Vignettes In Wonder Woman: Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 Underwhelms!

The Good: Moments of concept, Some of the artwork, Some of the themes
The Bad: Some of the artwork, Lack of continuity, character development or a cohesive story
The Basics: Various writers and artists try their hands at writing Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 . . . with very different results.


A few years ago, for one of the many anniversaries, DC Comics released a one-shot 100-page spectacular issue (reviewed here!). The issue, which did not entirely impress me, was a collection of short stories. The issue must have been commercially successful enough because now, amid all of the many reboots of DC Comics properties, DC Comics is publishing similar issues more regularly. The first five issues of the short stories are now compiled in Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1.

Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 is a compilation of ten short stories that feature Wonder Woman from very different eras in her history. The stories range in both duration and quality and the only common element is Princess Diana (Wonder Woman) and her high-minded sense of morals. Unfortunately, some of the stories are so short and unremarkable that they do not get around to actually developing or revealing any deeper character or morals.

Stories in Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 include vignettes like Batman being mortally wounded and Wonder Woman swooping into Gotham City to clean up the streets, attacks by Artemis and Doctor Psycho, Wonder Woman as a pop star in a girl group, and Diana - sleep deprived - going to London to recover Catwoman. The book also includes an adventure to Apokolips where Wonder Woman has to rescue two lost Amazons . . . before realizing their sinister mission to the planet of the New Gods and having to thwart them.

The artwork throughout Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 is incredibly erratic, as is the writing. The retro-stories that feature a Golden or Silver Age version of Wonder Woman are written with such precise diction that they make the reader convinced they were written seventy (or more!) years ago. The artwork in the rock star and Catwoman vignettes is playful, more Manga-like and the dialogue is more flirty or preachy (though, it is wonderful that the book is trying to bring attention to eating disorders). Other stories are dull, though Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 starts off high with Gail Simone's Gotham City story (which allows her to pair Diana and Barbara Gordon, both of whom she had extensive experience writing).

The net result is that Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 is a take-it-or-leave-it book that varies greatly every few pages. For die-hard Wonder Woman fans, it is not at all essential.

For other Wonder Woman books, please check out my reviews of:
Spirit Of Truth
Bones
Contagion

4/10

For other book reviews, please visit my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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My First Full Cryptozoic Set: DC Comics The Women Of Legends Is Unfortunately Erratic!

The Good: Interesting concept, Some genuinely nice artwork, Some wonderful/creative bonus cards
The Bad: Overproduced, Some dull chase cards, Some ridiculously simplistic sketch cards.
The Basics: Cryptozoic’s The Women Of Legends card set is a decent concept for a trading card set, though it is executed in an underwhelming way for card collectors and (especially) fans of DC Comics.


The last month of my life has been a wonderful turnaround for me. I went from working a terrible job that I absolutely loathed, that underpaid me and undervalued me and worked me to the bone to completely revitalizing my business as a trading card dealer. It has been a wonderful change for my family and I and it has left me in a place to take advantage of a number of great deals that appear before me. One of the deals I was able to enjoy as a result of having more investment capital was the 2013 Cryptozoic release for DC Comics, known as The Women Of Legend trading cards. I was excited about the Women Of Legend trading cards because – for me – it represented the ability to branch out beyond the Star Trek cards I have long collected and sold. While I have had a few random packs of Cryptozoic cards cross my path before now, the Women Of Legend set was the first Cryptozoic product that I have broken down by the case. Sadly, it was a less incredible experience than I hoped it would be as a fan of the DC Comics universe.

Basics/ Set Composition

The DC Comics The Women Of Legend trading cards were originally released in boxes with twenty-four packs, packs containing five cards each. Properly assembled, the Women Of Legend consists of 240 cards! Featuring cards that span the recent DC Universe and the New 52 Universe, the Women Of Legend card set is written (mostly) as a New-52 Universe set that focuses on the Women of the DC Universe. Properly assembled, the set features sixty-three common cards and 177 bonus cards (all but three are available in the boxes of Women Of Legend cards).

Common Cards

The Women Of Legend is a 63 card set that features both the most popular women of the DC Comics Universe and the significant team-ups between those characters. The common set has an introductory card with the most recognizable women of DC (Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Catwoman, etc.) in their “New 52” renderings, 46 cards featuring significant women from the DC Universe, 15 cards that feature significant pairings of those heroines and one checklist card.

The common cards are an unfortunate mixed bag. The artwork varies between incredible renderings, like the title card and the nightmarish painting of Harley Quinn (card 17) and cards that have ridiculous, cartoon versions of the characters (like cards 18 and 19, of Terra and Hawkgirl). While the Women Of Legend set is all oriented in the portrait form for all 63 cards, the quality and subjects vary incredible amounts. There is a cartoonish version of Saturn Girl, an obscure heroine from the Legion Of Super-Heroes (set centuries outside the primary DC Universe), but no card for Silver Swan (a popular villain instantly familiar to fans of Wonder Woman, like me!).

The writing for the Women Of Legend set is good-enough. Fans of the DC Universe will not learn anything new or extraordinary by reading the backs of the cards, though they are clearly intended for fans of the New 52 (Wonder Woman, for example, is mentioned to be the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus). The card backs are interesting for telling more casual fans about the obscure heroines and the team-ups they might not be familiar with, but they do not feature any incredible spoilers for recent stories or information that is not particularly revealing.

Chase Cards

The Women Of Legend set features more bonus cards than common cards, which is not at all uncommon for contemporary trading card sets. The Women Of Legend set features 177 chase cards which range from simple foil parallel cards to significantly rare sketch cards (each of which are entirely unique). In the packs, collectors can find 174 of the 177 bonus cards. The chase card breakdown is thus: 63 foil parallel cards, 9 Gail’s Picks, 9 Katie Cook Sticker cards, 3 Totally Fabricated, 89 sketch and 1 Redemption cards. The most basic chase card set found in the packs are the foil parallel cards. The parallel cards replicate the common cards, but with mirrored accents. Some of the cards are extraordinary for how the foil enhances the image of the character the card portrays. The backs of the foil parallel cards are identical to the common cards, so when going through the packs, one has to look at the front of each card. It takes about a case to assemble a complete set of 63 foil parallel cards.

Found two cards per box are the Gail’s Pick and Katie Cook sticker cards, each of which is part of a nine-card bonus card set. The artwork for both sets is unique to that chase set and the writing for the Gail’s Picks set is a little more extensive than for the common cards. The Gail’s Picks cards are a foil-enhanced bonus card set that focuses on the women and female teams that writer Gail Simone most likes. The set features characters she wrote for – Wonder Woman, Black Canary, the Huntress – as well as others she just seems to like (Supergirl and Lois Lane, apparently). The writing on those cards does not provide much in the way of insights from Simone, which is unfortunate. Gail Simone could have written that backs of the cards and told people why she loved the different characters, but Cryptozoic did not go that far with the bonus card set. Similarly, the Katie Cook sticker set (which, honestly, I have not been able to peel apart to discover if they actually are stickers) features no insightful writing, though they all have artwork from artist Katie Cook. The artwork is simplified and cartoonish, like Katie Cook did a “Muppet Babies” version of the DC Universe heroines.

