Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #13 - A Review

The Birds of Prey wind up in the thick of things, as the criminal past of Gus (a.k.a. the new Oracle) comes back to haunt him. Tangled in a plot involving a corrupt bio-engineering firm and the machinations of both The Calculator and Catwoman, things become even more complicated when Poison Ivy launches her own attack on the company's headquarters. Even if they survive with their lives and integrity intact, will Gus still have a place with the team?


The conclusion of Source Code is an enjoyable if somewhat rushed spectacle. Julie Benson and Shawna Benson's scripts are as strong as ever, but I wish they'd had a bit more time to let this story unfold at a more leisurely pace. If nothing else, I'd like to have seen a flashback tale detailing The Calculator's past encounters with the team in the Rebirth reality rather than the quick montage we got in the last issue.

The artwork, unfortunately, remains the series' weak point. Roge Antonio's individual panels look fine but the flow of action between them is a bit odd at times. Allen Passalaqua's colors look decent enough, though there is a coloring mistake in this issue where Canary is given Barbara Gordon's hair and skin tone in a close-up that the editors really should have caught.

The Final Analysis: 7 Out of 10. Enjoyable in spite of its flaws.

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #10 - A Review

Black Canary has disappeared while trying to infiltrate the operation of a metahuman criminal trainer called Blackbird. Thankfully, Batgirl and Huntress have Nightwing and Green Arrow ready to lend a hand. And a good thing too! Because it seems that everyone's favorite "pretty bird" has fallen prey to Blackbird's mind-control powers!


Batgirl and The Birds Of Prey remains one of my favorite books and one of the most underrated books of the DC Rebirth line. Shawna and Julie Benson have truly captured the essence of the title characters and this issue proves their no slouches when it comes to writing Nightwing and Green Arrow. In fact, I dare say the brief moment of Ollie comforting Dinah when she finally breaks free of the mind control rings far truer romantically than most of the "love scenes" in Ollie's own title. Roge Antonio's artwork in this issue may be his strongest offering yet, his fluid style proving perfectly suited to depicting the epic superhero battle at the heart of this issue.

Final Analysis: 9 out of 10.

Detective Comics #953 - A Review

Lady Shiva and her League of Shadows are laying waste to Gotham. With several of his operatives captured, Batman has most of his rookie recruits hiding out in The Belfry. Yet Cassandra Cain - the heroine now called Orphan - wishes to confront the mother she never knew and seek the answers to questions she can barely understand and remains unable to articulate.


I've never cared much for Cassandra Cain as a character but James Tynion IV's script has - if not made me a fan of the character - enabled me to understand the appeal from the eyes of other people. Cassandra's search for identity is a relatable situation, albeit it one born of unbelievable circumstances. I also like the development given to Clayface in this episode and the odd friendship developing between him and Cassandra. It's these moments that sell the story far better than the action scenes.

Mind you, the action scenes in this comic are good. And both art teams (whom I would credit directly, if I were certain who had handled which pages) do a wonderful job on every aspect of the story - from the quieter moments of conversation to the fight between Shiva and Cassandra, which is presented without backgrounds so as to emphasize the focus of both combatants. There is nothing else - only mother and daughter in conflict. It's a stunning visual and typical of the sights one sees in Detective Comics.

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #8 - A Review

When Nightwing is injured trying to bring down a metahuman known as Gemini, it falls to The Birds Of Prey to bring the rogue shape-shifter to justice. The bigger problem may be the mysterious Blackbird, who is apparently mentoring Gemini and several other up-and-coming super-villains. And then there's the rumors of an underground fighting league for metahumans setting up shop in Gotham...


Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #8 sets up a series of subplots in this issue, which promise to keep things interesting for our heroines for a good long while. Julie and Shawna Benson are proving to be both master storytellers and good character writers. This is something that is rarer than you'd think in comic books!

The best part of this issue - and the one thing that threw me for a loop - was the relationship between Helena and Barbara. I had thought we were in for a repeat of the rivalry we saw back in the Chuck Dixon days of Birds of Prey. The Bensons took these expectations and flattened them, having both women admit to their feelings for Dick Grayson and deal with it like adults. It helps, of course, that Helena is prone to detachment and Barbara - ever the intellectual - is smart enough to divorce her feelings from what her brain tells her is a complication she doesn't need. In this, the past of the characters is acknowledged while still remaining true to both characters.


The artwork in this issue suits the series. Roge Antonio is fantastic at crafting expressive faces and that's to the benefit of this issue, which is largely built around some spirited conversations. Colorist Allen Passalaqua does his usual stellar job of finishing the artwork.

Detective Comics #952 - A Review

The League of Shadows is real! Led by the vicious Lady Shiva (who has also been revealed as Cassandra Cain's birth mother) , the group's ultimate goals are unknown. All that is known for sure is that they have caused Ra's Al Ghul hardship and that they have set their sights on Gotham and Batman!


Detective Comics #952 is a master-class study in how different artists and colorists can be used to enhance the mood of a story. The issue's opening flashback sequence - depicting a conversation between Shiva and Ra's - has an entirely different tone that the rest of the issue, which is more action-oriented. By having Fernando Blanco and John Rauch illustrate this opening sequence, it gives the story more power when we shift to the present-day, which is awesomely handled by Christian Duce and Alex Sinclair.

