Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Of Like Minds: Chapter 4, Finale
Written by: Gail Simone
Penciled by: Ed Benes
Inked by: Alex Lei
Colored by: Hi-Fi
Lettered by: John E. Workman
Editor: Lysa Hawkins
Publisher: DC Comics
Pretty, distressed, birds
Gail Simone has run the Birds of Prey duo of Black Canary and Oracle through the ringer, in her first arc as regular writer. Using the flawed, but tremendously gifted Savant, as the villain has offered some great moments, in this story of kidnap, and blackmail. Canary is the kidnapped, and Savant wants only one thing from Oracle, the identity of Batman. The attempt by Savant to breakdown the walls of the “Batman-Familyâ€, was a great place for Simone to begin.
The wild card Huntress is thrown in to spice up the action, with her unforgiving approach to crime fighting. She’s a natural for this book, and her addition makes for some interesting connections with our regular pair. Simone has a great handle on these characters already. Following the revolving door of fill ins on the book since Chuck Dixon left, it’s been wonderful to see the mastery Simone has used since joining on. BoP is a must read title once again, and the recent sales successes seem to echo that sentiment.
“Seven hundred sit-ups a day.”
This is the response to Canary’s inquires regarding the new bar midriff costume, the Huntress is sporting. Simone, while telling a somewhat gritty storyline, has also succeeded marvelously in adding a nice blend of humor. There aren’t enough comics that ride the fine line between humor and realistic storytelling. It seems most books are to light, or to heavy in their approach, Birds of Prey thus far has hit on the perfect combination.
While the light moments are good, the dramatic tension that Simone has built through these issues has been even better. Savant has forced Oracle and Canary to make some tough decisions, and thus led to a great story. The dramatic final fight scene unfolds wonderfully, and makes up for the lean action seen the past couple of issues.
Of perfect lines, and such
Gail Simone has had the fortune of telling a wonderful story, with a premiere art team. The duo of Benes and Lei, are absolutely superb! Fresh off their run on the closing issues of Supergirl this pair makes the Birds look as good if not better than ever. Like Simone’s blend of humor and realism, Benes and Lei are equally adept at capturing not only the action, but the gorgeous women as well.
Are we there yet?
You better believe it! This team didn’t take any time at all to reach top speed. The opening storyline was not just an unnecessary plotline to give the team time to get their bearings. Simone leaves Oracle with a moral dilemma that will play out in the coming months. This was a superb first storyline, and with the sellouts to date, hopefully it will quickly be collected into trade paperback. This way DC, can capitalize on the initial success and Birds of Prey will thus reach an even larger audience.