The Totally Fabricated cards are a “hit or miss” concept card for fans of the DC Universe heroines. Costume cards are immensely popular trading cards these days and as the subjects of the Women Of Legend set are comic book characters, there would seem to be no costume cards that could be produced for the set. Cryptozoic did not let that stop them. Instead, they produced the “Totally Fabricated” bonus cards and the Women Of Legends set has three such cards in the boxes and packs. Found one in every 175 packs, the Women Of Legends set features admittedly fake fabric swatches (not really) from the costumes of Catwoman, Wonder Woman and Supergirl. I think the Totally Fabricated cards are a neat idea and they are executed incredibly well. Cryptozoic, to its credit, did not overproduce the Totally Fabricated cards and only did them for the very most popular characters in the DC universe.

In addition to the Totally Fabricated cards, there is an exceptionally rare redemption card for a piece of Wonder Woman’s invisible plane. After almost a year, only seven of the existing twenty-five redemption cards have been redeemed, which suggests either many are still out there or DC Comics fans, like Star Trek card collectors, consider the redemption card a legitimate part of the set.

The Women Of Legend set is fleshed out with eighty-nine sketch cards of women of the DC Universe. The sketch cards are produced by eighty-nine different artists and each one is absolutely unique, so assembling a master set requires one to track down one from each of the eighty-nine artists Cryptozoic hired for the project. The quality of the sketch cards, like the common cards, varies greatly between fine-art quality colored sketches and cartoonish, animated versions of the significant DC Comics heroines.

Non-Box/Pack Cards

No matter how many packs or boxes of Women Of Legend cards one opens, there are three cards collectors will never find there. Non-Sports Update Magazine released a promotional card for the Women Of Legend set. Similarly, the actual card for the fragment of Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet (which might just be an empty costume card, a high-quality image of one has not been made available) is only available by redeeming one of the redemption cards. The other card that cannot be found in any of the boxes or packs is the Batgirl Totally Fabricated card. That card is only found in the binders of the Women Of Legends cards. Having only three cards that cannot be found in the cases is actually not bad at all.

Overall

I have long decried the use of redemption cards, but the fact that the Women Of Legends set features only one is not bad. The set only holds value for the sketch cards, but Cryptozoic did a decent job of making an interesting set with the Women Of Legends cards. While fans like me would hope for more consistency, Cryptozoic’s erratic effort at least does what it promises which is to highlight the incredible women who make up the DC Comics universe.

This is a set of trading cards I sell in my online store! Please check out my current inventory of these cards at The Women Of Legend Inventory Page!

For other artwork-based trading card sets reviewed by me, please check out:
SkyBox Star Trek Master Series
SkyBox Star Trek 1994 Master Series
Rittenhouse Archives Star Trek The Original Series Portfolio Prints

5/10

For other card reviews, please visit my Card Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Moving In Intriguing Ways Without Charisma, Batgirl: Knightfall Descends Continues Batgirl Strong!

The Good: Good artwork, Interesting plot development, Interesting character development
The Bad: Gaps, Predictablility, “Fixed” artwork, Lack of spark.
The Basics: With Batgirl: Knightfall Descends, Gail Simone tells an engaging story, but one lacking in her originality and zest to make it as impressive as it ought to be.


When it comes to movies and books, I like long arcs. I am a fan of characters that develop and I have a lot of patience for long stories and conflicts that are not simply resolved in an easy fashion. So, as I have been reading various incarnations of Barbara Gordon – Batgirl – from Birds Of Prey and now Batgirl, I have been enjoying some of the longer arcs for the character. With the New 52 reboot, Barbara Gordon took up the mantle of Batgirl again and I generally enjoyed The Darkest Reflection (reviewed here!), so I was pretty eager to pick up Batgirl: Knightfall Descends.

Batgirl: Knightfall Descends is another work by Gail Simone and I have long enjoyed her style. She usually has a snappy wit to her dialogue that is enjoyable and fun. Her runs on Birds Of Prey and Wonder Woman freshened both of those books up with wit and humor that did not diminish the seriousness of the dark conflicts both books were dealing with at the time. With Batgirl: Knightfall Descends, there is the sense that Simone is playing catch-up with the character and much of the book is just a series of events that are tangential to the main Batman story at the time (The Night Of The Owls) and conflicts that seem to be building to a much more significant storyline. On its own, Batgirl: Knightfall Descends is good, but not truly exceptional and its flaws require the reader to invest in the longer arc on the hope that Gail Simone will come through as she frequently has in the past.

In the wake of her meeting her mother for the first time in years and in advance of the Night Of The Owls, where a new vigilante group takes control of the streets of Gotham City, Barbara Gordon is processing the issues from her past. She recalls how abruptly her life changed when the Joker shot and paralyzed her and she discovers to her horror as she goes after a criminal going by the name Grotesque, that one of his henchmen was one of the Joker’s lackeys the night she was shot. As Gordon seeks advice from Dinah Lance, she works to overcome her fears and take out the new Gotham criminal.

Following the attack by Grotesque and the Night Of The Owls, Batgirl encounters Knightfall, a traumatized young woman who is building an army that dispatches of criminals on Gotham City’s streets. In fighting Knightfall, the angel-winged Katharsis, the chemical-burning Bleak Michael, and the super-strong Bonebreaker, Batgirl finds herself in the crosshairs of both the villains. Detective Melody McKenna rescues Batgirl from Knightfall and that puts both women at the mercy of Batwoman. In revealing just how Knightfall, who was a rich heiress Charise Carnes, came to power, Batgirl is manipulated by someone more horrifying than she could imagine and someone even closer to home than she knows.

Batgirl: Knightfall Descends has a few serious issues and more cosmetic ones. Despite all that, the book is remarkably entertaining and well-drawn and colored. The character of Barbara Gordon is smart and well-developed and as she continues her journey from powerless and smart to ass-kicking superheroine. While Gail Simone might strip her of her wit and her vast computer resources, Batgirl: Knightfall Descends continues to have her psychological issues wrestled with and put behind her. She wrestles with the consequences of being shot by the Joker and his henchmen, but not any of the events that occurred during her run as Oracle on Birds Of Prey.

As a result, there are issues in Batgirl: Knightfall Descends that minimize the full trauma she experienced. The attack on Barbara Gordon happened in The Killing Joke (reviewed here!), which was written by Alan Moore, who is a darker writer than Gail Simone. As a result, the conflict with Danny Weaver in Batgirl: Knightfall Descends minimizes details that make the length of Barbara Gordon’s healing process much more realistic. In that book, Gordon was shot, then stripped naked and photographed by the Joker and his henchmen. In Batgirl: Knightfall Descends, she quickly realizes that Danny Weaver was one of the Joker’s henchmen and she recalls he was nice without ever really wrestling with the idea that this is a guy who saw her naked and was part of exploiting her in a truly vulnerable way.

