Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #20 - A Review

In the wake of Gus Yale's death, the secrets of The Birds of Prey have been lain bare and the team is all but broken. Black Canary hid the fact that her powers were still overclocked from a previous encounter.  Batgirl hid that she was using intelligence stolen from The Calculator to influence their activities. And Huntress... well, she's been visiting her crime-boss mother in prison and has been called to act as a character witness at her parole hearing. Despite the tension between them, the three heroines must come together again and soon, as the robotic assassin Burnrate begins to arrange a different sort of union...



Unfortunately, this series is coming to a close and I'll be sad to see it go. The Benson Sisters' stories have been nothing short of phenomenal and I've greatly enjoyed how they revitalized the classic Birds of Prey line-up for the reality of Rebirth. I just wish they'd had an art team worthy of their work. While not as bad as they've been in earlier issues, Roge Antonio's pencils are still incredibly uneven (particularly during the action scenes) and while Marcelo Maiolo's lighting effects are decently applied this month, this is still a very rough-looking comic.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #18 - A Review

Approached by her former employers with the covert organization Spyral, Huntress uses Barbara Gordon's recent invitation to speak at an energy developers conference as a means of bringing an international arms dealer to justice. Naturally the rest of The Birds of Prey are happy to help but can the three friends triumph when the arms dealer upgrades his arsenal with stolen super-villain technology and a new super battery to build the ultimate climate changer?



I hate to harp upon this point but Batgirl and The Birds of Prey really needs a good, regular artist and it needs it soon. Guest artist Marcio Takara's work here is, to put it politely, a far cry from their previous work on All-New Wolverine. The pencil-work here is even sloppier and more heavily over-inked than Takara's recent run on Detective Comics! The detail work in the small panels is particularly worthy of lamentation. The one bright side to the artwork, quite literally, is the vivid colors of Jordan Boyd.


It's a crying shame because the story by Julie and Shawna Benson is wonderful. Saving Paris from rogue weather events is a fantastic concept and there's a neat little link between this issue and this week's issue of The Flash to boot! It's just a shame that such clever writing and dialogue has to be paired with such ugly artwork. Get the likes of Rachael Stott or Emanuela Lupacchino on this book and it could easily be one of DC Comics' top titles.

The Final Analysis: 5/10. Great story and good coloring but the art makes it nearly unreadable.

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #17 - A Review

A mysterious plague threatens the lives of every man in Gotham City. The Birds of Prey have gathered the rest of the city's heroines - and even The Sirens - to help them keep the peace and find a cure. Can they thwart the plans of Patient Zero - the super-genius behind the viral attack - and her followers in The Daughters of Gotham?


The story comes to a satisfying conclusion under the pens of The Benson Sisters. Despite the large cast of characters, nearly everyone gets a moment to shine. All of the characters sound like themselves, even special guests Wonder Woman and Lois Lane.

Unfortunately, the artwork continues to be an ordeal to work through. There's no consistency to Roge Antonio's work, with differing levels of detail being provided to different characters in the same panel. Patient Zero, for instance, is rendered in a more realistic style than the cartoonish, streamlined superheroines she's taken hostage. A larger problem is the colors of Marcelo Maiolo, which leave everything looking washed out or orange-tinted to the point that all the white heroines are the same shade as Harley Quinn!

 The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #16 - A Review

The Birds of Prey have picked up some unexpected back-up in dealing with the plague that is slowly killing the men of Gotham City. Not only have Batwoman, Orphan and The Spoiler offered their aid but Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman have joined them along with Wonder Woman! Even with such formidable assistance, the battle ahead of them will not be easy - particularly once they learn of the new organization that stands against them!


(Click On The Image Above To See The Full Two-Page Spread!)
My comments and complaints about Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #15 remain the same in considering this issue. The script by The Benson Sisters is fantastic and does a wonderful job of capturing the personalities of all the heroes and villains involved. The artwork by Roge Antonio is lazy and ill-defined, with a coloring job by Marcelo Maiolo that leaves all the characters save Huntess with the same washed-out white skin-tone as Harley Quinn. Read it for the story. Suffer through the artwork.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Again, that's purely for the story.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #15 - A Review

The mother of all flu bugs seems to have hit Gotham City and it only seems to be infecting men. With Commissioner Gordon in his death-bed, half of Helena Bertinelli's class out-sick and Oliver Queen having just come into town, all the men closest to the Birds of Prey are endangered. Can they get to the bottom of things or will ace reporter Lois Lane beat them to the punch? And what other unlikely allies might join them in their fight?


Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #15 is a prime example of how terrible artwork can sink a great story. Not only does Roge Antonio seem to have rushed his pencil work and barely inked the artwork but there are numerous examples of figures being retraced throughout the book. Throw in some weird facial expressions and a coloring job by Marcelo Maiolo that leaves Lois Lane and Barbara Gordon as pale as Harley Quinn and there's not a single page of this book that looks good!


