By Gail Simone (writer), Alvin Lee and Adriana Melo (pencils), Jack Purell and J.P. Mayer (inks) Nei Ruffino (colors) and Steve Wands (letters)
The Story: The story picks up exactly where the last storyline left off, and so we find Oracle still dealing with Savant and Creole, Black Canary taking care of the aftermath of her battle with White Canary, and Huntress trying to decide whether or not to let the Penguin live. All is not as benign as it seems, however, as Black Canary sets off on her own, apparently abandoning the rest of the BoP.
What’s Good: While the first storyline was decent enough, this issue (finally!) feels like things are moving on to the next level. The prologue is over, and the real story is about to begin. Watching the Birds work as a team while simultaneously dealing with the personal issues and rivalries between them is interesting, and the twist at the end definitely makes me want to buy the next issue to see how things play out.
The artwork is doing its job; there’s nothing particularly outstanding, but it certainly isn’t bad. The panels are well laid out and do a good job of telling the story and helping the reader keep track of the characters and action. (Sadly, this level of competence isn’t something you can always take for granted in this day and age.)
What’s Not So Good: This isn’t exactly a complaint per se, but I do wish Simone had held off on starting this particular storyline for a while. The Birds have only just got back together after all, and it would have been nice to wait another arc or two for the team to fully gel before splitting them up and creating such a large amount of inter-team drama. I’m sure it will work out just fine, but it would have been nicer to see them have a chance to all work together for a bit longer first.
Conclusion: Despite the minor quibble above, this seems to be off on the right foot. I’m looking forward to the next issue.
Grade: B
-SoldierHawk
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Conclusion