In Batgirl: Knightfall Descends, the allusions to James Gordon open up rather predictably to his appearance late in the book. Gail Simone presents all of the information readers need exceptionally well. As one who does not read other Batman or Gotham City-based graphic novels, it is refreshing that all of the information one needs about James Gordon (Barbara’s younger brother) is included in Batgirl: Knightfall Descends. Despite the way the plot feels very much like the middle act of a story, Batgirl: Knightfall Descends is remarkably readable on its own.

In fact, it is only the broader reader who will find it objectionable that Gail Simone recharacterizes Batwoman in Batgirl: Knightfall Descends as a better fighter than Black Canary?!

Batgirl: Knightfall Descends has great artwork. The book features amazing colors and strong lines. There is low in-panel movement, but in general Batgirl: Knightfall Descends moves along well. Interestingly enough, Barbara’s mother redrawn, which is good in that she no longer looks like Barbara’s sister.

In the end, Batgirl: Knightfall Descends continues Batgirl’s story well while intriguing the reader to read more. I know I’m excited about Volume 3 and if Gail Simone can pull it off, she might well create one of the most impressive characters in comic books today.

For other books by Gail Simone, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Of Like Minds
Between Dark And Dawn
Perfect Pitch
Blood And Circuits
Dead Of Winter
End Run
The Black Ring, Volume 2
Villains United
The Circle
Ends Of The Earth
Rise Of The Olympian
Warkiller
Contagion

7.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please be sure to visit my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The New 52 Reboot Of Barbara Gordon Begins In Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection!

The Good: Interesting cases, Good character exploration/development, Cool villains, Good artwork
The Bad: Somewhat choppy plotting, Lack of humor to the voice
The Basics: Once more on her own without the Birds Of Prey, Barbara Gordon reclaims the mantle of Batgirl as Gail Simone effectively reboots the franchise with Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection!


I can think of no one who has been as down on the DC Comics conceptual reboot “The New 52” as much as me. So, any of the new titles in the New 52 that get my attention – even for one book – means that there must be something special to it! In the case of Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection, the credit for my giving the book attention goes entirely to writer Gail Simone. Gail Simone wrote the Birds Of Prey book for years and her blend of humor in the dialogue and compelling characters made many of the volumes of that book that she wrote worth reading, if not buying for one’s permanent graphic novel library. It was Gail Simone’s writing that made me go back to pick up Batman: The Killing Joke (reviewed here!) and Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection.

Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection restored Barbara Gordon to the role of Batgirl, which intrigued me instantly because in one of the last Birds Of Prey books I read, she was hunting a new vigilante that had taken up her old alter-ego. The book is an odd one in that it acknowledges The Killing Joke, the paralysis Gordon lived with for three years, but not (oddly enough) her tenure as the Oracle and the computer super-genius who survived the Final Crisis. So, in rebooting the DC Universe, Barbara Gordon’s narrative is one that instantly muddies the waters in that some elements of the prior universe clearly exist, but others either do not or are troublingly missing from Simone’s work. This is odd given how Simone was the one who gave Barbara Gordon her most distinctive voice over the past decade and made her one of the heroines of the DC Universe who was actually quite compelling on her own . . . for something other than kicking ass.

So, without any acknowledgment that she was ever Oracle and no evidence of either her incredible wealth or connections to Black Canary or the internet, Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection finds Barbara Gordon, mobile on her own two legs once again, moving out of her father’s house. At night, she begins the hunt for a new killer in Gotham City, a killer who is hunting off a list . . . a list that Barbara Gordon’s name is on! The villain is The Mirror and he is hunting people who have benefitted from alleged miracles. As Barbara Gordon now has the use of her legs, she might appear to qualify and the Mirror certainly believes that. Unfortunately, on her first outing out as Batgirl, a pistol is leveled at her and she, predictably, freezes up. But soon, Batgirl is hitting her stride, pushing away Nightwing’s aid, and taking down the Mirror on her own.

Unfortunately, even as she successfully defeats The Mirror, Barbara Gordon’s life is complicated by the return of her long-absent mother. Rejecting her mother’s insertion back into her life, Barbara finds herself at the mercy of a new villainess. The villainess is Gretel, a wig-wearing, mind-control using woman who is hunting members of the Whittaker Mob. She is also able to get into the head of Bruce Wayne and in attempting to rescue the billionaire from a very public execution, Batgirl goes toe to toe with a dark reflection of herself.

For a change, a trade anthology of two comic book stories (Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection anthologizes Batgirl 1 – 6) is perfectly titled and includes stories that actually fit well together to present a sense of character growth for the titled character. In this case, Gail Simone takes Barbara Gordon on a journey from the literal into the smartly metaphorical with the two dark reflections of herself. The Mirror is a literal attempt to get her to look at her own life and Gretel’s backstory is remarkably similar to that of Barbara Gordon, which compels Batgirl to take her down without reshaping the villain’s skull!

While the broader strokes of the plot between the two stories in Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection are good – actually having Batgirl go toe to toe with Bruce Wayne is presented downright brilliantly – some of the finer points are a bit choppier. Gordon’s narrative is broken up between the moments of character reflection for the mundane version of herself and the action sequences as Batgirl. Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection is a good example of why I’ve not gotten into Batman in general (and it’s not the endless list of psychopaths that grace the pages, either!); the book is essentially a mystery where everything is handed to the reader. Readers are not given reasonable suspects and a process of actual detective work. There is a psychopath plaguing Gotham City and their backstory is spelled out in pretty straightforward exposition to explain how they ended up the way they are. It’s a style that lacks finesse or real depth; the best one might hope for are interesting characters with a quirk the reader enjoys reading about.

Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection features two villains that more or less satisfy on that front. The Mirror might not have the extensive backstory of a Flash villain, but his first outing into the Batgirl corner of the DC Universe is laced with enough potential that readers hope he might actually show up again. Gretel is a much more intriguing character and the idea that she is the “could have been “ for Barbara Gordon is a clever one. Gail Simone executes the concept of Gretel well on both the straightforward and the subtle levels. Simone never overtly presents the idea that Gretel is the opposite of Gordon in that Gordon gathers information and Gretel asserts control. Gordon is moving on while Gretel is stuck in her pain and loss.

That’s one of the general strengths of Gail Simone’s writing; she makes interesting and well-developed characters. Unfortunately, the other thing that Simone usually has going for her, namely a humor not usually found in a well-presented way in comic books, is largely absent from Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection. While Simone seems to have fun with writing the scenes between Batgirl and Nightwing, they do not pop like the banter between her characters in Birds Of Prey.

The artwork in Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection is very good, save for the panels that have Barbara and her mother together (they are rendered virtually identically and it is only their outfits that really make them distinguishable from one another). Artists Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes create crisp, clear images for almost the entire book and Ulises Arreola colors the panels vividly. Batgirl is clearly a title DC was investing in with the New 52 as they put one of their better art teams on it! While the panels are well-rendered, there is a poor sense of movement between panels, so the fight sequences are choppier than in some other books.

