play with the stories.
Kyle Higgins: Yeah. He's kind of an amalgamation of a few different mayors that I've pulled from. His back story is pretty interesting, and once we get to it, you'll see how he fits right into Chicago.
CBR: You've expanded out the supporting cast in general, from Dick's new roommate Michael to a number of underworld figures who aren't quite masked characters because of the law in the city. What was your overall goal in introducing these new players?
Kyle Higgins: I was trying to build a world that's inherent to Dick Grayson. Him having to live with roommates brings a little more everyman quality to the story. He doesn't have the financial resources he used to, and I also wanted to bring a bit of a younger feel to the book. The roommate's in his 20s. He's scrapping for work. Even characters down to Johnny Spade and Mali who we meet here have a sense of energy about them. I wanted to make things a bit more vibrant in the supporting cast. I don't think what we were doing in Gotham was quite as vibrant. It was a different feel and tone.
For the entire interview click here! Nightwing #20 hits stores on May 15.
Posted by Dane Haji