This is doubly unfortunate because The Benson Sisters have outdone themselves on the script for this issue. Bringing Lois Lane into the action adds a whole new level to things and the guest stars are perfectly handled. The final page offers up an honest surprise that I dare not spoil but it is well worth fighting through the rest of the issue to get to it.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Great story. Terrible artwork. 

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.

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.

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.

Nightwing: Rebirth #1 - A Review

Despite Chuck Dixon's Nightwing being one of my favorite series of all time, I haven't been following Dick Grayson's recent adventures that closely. I was unimpressed with the first issue of the New 52 Nightwing series and haven't thought much of what few cameos I've seen of Dick playing the secret agent in Batgirl. I haven't read a single issue of Grayson and was only vaguely aware of Dick's secret identity being outed during the Forever Evil storyline.

Thankfully, Nightwing: Rebirth #1 proves a welcome introduction for readers who don't know Dick Grayson or, like myself just haven't been keeping up on recent events.





There isn't much of a plot to this issue nor is there a lot of action. The story is made up of a series of vignettes, showing Dick saying goodbye to his old life and reclaiming the Nightwing name. There's also some brief scenes involving Dick's enemies in The Court Of Owls and a scene establishing the new Huntress, who was apparently a character in Grayson, before she goes off to star in the new Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey series. Tim Seely does a fantastic job of providing this exposition naturally, without it seeming like he's just throwing out factoids for the newbies.

The artwork is equally efficient. Yanick Paquette instills a sense of motion to every panel - even the ones which just feature two people sitting down talking! This keeps the story moving and exciting, despite a distinct lack of fight scenes. And the color art by Nathan Fairbairn finds the perfect balance between light and dark, as befits the title character.

Earth 2: Society #1 - A Review

One Year Ago - Against all hope and reason, the heroes of Earth 2 were able to find their way to another world.  Another Earth to replace the one destroyed by the forces of Apokolips. But the savior who created the ships that carried humanity into the stars also caused the disaster that cut the number of survivors down from millions to thousands.

Now - Terry Sloan, the most-intelligent and most-hated man in the world, is on the run in New Gotham. A new Batman is on his hot on his trail. But so is one of the few villains to have made the journey to the new Earth...


I lost interest in Earth 2: World's End early on.  Even then writer Daniel H. Wilson seems more interested in crafting tense action sequences than interesting characters. This is problematic as the best parts of the original Earth 2 book under James Robinson and Tom Taylor involved the relationships between the characters.

What little character development exists in Earth 2: Society comes in the form of exposition. And even then only Dick Grayson receives any... if you can call angsting over his dead wife and missing son while describing how his life sucks "development". Personally, I think it's the most cliched motivation for a male superhero in existence. And don't think I've forgotten that they fridged a far more interesting version of Barbara Gordon to make this possible...


Perhaps the biggest problem with Earth 2: Society is that Daniel H. Wilson apparently missed the memo about how the new DC You books were meant to be jumping on points for new readers.  To say that this book is thick with continuity would be an understatement. There's no way of knowing all the characters or fully grasping the consequences of the action unless you've been reading the previous series.

As such, despite some good artwork by Jorge Jimenez, there is no reason to read this book unless you were one of the few enjoying Earth 2: Worlds End.  I wasn't. So I won't be. Unless they have the good fortune to bring back Tom Taylor or put Marguerite Bennett to work on it.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #16 - A Review

For the third time in his life, Oliver Queen finds himself faced with a sadistic choice. Two women he cares about are threatened and the villain will only let one live. Can Oliver Queen get out of this without losing yet another loved one? And even if he does, can he and his allies escape the clutches of the new Brother Blood?


Marc Guggenheim faces an uphill battle with his script for this issue.  Most fans of Arrow are well aware which of the core cast have survived to see Season Three, so the drama that opens this chapter is not that urgent.  Yet Guggenheim finds other ways to thrill us. And - to his credit - he allows Oliver to be called upon his double-standards regarding his own past as a killer and the differing standards he holds for his allies individually.  We even get a neat nod to what MIGHT be going on elsewhere in the DCTV Universe and who Ollie might know that we're not allowed to mention for legal reasons.


The artwork adheres to its usual high standard.  Penciler Joe Bennett perfectly captures the likenesses of the cast though some of the expressions are a bit odd, with Huntress smiling far more than she ever did on the show. And inker Craig Yeung manages to shade the original art without obscuring it, though the world of Arrow is a place of deep shadows and dark secrets.