Ultimately, Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection has enough going for it to make it well worth reading, even if it lacks some of the zest of Simone’s other works.

For other New 52 works, please visit my reviews of:
Green Lantern: Sinestro
The Flash: Move Along
Justice League: Origins
Wonder Woman: Blood

7/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Villains Take On The Chaotically Neutral Elements In The DC Universe In Villains United!

The Good: Well-written, Interesting characters, Consistently good artwork
The Bad: Oddly limited scope, Requires a number of other volumes to truly appreciate this story, Far too safe (not terribly graphic).
The Basics: Villains United is part of the exciting build-up to Infinite Crisis that worked well for fans of the second-string superheroes in the DC Comics universe.


I wish I could remember what story the Secret Six were in when I first read them. I am sure they were a part of some story that Gail Simone – whose work I generally enjoy – had written. I know, however, that by the time I encountered them in The Black Ring – Volume 2 (reviewed here!), I was not a fan. So, when I finally got my hands on the trade paperback anthology Villains United, my instant reaction was to feel disappointment seeing that it had a lot to do with a changing of the guard within the Secret Six (it may even be the first volume with them considering how the story develops). Whatever the other book was that had the Secret Six in it that I read, though, ruined the “surprise” reversal within Villains United for me, though it actually was not enough (at all!) to spoil the book for me.

In fact, the most pleasant surprise for me, as a fan of the DC Universe’s villains, but not of the Secret Six was that Villains United did not suck. In fact, Gail Simone adds to her record of successes with Villains United. That said, Villains United is one of several components in the Countdown To Infinite Crisis event. For those who are looking to truly enjoy the richness and scope of Infinite Crisis (reviewed here!), Villains United has a thread or two that is utterly pointless, except in the context of that larger event. So, for those who want to enjoy just a single, solid, story, the extradimensional aspects of the story and the exceptionally minor, late-in-the-book subplot involving the appearance of Pariah, are just going to distract readers.

On its own, though, Villains United is a surprisingly compelling story of two groups of villains who come into conflict with one another on the eve of an immense conflagration in the DC Universe.

Lex Luthor is assembling a team, a Society actually. Sending lackeys out to recruit on his behalf, Lex Luthor has created a society democratically led by a council that includes himself, Doctor Psycho, Black Adam, the Calculator, Deathstroke, and Talia Al Ghul. His junior members bring villains like Prometheus, Cicada, the Gentleman Ghost, and Knockout into the Society on the idea that the Society can prevent the Justice League Of America from collectively wiping the memories of the villains. The recruiting effort runs into an unlikely roadblock when Blake, “Catman,” resists joining. When Scandal and Deadshot visit Catman at the Medikwe Game Preserve, they get a completely different response from him.

Joining with the five other people working for the mysterious Mockingbird – Cheshire, Parademon, and Ragdoll – Catman and the Secret Six are captured while trying to hijack the contents of a boat that is supposed to be loaded with Thanagarian weapons. Managing to escape after protracted torture, Luthor’s Society begins to second guess their leader when the Secret Six’s resistance continues to prove more effective than the Society. After Cheshire beds Blake, the Secret Six begins to fall apart and the machinations of Mockingbird slowly come to light.

Villains United is fun because pretty much anything can happen to any of the characters and because they are minor characters and/or villains, it is hard for viewers to empathize with them to the point where they will care who lives or dies, at least at the beginning of the story. Gail Simone, as is characteristic of her writing ability, creates another memorable volume with fun dialogue and some decent initial characterizations. As one who has read other volumes and loathed Ragdoll, I was surprised that Villains United actually gave him a surprisingly compelling backstory and an adversary who was worthwhile for his backstory.

Unfortunately, Simone pulls her punches as the volume goes on. After graphic torture scenes of the Secret Six, Simone has an execution that is handled “off screen,” arguably to make Deadshot seem less villainous. This penchant for not illustrating the murders – as well as leaving Scandal getting stabbed through the arm as a bloodless attack – becomes seriously problematic because it becomes impossible to tell whether or not the characters one is rooting for at that point (yes, Simone gets us rooting for the Secret Six) is actually out of danger. The climactic battle occurs without most of the adversaries being permanently dispatched and that lessens the impact of the book.

That said, what is in the panels is exceptionally and consistently well-rendered. Villains United seems to lessen the power and impact of Black Adam, though it reasserts Lex Luthor as one of the most powerful and smart villains in the DC Universe. Scandal, Cheshire, Knockout and the other female characters look incredible and the rest of the characters are consistently and clearly illustrated. Villains United has a decent sense of movement for the story, though the battles are choppy with frame to frame movement. Even so, the vivid coloring and clear characters are a step above many other graphic novels of the time.

In its trade paperback anthology form, Villains United includes a visual guide to the villains of the DC universe included in the book, as well as a cover gallery of the variant covers to the six books that made up the original limited series this book anthologizes. With both the bonus features and the primary story worthwhile, Villains United is a decent addition to the library of anyone who loves the DC Universe.

For other DC Universe graphic novels that focus on the villains of the DC Universe, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Justice
The Injustice League
The Flash: Rogues

7/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Team Assembles Under Gail Simone’s Pen With Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds!

The Good: Great “voice” for the characters, Interesting characters, Generally good artwork
The Bad: Utterly mediocre plot
The Basics: Kicking off her run on Birds Of Prey, Gail Simone starts with a banal hostage situation that tests Oracle, Black Canary, and the Huntress in Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds.


It does not surprise me to learn that Gail Simone, in many ways, put Birds Of Prey on the map, at least in the comic book form. Simone, who first came to my attention when I read Wonder Woman: The Circle (reviewed here!), is a decent writer who has a wonderful voice for writing witty dialogue. Her books tend to have snappy one-liners, quick banter and generally interesting characters who seem to either defy or comment upon many of the established conventions of super hero comic books. So, being a fan of Simone’s work on Wonder Woman and Birds Of Prey, it was something of a delight for me to go back to the beginning of her tenure on Birds Of Prey to see how she made her female superhero team famous. The book she started with was Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds.

Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds is an utterly unremarkable trade paperback anthology that is only saved from a pure “average” rating by the level of dialogue in it. Sure, it is hard to go wrong with a team of women who look like they just stepped off a model shoot running around in tight outfits that leave little to the imagination (or rolling around with a pretty sexy brain and great hair!), but Gail Simone makes sure that the team is more than just an assembly of token women. From her first lines in the pages of Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds, the Birds Of Prey – Oracle’s superhero team – are cool.

On assignment from the Oracle, Black Canary puts the fear of meta-humans back into one Andrew Fisher, a corrupt businessman who is about to drain his employee’s pension funds and go on the run. It appears Black Canary is too good at her job as evidence quickly comes to Oracle’s attention that he is going to kill himself. Black Canary is dispatched to save his life, but quickly finds herself in a trap laid by Savant and his thug, Creote. Her legs broken, Dinah Lance is tied to a bed and tormented for the identity of the Oracle. Unwilling to let her field agent be so tortured, Barbara Gordon calls in the Huntress to recover Black Canary.

