Birds of Prey #61
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Feeding the Game Part Two
Black Canary and Oracle both try to figure out Oracle’s behavior, while Huntress helps them out on another mission.
Writer: Gail Simone
Pencils: Ed Benes
Inks: Alex Lei
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Lysa Hawkins
Cover Art: Ed Benes & Alex Lei
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: This issue really shows off why Simone has become such a hot commodity in the comic book world. She writes some of the best, most human characters in spandex, and although she’s more well-known for writing comedic stories, she gets in some really good character moments in this issue as well.
Last ish, Oracle fired Black Canary from the team, citing her recent injuries and capture by Savant - she doesn’t want to put her friends in danger anymore. This of course seems a tad hypocritical for an ex-Batgirl who, once she could no longer wipe up the streets directly, started pulling strings for half the superhuman populace of the DC Universe.
Simone puts things in perfect perspective, however, playing Barbara Gordon’s behavior off of the events of last week’s issue of Nightwing to put it all in perfect context. I don’t know how much communication there is between Simone and the Nightwing writer, Devin Grayson, but they seem to be very much on the same page, and although I’m not 100 percent sold on Grayson’s book, Simone is turning Birds of Prey into one of my favorite titles on the racks.
Benes continues to impress with his artwork, drawing realistic female characters that are still believable as action stars. It’s not easy to place his style - it’s somewhere between Jim Lee and Tom Grummett, but it works beautifully. Either Benes or Hi-Fi, the coloring house, does some great energy effects in the fight scene in this issue, making use of the potential behind computer coloring without making it seem like a gimmick.
This is one of the best superhero comics on the market these days, and I’m anxious to see where Simone takes it next.
Rating: 8/10