Arrow: Season 2.5 #15 - A Review

Oliver's managed to turn the tables on the new Brother Blood, but he isn't out of the woods yet.  It seems that Blood has some powerful friends - including two old enemies The Arrow has fought before! But Oliver has powerful friends too... if you can consider the ex-girlfriend you sent to prison a friend. But The Huntress could be useful in the fight to come. Assuming she doesn't kill anyone...


Marc Guggenheim's story for this series has provided surprise after surprise. This is no small feat given that we Arrow-heads who are actively following the series already know who survives to see Season 3! But just as last issue surprised us with the revelation that the ARGUS-provided back-up Roy recruited was Huntress, so too does this issue surprise us with the return of some of The Arrow's enemies from Season 1 in addition to some fan-favorite comic villains we're seeing in the DCTVU for the first time. The script by Brian Ford Sullivan also features some great dialogue that is evocative of the classic Green Arrow comics of old.


The artwork by Joe Bennett and Craig Yeung proves equally excellent. Bennet's pencils have been somewhat mixed in previous issues but he is firing on all eight cylinders here.  This issue is ultimately one big action sequence and Bennett doesn't miss a step in depicting any of the action. Yeung's inks are perfectly balanced, enhancing the action without being overly dark.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #20 - A Review

Things have gone from bad to worse for The Resistance. Caught between a furious Trigon and Mister Mxyzptlk, things already looked dire with Superman and his Regime forces hot on their heels. But now The Swamp Thing has shown up and he's not going to listen to John Constantine's lies anymore...


Apart from some philosophical musing from Constantine at the start, this issue of Injustice is all action.  The plot isn't advanced much but there are a lot of great combat scenes.  The best part is that the fights are quite unpredictable with some unexpected victories.


Pete Woods returns to the art duties after a lengthy hiatus from this book. You'd never know it, though.  All of the cast look true to form and the combat is well blocked visually.  Rex Lokus offers up an amazing display of color artistry and Wes Abbott does a fine job on the lettering.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #19 - A Review

The Resistance is on the run and running low on options. As Trigon fights with Superman's mystery protector, The Regime will receive aid from another unlikely ally. And John Constantine's day is about to get even worse...


I'm reluctant to say much about this issue, lest I spoil last week's amazing revelation as to just who has been helping Superman all this time in the guise of The Spectre.  Suffice it to say Brian Buccellato delivered one heck of a surprising twist but one that makes perfect sense within the context of the DC Universe.  And that sense - as much as sense can be said to apply to this situation - is explained in full within this issue.


Mike S. Miller does his usual excellent job on the artwork.  The fights are all well choreographed. The backgrounds are also well-handled, with the Escheresque Tower of Fate being particularly noteworthy. And Rex Lokus' colors are suitably vibrant and eye-catching.

Earth 2 #27 - A Review

Set sometime after the start of Earth 2: World's End, Earth 2 #27 is nominally about our heroes trying to rescue a group of trapped scientists.  What the comic is really about, however, is relationships.  Specifically, the relationship between the new Superman and Power Girl and the relationship between the new Batman and Huntress. The former group are childhood friends who seem to be transforming into something more.  The later are estranged family and Huntress prefers to keep it that way, despite Batman's efforts to reach out to her.


This sort of thing is the bread and butter of writer Tom Taylor, who once again partners up with Marguerite Bennett for this issue.  Bennett's something of an unknown quantity here, but her previous work on Batgirl and Batman has proven her to be a writer of no mean skill.  It's unclear just how the writing duties were split between them but the fact that one fails to detect any difference in the writing styles between scenes proves that the two writers play well together and that we all benefit from the partnership.


The same can be said of the artwork, which is handled by two separate teams of artists.  One group handles the pages involving flashbacks to Huntress and Power Girl's pasts.  The other handles the main action of the issue.  Both teams do a fine job depicting the action and there's no glaring difference in the styles that might wreck a reader's focus.

Batgirl #34 - A Review

I am sorry to see the team of Simone, Pasarin and Glapion leave Batgirl.  For the better part of three years, they have delivered one of the best books the New 52 had to offer.  And they deliver one hell of a satisfying conclusion in Batgirl #34.


Gail Simone's script ties up most of the on-going subplots from her run, as Batgirl moves to stop the gang-leader Knightfall from enacting her plan to cleanse Gotham City of all undesirables.  She does this with a team made up of darn near every awesome superheroine Gail Simone has written in the past as well as the heroes of Simone's recently canceled series The Movement.  Some may say this is indulgent on Simone's part but I don't care.  It's nice to see Misfit again, however briefly.


What can I say about Fernando Pasarin and Jonathan Glapion that I haven't said before?  Precious little, save that I will look forward to their future projects and am glad to see that Glapion will be taking over the inking duties on Green Arrow.  I can also say that Matt Ryan does a fine job on the two pages that he inks here and that if the title page didn't inform me there was more than one inker working on this book, I never would have known.