Following the incident with Savant and Creote, the Oracle is forced to rely upon the Huntress again as Black Canary is out of commission with her broken legs. As Dinah recovers from her injuries and begins to learn more of the technical skills needed to keep her alive in the fights to come, the Huntress impersonates Black Canary to meet with a corrupt Senator who wants files he believes that the Oracle took from Savant.

Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds established the essential Birds Of Prey team for the bulk of Simone’s tenure on the book: Oracle, Black Canary and the Huntress. It also takes the time to develop the villainous Savant, a blackmailer who recurs several times and who becomes important for the character arc of Dinah Lance. Oracle is characterized by excessive compassion and a leadership flaw that makes her exceptionally vulnerable. In Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds, the Oracle is characterized as exceptionally intelligent, but also dangerously attached to her field operatives. She becomes vulnerable based on the idea that she is unwilling to let one of her team die, even for the sake of protecting her secrets and the mission.

Interestingly, Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds also creates a moral code for Dinah Lance that will take years and books to be seriously challenged. Simone takes the time to have Lance draw her line in the sand: she will not kill. What The Huntress’s limits are in this regard are less clear – Simone writes her as a smartass ass-kicker who wields a crossbow and it seems hard to believe that with such a weapon one is always aiming just to incapacitate. Moreover, when one uses a motorcycle as a weapon, they clearly are not overly concerned with the lives of the people in the car they are using the motorcycle against. Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds is a good establishing book that works on that front quite well.

Similarly, Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds also takes the time to reasonably establish the adversaries for this title. By the end of the book, Savant’s essential weakness – an inability to distinguish the passage of time in a meaningful way – is not only exposed, but effectively exploited by the Oracle. As well, Creote’s quiet love for his partner is established and observed by both Black Canary and the Huntress. Gail Simone starts her tenure by painting a pretty colorful canvas and knowing where it goes, Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds is a worthwhile starting point and necessary to understanding the full depth of the stories that follow.

The artwork in Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds is generally good. The colors are vibrant and the sense of movement Is good in the panels and between the panels. The only real gripe I have on the artwork front is that it is occasionally inconsistent. For example, when Dinah and Barbara are gushing over food they are eating, when Black Canary falls down, she takes on the sudden appearance of being an animated character. Something about her eyes and the proportions make her look more like a characters from Archie Comics as opposed to Birds Of Prey.

Even so, Birds Of Prey: Of Like Minds is a fast read with good establishment of interesting characters who talk like smart geeks do. It is the essential starting place for those who want to start what might well be the Golden Age of Birds Of Prey.

For other Birds Of Prey books, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Black Canary/Oracle/The Huntress: Birds Of Prey
Between Dark And Dawn
Perfect Pitch
Blood And Circuits
Dead Of Winter
Metropolis Or Dust
Club Kids
Platinum Flats
End Run

6/10

For other book reviews, be sure to check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the book reviews I have written!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Distant Tangent To Brightest Day, Birds Of Prey: End Run Fails To Engage.

The Good: Decent “voice,” Good artwork
The Bad: Does not provide the promised sense of closure, No real character development, Rooted in prior stories, Doesn’t “pop.”
The Basics: My interest in Birds Of Prey: End Run as both a fan of the Brightest Day Saga and the Birds Of Prey series left me disappointed and surprised.


This past year, I found quite a bit of time to write at the boring and sometimes loathsome job I held down. While it initially seemed like a good fit for me, that job proved to me that it actually matters to me who I work for. So, I found myself reading a lot at work and one of the series’ I got into was Birds Of Prey, largely because of my affinity for the writing of Gail Simone (at least, what I had read of hers at that point). Between being biased toward the works of Gail Simone and being an enthusiast for the Brightest Day Saga, I had been looking forward to Birds Of Prey: End Run for quite some time.

It is hard to describe my level of disappointment in the book, then, as it is only tangentially related to the Brightest Day Saga (very distant tangent!) and it seems so deeply rooted in some distant past story of Dinah Lance that it robbed me of what enjoyment I ought to have felt at the return of Creote and Savant. Birds Of Prey: End Run promised to be the return and the end of the Birds Of Prey team, but it did not even live up to that. Instead, it is a messy story that focuses on three groups of villains reuniting Barbara Gordon’s team to . . . test it in a very typical way.

Barbara Gordon calls in Black Canary (Dinah Lance), the Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Lady Blackhawk (Zinda Blake) and the newly resurrected Hawk (Hank Hall) and his partner, Dove (Dawn Granger). She reveals to Black Canary and the Huntress that she is in receipt of exceptionally detailed files that include information on all of Gordon’s friends, family, superhero coworkers, etc. With the threat that one will die each hour until the person making the threats is stopped, a threat they appear to make good on when Creote contacts the Oracle to inform her that Savant has been killed, Black Canary and the Huntress head off to try to stop the would-be killer.

They, along with Hawk, Dove, and Lady Blackhawk, encounter Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin) as he is attacked by a mysterious figure. Rescuing the Penguin, Black Canary and the Huntress engage the villainess in hand to hand combat while Black Canary strains to identify who the amazing combatant is. But the team is forced to withdraw when Dinah Lance is publicly outed on the Gotham City news and the team runs into hiding in Cobblepot’s club. Things quickly go from bad to worse when the Oracle is abducted by the people she tried the hardest to rehabilitate. With the life of the girl who would have been her adopted daughter on the line, Black Canary goes into a fight that may well force her to kill.

The main “End Run” story is four chapters and Birds Of Prey: End Run is capped off by a two chapter follow-up that it is impossible to discuss without ruining most of the middle and end of “End Run.” But, on the analysis side, it further weakens the idea that “End Run” is an earth shattering story for the Birds Of Prey team and is rooted deeply in the main problem that the main story has.

The fundamental problem with Birds Of Prey: End Run is the villains. Like the Birds Of Prey, the villains in Birds Of Prey: End Run are working as a team and from pretty much the moment the Penguin appears in the pages, that seems obvious. It is, as a result, no surprise at all when the Penguin turns on the women who are helping him and tries to hold them hostage. One of my immediate gripes with Birds Of Prey: End Run, though, was solved easily enough by the fact that it is only a delusion of Oswald Cobblepot (that problem being that when one opens the book, there is artwork of the female members of the Birds Of Prey posed in an obviously sexualized, coquettish and kittenish layout that seems more the masturbatory fantasy of teenagers than it would be anything substantive or real in the Birds Of Prey universe – and it is, it’s Cobblepot’s fantasy, so it makes some sense).

But the main villain is the real problem. Much space and time is wasted with Black Canary’s internal monologue of her trying desperately to figure out exactly who this new fighter is. Black Canary, in the DC Universe, is supposed to be second at hand to hand combat only to Lady Shiva and Lance’s bafflement as to who this new player could be and how she might have risen to such proficiency without Black Canary ever hearing of her is ponderous. It seemed strange to me that Dinah Lance would be so convinced that a new fighter could exist without her knowing about her; it’s a big world, why would she know every martial artist in the world?! And ultimately, all the space wasted with Lance wondering who the new threat, dubbed White Canary is, is inconsequential in so many ways. The revelation is unsatisfying and seems deeply tied to a story I have not read. Or, more accurately, the identity of the villain seems exceptionally important to one of Dinah Lance’s past adventures, but only as a very distant tangent to that story. In other words, even if I had read that story, I think I would have been disappointed with how Birds Of Prey: End Run related to it.

