Some thoughts about Nightwing/Magilla Gorilla Special #1

Who framed Magilla Gorilla?

Dick Grayson has been contacted by Magilla to make a movie about his life but once that a close person is murdered, both will have to find out the true culprit.

Heath Corson, that's a name that I haven't heard in a long time.

The Hanna Barbera crossover delivers another team-up this time handled by Heath Corson whose last DC work was the miniseries Bizarro during the DC You initiative a few years ago (or at least I believe that was the last one). Speaking for myself, I wasn't a big fan of that miniseries due that it basically was 6 issues of the same joke: Bizarro speaks funny. That being said, Corson demonstrates a better handle here by offering a quite interesting encounter between two characters who might not seem to have much in common at first but the writer makes you believe that they're really related.

The premise is about Magilla being a famous actor who is convincing Dick to make a film about his history and this leads to a murder mystery that creates many parallels between them as well as some surprises around the way. One of the biggest positives here is the characterization, Corson understands the character of Dick Grayson and creates a pretty compelling theme of father and sons that is reflected in the relationship that Magilla had with Mel along with the classic dynamic between Bruce and Dick while also showing that something similar happens between Dick and Damian, really good character exploration that touches many accurate points.

The plot progresses quickly offering revelation after revelation that alter its course and presenting classic Hanna Barbera characters in ways that connect them to Magilla and reinforce the theme that is created during this special. The conclusion is quite satisfying as well.

Tom Grummett's art is really good, despite of being technically an old-school artist, Grummett's work can perfectly fit in the modern era thanks to his clean style, expressive characters and precise storytelling.

And Secret Squirrel's segment continues and is still mostly focused on heavy action while also offering some solid character moments. Tom Mandrake's pencils remains spectacular.

Pretty solid overall, really good week of Hanna Barbera material.