Review: Birds of Prey #1
One of the more annoying impacts of this whole comic industry being forced into a state of hiatus is that as books start coming out, very much like how we Brits get the TV shows a week of two later than the original air date, so it must now be, for the time being at least, with the comic industry. For a book that hit the stores stateside this week, us Brits have to wait till next week for this book. Being an impatient kind of fellow, and spurred on by a fantastic J. Scott Campbell cover, I have pre-ordered this book. After reading this for Crusaders, why do I think that I am the actual crazy person, not Harley?
This book features the Birds of the movie rather than those of the comic book; you gotta love DC for continuing to push this particular model. Montoya is a fed-up cop looking to make an immediate impact. To do that, she enlists the “Angel of Death” in the Bertinelli Huntress. Harley is at a bit of a lose end, seeing as she has survived enough missions with the Suicide Squad to earn her release. Now fancy and Joker free, she is high steppin’ it to Gotham to be a crime fighter. Lastly Canary is also on her own. No Green beau by her side; a late night phone call sets her wheels in motion. All four are on a collision course; but who will survive this coming together?
This is written by comic book veteran and Black Label specialist Brian Azzarello, so you should know what to expect. There’s a drug mob, an angry cop, a crazy person and a couple of cops. Oh and a gang of Jokers to contend with. With all that in play, this book can feel disjointed. Azzarello tries hard to give the book a sense of continuity, yet somehow fails down the line. Part of this is that it feels as if Azzarello isn’t quite sure where the focus needs to be. A couple of the threads themselves could be strong enough on their own; specifically the Huntress one and the Harley is just Harley, which begs the question why do we need another Harley book. For me, the book falls down with Canary who I feel deserves a chance to fly without a team. The dialogue is hard work throughout, with conversations overlaping and over flowing into each other.
As disjointed as the writing is, the art by Emanuela Lupacchino is even worse. Characters features change so readily, noses morph from curved to straight and the idea of trying to make Harley look like either Margot Robbie or the cartoon version produces styles that are neither. Figure work is taken for a ride, maybe not as much as the recent Sirens of Justice, but there are times where Harley looks pregnant on one panel and others where she changes into a sex bomb in a bra in another. Huntress is well served but otherwise it is a big miss for me. Inker Ray McCarthy tries hard, but there is only so much polishing that can be done. Colors by Trish Mulvihill and John Kalisz seems a little bright for what is touted as a mature book. Letterer Steve Wands does a good Tom Orzechowski impression. Considering that this book was delayed for creative reasons originally I don’t understand how the erroneous phrase of “you know your your shit wasn’t….”can make it into the book (see page 52). Finally, there is a variant cover by J. Scott Campbell, which was the cause of my impatience driven impulse buy.
Other than some swearing and beheading, I have no idea why this is a Black Label book. The writing is inconsistent with the need to add the Joker into the mix…..again. The art is equally inconsistent with poor finishing in the quality department adding to the half arsed feel to proceedings. Considering how expensive this book is I expected more, much more.
Writing – 2.5 Stars
Art – 2.5 Stars
Colors – 3 Stars
Overall – 2.5 Stars
Written by; Brian Azzarello
Art by; Emanuela Lupacchino
Colors by; Trish Mulvihill & John Kalisz
Letters by; Steve Wands
Variant Cover by; J. Scott Campbell & Ula Mos
Published by; DC Comics / Black Label
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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