And, while I can completely respect a character whose power and determination give them a presence that allows them to defy the conventions of reason and realism, I was unable to buy the final sections of the book. The Huntress holds her own against an adversary that she should have been killed by with a single hit and that wore on me the longer that fight went on.

The artwork in Birds Of Prey: End Run is good, though the coloring is inconsistent (at least with the Huntress’s uniform). Still, Birds Of Prey: End Run mostly looks good, but given that the characters are mostly model-like women wearing skimpy outfits running around kicking ass and shooting guns, it is pretty hard to be surprised by that.

On the character front, the best arc involves Barbara Gordon and I would get excited about the apparent new direction the book leaves the Birds Of Prey headed in, if I did not know that the “New 52” reboot of the DC universe did not follow up on that direction.

Fans of Brightest Day can easily pass Birds Of Prey: End Run by as well; this book is such a distant tangent – with only the presence of Hawk making it even a tangent story to that Saga – that it is not worth picking up.

For other Brightest Day works, please check out my reviews of:
Brightest Day - Volume 1
Brightest Day - Volume 2
Brightest Day - Volume 3
Brightest Day: Green Lantern
Brightest Day: Green Lantern Corps - Revolt Of The Alpha-Lanterns
Green Lantern Corps: The Weaponer
The Black Ring - Volume 1
The Black Ring - Volume 2
Green Arrow: Into The Woods
Justice League: Generation Lost – Volume 1
Justice League: Generation Lost - Volume 2
The Flash: The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues

3/10

For other book reviews, be sure to check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the book reviews I have written!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Lex Luthor Strives For Unlimited Power In The Black Ring - Volume Two!

The Good: Decent artwork, Engaging plot, Decent resolution
The Bad: Oddly unsatisfying catharsis, Light on character development, Secret Six interlude
The Basics: Lex Luthor rises to his greatest heights as he searches for the power behind the Black Power Rings in The Black Ring - Volume Two!


Last year, for a time quite a bit shorter than I would have liked, I worked for a comic book shop. At that time, it was when Action Comics #900 was released. I thought it was hilarious and ridiculous when the store’s owner only ordered three copies of comic book and had no ability to get more in (and was seriously distressed when he did not have any for the shelves when it was released). At the time, I had no idea that that issue would be part of a story I actually cared about. That storyline was a tangent to the Brightest Day Saga and I enjoyed The Black Ring - Volume One (reviewed here!) quite a bit. It almost surprises me that it has taken me this long to pick up and read The Black Ring - Volume Two. The Black Ring - Volume Two is the volume that includes Action Comics #900.

The Black Ring - Volume Two is a good book that does the heavy lifting of explaining the biggest niggling mysteries left from the Blackest Night Saga (reviewed here!). As well, one of the exceptional aspects of the book is that it does not simply degenerate into a standard “kill the villain” style plot. Writer Paul Cornell does a decent job of making a more cerebral than obvious climax and The Black Ring - Volume Two has a decent steady progression toward the inevitable climax that pits Lex Luthor and Superman against one another for yet another epic turn.

Picking up where the first volume ended, Lex Luthor’s quest to find the lingering Black Power Ring and manipulate the twelve orbs that are associated with it, has met with a serious snag: Vandal Savage. The immortal Vandal Savage has arrived at Lex Luthor’s offices where he menaces everyone because he believes Lex Luthor will fulfill a prophecy that states that Luthor will bring Vandal Savage his first joy in eons. But Luthor has a trick up his sleeve: he has hired the Secret Six to protect him, including Scandal Savage, Vandal’s estranged daughter. Surviving the attack on his offices, Lex Luthor renews his quest to find the remaining black energy pockets and tap the power he is convinced is associated with them.

After reviewing his personal history, which includes his thwarting of Darkseid and his tutelage under Ra’s Ah Ghul, Lex Luthor is attacked by Larfleeze (the Orange Lantern) and interviews the Joker for possession of another orb. Luthor’s quest takes him and his Lois Lane android into space where he confronts Brainiac and the power behind the Black Lanterns, culminating in a conflict with Superman that gives him the opportunity to change the entire universe.

The Black Ring - Volume Two is clever and was well worth the wait, if for no other reason than the artwork is largely incredible. Outside the narrative digressions – the inclusion of the Darkseid/Ra’s Ah Ghul section which does not progress this plot, but does fill in quite a bit of Lex Luthor’s backstory – are generally all right, but the best parts of The Black Ring - Volume Two are the ones that focus on Lex Luthor’s insatiable quest.

Paced exceptionally well for the primary story, The Black Ring - Volume Two is an escalation that pits Lex Luthor against several of the more powerful villains in the DC Universe. In many ways, this is the “Best Of Lex Luthor” as he works his way through the final powerful individuals with whom he has had associations in the past. What is surprising is how Paul Cornell manages to make what could be very canned reversals seem natural and sensible. Cornell plays off the intelligence of Lex Luthor to make such reversals seem plausible.

One of the biggest issues with The Black Ring - Volume Two is that it includes a chapter that focuses on the Secret Six, a chapter written by Gail Simone. I like Gail Simone’s work on Wonder Woman and Birds Of Prey, but I am not a fan of Secret Six. As much as I tend to enjoy the narrative voice Simone possesses in her other works, it is a huge distraction in this more serious, focused work. The chapter she contributes is necessary for having the plot progress and ensuring that the story ends appropriately with issue #900, but it is a serious, distracting, digression in terms of plot and (more importantly) narrative technique and character focus.

In graphic novel form, The Black Ring - Volume Two includes alternate covers and production sketches, which enhances the value of it. While The Black Ring - Volume Two does not have the Brightest Day banner on it, this is the culmination of an important story that is relevant to fans of the Blackest Night and Brightest Day Sagas. And for those who want a powerful resolution to the conflict between Superman and Lex Luthor, The Black Ring - Volume Two actually delivers enough to please readers.

For other Brightest Day works, please check out my reviews of:
Brightest Day - Volume 1
Brightest Day - Volume 2
Brightest Day - Volume 3
Brightest Day: Green Lantern
Brightest Day: Green Lantern Corps - Revolt Of The Alpha-Lanterns
Green Lantern Corps: The Weaponer
Green Arrow: Into The Woods
Justice League: Generation Lost – Volume 1
Justice League: Generation Lost - Volume 2
The Flash: The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues

6.5/10

For other book reviews, check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits Finds The Team Breaking Apart And Getting Taken Over!

The Good: Dialogue, Moments of character, Moments of plot
The Bad: Very inconsistent artwork, Plot is erratic (transition volume), Much more plot-focused than character-based.
The Basics: When Dinah Lance leaves Metropolis and the Oracle’s team, the Oracle falls prey to an old adversary in Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits!