 The book's final three pages, which depict the aftermath of the battle between The Batman Family and The League of Shadows, sport a subtly different look thanks to the colors being handled by Allen Passalaqua.  The effect is indescribable beyond my simply saying that effect is breath-taking and that James Tyinon IV (easily the strongest voice among the Bat-Family writers at this time) is fortunate to have such fine artists bringing his wonderful words to life.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #7 - A Review

Barbara has moved into her clock-tower digs but she finds herself beset by burglars. What's weirder is that her burglars are also her realtors! As Dinah and Helena go undercover and get a crash-course in the housing market of Gotham City, Barbara and the new Oracle start investigating just what makes Babs' loft such a hot property.


I've always enjoyed stories and series like Damage Control and Common Grounds that looked at the realities of life in a world full of super-powered beings. Those of a like mind will enjoy Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #7 simply for the sequences of realtors trying to sell "unique fixer-uppers" where the previous tenant may have been a former super-villain. Beyond that, this issue is still an excellent character study of the personalities of the various Birds and a wonderful one-shot story for new readers to utilize in gauging the series as a whole.


The artwork is a little off this month. Claire Roe is a fine artist but some of her character poses in this issue seem forced and unnatural. The opening action sequence, with a new villain called The Zodiac Master, seems rushed and cramped though the rest of the issues' action scenes work perfectly fine. The colors, however, are fantastic throughout.

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #4 - A Review

The false Oracle is still on the loose and multiple setbacks have Huntress reconsidering her partnership with Black Canary and Batgirl. They also have Huntress thinking of her past and the family she's lost. Could this new Birds of Prey team be over before it has truly begun?


I didn't read Grayson, so I didn't know if the new Helena Bertinelli differed in any significant degree from the pre-New 52 Huntress. Julie & Shawna Benson deliver a fantastic retelling of Helena's origin in this issue, firmly establishing their take on the character and reasserting her role among The Birds.


The artwork for this issue is astonishing. Roge Antonio and Allen Passalaqua do a fantastic job bringing The Bensons' script to life. Antonio's sense of visual storytelling is fantastic and the splash-pages look phenomenal As far as the colors go, I love that Batgirl and Huntress have distinctive shades of purple for their respective motifs. .

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #3 - A Review

The hunt for the wicked hacker who stole the Oracle name from Barbara Gordon continues. The Birds have a lead which leads them to a favorite restaurant of the Gotham mob. Yet Oracle has their own operatives - a team called The Snakes - that are poised to strike Commissioner Gordon and his team!
This book is fortunate to have two great artists working on it. Claire Roe's gift for drawing expressive faces makes the various scenes of characters just talking a real treat, even in the case of the stoic Huntress. Roge Antonio does a fantastic job on the flashback sequences, showing the formative years of a young Dinah Lance as she ran away from her foster home and discovered a home and martial arts in the dojo of her first sensei.  Allen Passalaqua colors both sections with a unique style, with the modern story sporting a more vibrant palette and the flashbacks muted in pale greys, blues and off-whites.


The story by Julie and Shawna Benson is a thing of wonder. Their six-page flashback into Dinah Lance's background has done more to define Dinah's past and character than all 12 issues of  Brenden Fletcher's Black Canary series. And the story set in the modern day has a twisted humor not seen since the days of Gail Simone's Birds of Prey run. The Birds are back, baby!

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #2 - A Review

The Birds of Prey have a lead on the new "Oracle", who is aiding and abetting the Mafia families of Gotham. Batgirl is fighting mad and in little mood to talk when both Commissioner Gordon and Batman raise concerns about her working with the new vigilante called Huntress. Huntress herself continues to have trouble fitting in with the team, being the sort of person who picks fights to test her teammates - a spectacularly bad idea when one of your teammates is Black Canary!
Writers Julie Benson and Shawna Benson truly grasp these characters and write them in a way no author has managed in several years. The interaction between the various Birds is the high-point of the book. While they are far from a functioning team, the interplay between them as the camaraderie builds and Huntress slowly gains the trust of her new allies proves quite amusing.


The issue features two art teams, but this does not distract from the flow of the story at all. There are a number of striking visuals throughout but  my personal favorite is the shadow of Batman falling across the clock-face of Batgirl's clock-tower just after Barbara asserts her independence. It looks good but is also a powerful symbol of Batgirl trying to get out of Batman's metaphorical shadow. The color art is also notable, particularly the gradient effects used in the twilight duel of Huntress and Black Canary.

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #1 - A Review

Someone has taken over the identity of Oracle - the alias Barbara used as an information broker during the time she was paralyzed. Thankfully she and Black Canary have a lead. Unfortunately, that lead is on the hit-list of a new masked marauder called The Huntress, who is out to kill all the Mafioso involved in the death of her family. Can this trio of vigilante vixens find common ground before their mutual enemies expose their identities or kill them off?

While the Rebirth incarnations of these heroines are a far cry from the versions who once headlined Gail Simone's Birds of Prey, it's clear that Shawna and Julie Benson had the classic series in mind while writing this opening arc. Huntress is a loose cannon, who perfectly pushes the buttons of the more order-minded Batgirl. This, in turn, forces the usually passionate Black Canary to play peace-keeper between the two. It's a fascinating balancing act and hearkens back to the interaction of the characters before they became fast-friends as well as partners in crime-fighting in the original series.

I'm still uncertain about artwork, however. Generally I like Claire Roe's style, but there's something about her design for Batgirl that just looks off - possibly the over-large eye-holes that do little to hide her face. Additionally, some of the posing of the characters seems awkward and forced at times. Still, the general dark aesthetic suits the story well and the colors by Allen Passalaqua are well-chosen.