There is some irony to me in the idea that during my Flash Year, I have made my way through almost the entire library of Birds Of Prey graphic novels. Truth be told, I am discovering that I am glad that I have; they have generally engaging characters and interesting stories, even if the artwork seldom seems to be consistent or at the top of the DC Comics food chain. The latest book in the series that I have gotten ahold of is Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits. Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits fills in some significant gaps I had in the stories I had read, including the arrival of Charlie and the usurping of the Oracle’s team. Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits is also the volume where Dinah Lance leaves the Oracle’s super cool team of women.

Unfortunately, that makes Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits something of a transition book and it is an awkward time for Barbara Gordon’s team. Instead of being a solid story with a clear mission, Barbara Gordon flounders as Dinah Lance finds her own way with her new adopted sister-daughter. As the Oracle works to assemble a new team, the process is troublesome and Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits feels entirely uncertain as a result.

Following the events of Infinite Crisis (reviewed here!) and 52, Barbara Gordon’s team is reassembling. They visit Ted Kord’s grave where Barbara reveals a previously unmentioned relationship between herself and Kord. While Dinah acclimates Sin to life with things like pancakes, the Oracle learns that several members of the Injustice League are converging on Dayton, Ohio and the home of Black Alice. While Dinah, Zinda and the Huntress descend upon Black Alice, to prevent her from falling in league with the society of villains, in Gotham Batgirl is spotted saving the life of a couple.

With the Dayton mission a loss for both the heroes and villains, the Oracle’s team returns to Metropolis where Dinah makes the choice to care for Sin and leave the team. This leaves Barbara, Zinda and Helena somewhat adrift, with an important mission to accomplish. After Barbara sends virtually every known adult super heroine an invitation to join the team (getting quiet rejections from the likes of Wonder Woman, Power Girl and several I did not even recognize), the Oracle’s new team – with Gypsy, Manhunter and Judomaster added – go to Mexico to a corrupt prison. There, they liberate a mobster’s daughter and jailbreak an unlikely prisoner whose presence might well get the team killed by an old adversary of the Oracle!

Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits is essentially a downward spiral that helps Birds Of Prey find its footing in a post-52 DC Universe. As Final Crisis (reviewed here!) slowly looms, the Justice League is getting an overhaul that required Dinah Lance. So, Gail Simone and fans of Birds Of Prey lost Black Canary and the pretense is a decent one. It seems like Black Canary wants out of the superhero game and after the Black Alice mission to Dayton, there is a decent interlude story that has Dinah Lance packing everything up while talking with Sin.

As a result, what character development there is in Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits focuses on Barbara Gordon, the Oracle. The Oracle is frustrated through much of the book, first by the appearance of Charlie whom she has to break of the desire to take up the mantle of Batgirl and then by the loss of Dinah Lance. As the Mexican prison mission takes a horrible turn, it is Barbara who faces the worst repercussions. After an uncomfortable dance with Lois Lane, the Oracle confronts Spy Smasher, a ruthless personal and professional adversary. Having read some of the Birds Of Prey books out of order, I know that what is set up here in Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits gets a surprisingly quick resolution.

Unfortunately, the conflict between Oracle and Spy Smasher is revealed exceptionally late in the book, making it inappropriate to spoil in the review. Needless to say, Spy Smasher is a hefty foil for the Oracle and she works well, at least for the purposes of this story. Oddly, though, the Charlie (Misfit) seems hardly as annoying in Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits as she does in some of the subsequent volumes. In Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits, she is introduced well and Barbara is able to put her in her place, which helps to illustrate Barbara’s strength and authority. Considering that by the end of Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits, Gordon is essentially powerless and before that she is rejected by every major superheroine in the DC Universe, the victory with Charlie is one of the Oracle’s few victories in the book.

Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits, then meanders through and what saves it from the low ratings, as opposed to an average rating is the dialogue. Writer Gail Simone has a great sense of humor and the exchange between Huntress and Judomaster about Barda’s Mega-Rod is laugh-out-loud funny. Simone has a sense of humor, which makes some of the most perilous moments in the book a bit more palatable than had they been done deadpan with an overwhelming sense of seriousness.

Unfortunately, once again, Simone’s writing prowess is not matched in the artwork. Several panels throughout Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits are overly simplified with characters looking very simple or cartoonish, as opposed to well-defined or well-shaded. Birds Of Prey is not one of the top-priority books in the DC Universe and the artwork in Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits occasionally reflects that (especially during the jailbreak scene as Barda is being liberated). Similarly, some of the panels have a real lack of movement within and between panels.

In the end, Birds Of Prey: Blood And Circuits is an average transition book that sets up better works without ever rising to notable on its own.

For other Birds Of Prey books, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Between Dark And Dawn
Perfect Pitch
Dead Of Winter
Metropolis Or Dust
Club Kids
Platinum Flats

5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please visit my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the graphic novels I have reviewed!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Dark Mission Into Russia Leads To Genuine Intrigue In Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter!

The Good: Wonderful artwork, Good dialogue, Engaging story.
The Bad: A jumble of new characters, Not the greatest character development.
The Basics: Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter finds the team of Barbara Gordon in Russia for a mission that goes horribly wrong, but brings an intriguing character back to the DC Universe!


Every now and then, I find a delightful parallel between something I have enjoyed and something I am just now discovering. So, for example, while I have been fairy neutral to Birds Of Prey from my experiences with Between Darkness And Dawn (reviewed here!) and Perfect Pitch (reviewed here!), I actually enjoyed Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter quite a bit. I was, as with the prior volumes I had read, on the fence about it, until about a quarter of the way through the book when Ice appeared. Tora, a.k.a. Ice, was one of the heroines of Justice League: Generation Lost (volume one is reviewed here!), which I enjoyed immensely. In fact, Justice League: Generation Lost might well have been one of the last true surprises to me in graphic novels that I actually loved.

So, Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter got quite a bit of street cred with me the moment the story started to involve a character I was actually interested in. Ice was a fairly interesting character and I had a passing interest in how she came back from the dead, knowing that her resurrection complicated things for both the Justice League International and Guy Gardner. Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter is, at its heart, the story that gets her back into the DC Universe.

Barbara Gordon’s team has been revamped and turned around. Dinah Lance is gone, leaving the Huntress and Lady Blackhawk joined by Big Barda, Manhunter, and (in the frozen wasteland of Azerbaijan) Hawkgirl. With the organization compromised by Spy Smasher, who has something on the Oracle, Creote joins the Birds of Prey in a former Soviet country. There, the team encounters a disciple of Rasputin who is trying to create a weapon. Spy Smasher appears to want only to acquire advanced weapons technology, in the form of – oddly enough – a Rocket Red armor suit. But when trying to extract the suit, the Birds Of Prey discover that Tora (Ice) is inside it and inexplicably alive. Trying to get her out of Russia may well get her killed, though, as the Secret Six attack Gordon’s team as they try to get Ice out of the country!

The latter part of the book follows Barbara dealing with the fallout of the Russian mission and her confrontation with Spy Smasher.

Right off the bat, it is worth noting that Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter looks phenomenal. I’m not just saying that because it contains ridiculously good looking comic book heroines. Instead, it looks like Birds Of Prey finally got artists who were prioritizing the property. Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter features well-rendered characters on each and every page. Every panel has a decent sense of movement within them and the colors are vibrant and rich. In sharp contrast to every other Birds Of Prey book I have read so far, Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter looks like it was drawn and colored by people who wanted to give the book their full attention. The artwork, as it turns out, services a pretty wonderful story.

Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter is a little muddied by the sheer number of characters that one has to keep track of. There is something irksome about having so many undercover agents in formalwear at one time. Writer Gail Simone makes it relatively easy to keep track of the various individuals who populate Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter, though for most of the book I did not particularly care about any other than the characters I already knew. In fact, when Simone uses the Secret Six as adversaries, despite her wonderful use of banter, I was not sold on them. I won’t be picking up a Secret Six book based on my experience with Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter!

That said, Barbara Gordon, the Huntress and even Lady Blackhawk are all given enough to keep my interest through Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter. While Barbara is plagued by a young new metahuman, she deals with her well-enough. Actually, it speaks to Gordon’s character that she does not sent the minor – who is an incredible teleporter – in to the Russian mess to save her team. Despite the characters being interesting and progressing an intriguing spy story, Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter is not especially rich on the character front.

Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter actually made me care about Zinda, Lady Blackhawk. In prior volumes, Lady Blackhawk is a minor, quirky character who looks good in a short skirt. But in Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter, she becomes a viable character with a strong moral core that makes readers actually care about her. More than any member of the Secret Six, Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter made Zinda interesting and fun to read and that is a feat.

As an, apparent, fan of Ice, Birds Of Prey: Dead Of Winter is a good reintroduction of her character into the DC Universe. The story is short, fairly direct and engaging enough for any reader to enjoy.

For other works that feature Ice, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Sinestro Corps War, Volume 2
Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest
Justice League: Generation Lost, Volume 2

7/10

For other book reviews, please visit my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing of all I have reviewed!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch Is The Erratic Volume That Straddles Infinite Crisis!

The Good: Cool initial story, Good characters, Moments of dialogue
The Bad: Erratic artwork, Unsettling post-52 portion.
The Basics: Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch is worth reading, but still tough for me to recommend buying.


Even as my Flash Year progresses, I have been enjoying reading more and more often of late, which means that I have the chance to take in a lot of new-to-me books. The last few weeks, that has taken the form of Birds Of Prey, which I started largely because I like the works of Gail Simone. So far, I’ve read and reviewed Between Dark & Dawn (here!) and my second outing with the franchise was Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch. It seems that lately, I have a knack for randomly stumbling on books that break up their stories around the Infinite Crisis and 52 events. As it turns out, Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch begins before Infinite Crisis (reviewed here!) and the second half starts one year later, which puts it after the events of 52. Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch does not have as much of a reboot as some of the other books in the DC Universe.

Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch finds the Birds Of Prey team in something of a disarray and that might be why I ultimately liked the book. Unlike Between Dark & Dawn, there is little sense of camaraderie between the members of the female crime-fighting force, despite the team growing to solidly include Lady Blackhawk and the bunch moving to a whole new setting. But the missions the women are on do not involve all of them at once, so it seems more like a loose affiliation of heroes checking in on with the Oracle. That said, Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch makes decent use of the women being largely on their own and utilizes the opportunity for the heroines of the DC universe to grow.

Opening with Barbara Gordon moving her team into new offices in Metropolis, Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch quickly becomes a fractured story. With Zinda (Lady Blackhawk) adjusting to the 21rst Century, Gordon gives her plenty of things to drive. With a helicopter and plane at her disposal, Lady Blackhawk soon becomes integral to the team as a getaway driver on both land and air. Wisecracking and flirting with the “fancy” Creote, Zinda transports the team on their missions. Their mission is one that is almost inscrutable as it appears the Huntress is actually calling the shots. The Huntress decides to take down organized crime in Gotham City . . . by taking it over.

As Bertonelli lays ultimatums at the feet of Gotham’s mob families, Dinah and Oliver reunite to take out a Star City mob. Even as they awkwardly reconnect, Savant is captured by forces loyal to the Calculator who understands that the Justice League and the Birds of Prey have an asset like him that, if he can deprive them of, will shift the balance of power in favor of the Injustice Society. With Savant being tortured and Batman crashing a meeting where Barbara Gordon comes clean to her father about her secret identity, the Huntress plays her deadly endgame on crime!

Following the year without superheroes, Barbara Gordon’s team is split up. Gordon, still in Metropolis, works to have Zinda, Huntress, Lady Shiva and Gypsy rescue Crime Doctor on the hopes that he will reveal the medical records of the Injustice Society members. When the attempt to keep Crime Doctor safe fails, the team must go up against Prometheus. Dinah, during this time, has traded spots with Lady Shiva and she is brutally educated on combat in a small village . . . a village attacked by powerful warlords that Black Canary has no real chance of stopping!

Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch did not have me until surprisingly late in the book. The whole story of the Huntress taking on the Gotham mobs was interesting, but as one who is not invested in the Batman portion of the DC Universe, it seemed pretty much inconsequential to me. In fact, I had a feeling that those who were fans of Batman might be irked. While Gail Simone suddenly launches the Huntress and Birds Of Prey into a prominent position. I like the ambition, but it seems odd that the new team in town suddenly can do what Batman could not for the past fifty years.

It might seem hypocritical, then, that what I really liked about Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch was how the least likely heroes in the DC Universe take on one of the new premium villains, Prometheus, and defeat him. I actually like that Barbara Gordon figures out the way to down what appears to be a near-invincible fighter. I like it because when the character is described in Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch, there seemed to be a pretty glaring weakness in him and when the Oracle helps to exploit that weakness, it works nicely for characters who are supposed to be strong and resourceful.

Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch is a good Barbara Gordon story and I liked that. But Dinah Lance, who is one of the anchor characters of Birds Of Prey spends much of the book on a surprisingly witless quest that is not adequately explained. While Simone does a decent job of repeating the mantra of Dinah’s reasoning – she’s essentially exchanging lives with Lady Shiva – the root cause for the exchange is not satisfactorily explored or explained.

Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch is very erratic in the artwork. Literally in the middle of one of the stories, the artwork goes from looking wonderful and professional to appearing like an Animated Series version of itself with simplified, stylized artwork. It is almost like DC did not have faith in the property because Gail Simone can write, but the accompanying artwork is troublingly erratic.

That said, Birds Of Prey: Perfect Pitch is still worth picking up and does a decent job of straddling one of the many DC Universe reboots.

For other books that straddle or reboot from Infinite Crisis, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Who Is Wonder Woman?
Green Lantern: Wanted – Hal Jordan
The Flash: The Secret Of Barry Allen

6.5/10

For other books I have reviewed, please be sure to visit my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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