Review - Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn

After three teenagers commit suicide while dressed as fallen superheroes, Oracle sends Huntress to investigate a religious cult that they were affiliated with. The crossbow wielding vigilante soon learns that the cult’s followers are under mind control, including a group of powerful metahumans that are unleashed on her to prevent her from leaving the compound. Huntress must use her wits and resources to break them free from their psychic bondage in order to survive.

Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn collects Birds of Prey #69-75, written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Ron Adrian, Ed Benes, Eric Battle, Jim Fern, and Eduardo Barreto.

Between Dark & Dawn is a Huntress-centric arc that focuses on her first official solo mission for Oracle. It’s an admittedly twisted and dark storyline, further enhanced by moody artwork, which sees Huntress infiltrating a religious cult known as Second Heaven. Its leader, Mr. Brusaw, has instilled the belief that metahumans are angels and demons in his followers. Huntress’ objective is to prove Second Heaven’s role in the suicides of three of its followers, but she may not live long enough to do so as Mr. Brusaw tasks one of his superpowered charges with eliminating her. Given the setting and the use of a religious cult as the primary antagonist of this arc, Gail Simone employs a lot of intriguing themes that pair well with Huntress. Faith is integral to the overall storyline, with Simone smartly contrasting religious zealotry (Second Heaven) with religious antipathy (Huntress). As someone who was raised Catholic and subsequently turned her back on God, Huntress’ placement within a setting of religious extremism is truly riveting as it forces her to confront her beliefs. Simone also touches upon the unique vulnerability of teenagers and how easily they can be preyed upon during their formative years by authority figures. Though it’s not as fleshed out as I’d have preferred it to be, this aspect to the narrative is crucial and actually makes the case personal for Huntress (she is a teacher, after all!).

The dialogue, as should be expected from something written by Gail Simone, is impeccable. The thing that struck me with this arc in particular was just how funny Huntress is. Her sarcasm and penchant for throwing shade practically challenges the reader not to laugh out loud. What I love even more than that is that she meets her match in the storyline’s special guest star – Vixen. The pair trades some playful jabs and it’s quite entertaining. It’s a bit catty, but it’s done in a very light-hearted way. On the subject of humour, there are a couple instances where Black Canary pokes fun at Batman. They’re small and seemingly disposable, but it helps to emphasize her personality and illustrates how little she buys into the mythologizing of him as a hero. There are other great character building moments, particularly in relation to the subplot regarding Oracle being affected by a malicious force after hacking into Second Heaven’s website. She experiences an intense seizure and then begins acting strange once she’s recovered from it. During this time, we see Canary step out of her role as Oracle’s comedic foil and into big sister mode. We know that she’s an excellent caretaker and as someone who is incredibly empathetic, but it helps to emphasize just how deep and meaningful her friendship to Oracle is. It’s poignant and adds a touch of humanity to all the action.

Artists Ron Adrian and Ed Benes are the primary contributors to the issues collected in this trade. Adrian’s art style attempts to mimic Benes’, likely in order to maintain a sense of consistency across the arc. As such, you can bet that the action is full of energy and the characters are all gorgeous. However, Adrian does struggle to keep the work uniform. At times, the characters faces look a bit off and the Benes-esque aspects drop away to show something a bit more generic. The issues that Benes illustrates show a slight shift in his work. His anatomy has improved, but the lines are heavier and sketchier. Still, I’m really drawn in by his art. There’s a sequence in issue 75 that I find really evocative. It opens with Canary and Huntress consoling Oracle as she gazes upon the ruins of the Clocktower (it was destroyed outside of this series in the massive Batman event War Games). It’s pretty much devoid of dialogue and relies upon Benes’ ability to really convey the sense of grief and mourning through the body language of these characters. Eric Battle and Jim Fern also contribute art, but I’m not what you’d call a fan of their output. Eduardo Barreto pencils a Lady Blackhawk vignette that serves as a bit of a prequel to the events of issue 75. His art is more typical of the genre, but it suits the narrative since it’s centered on a character like Lady Blackhawk.

As a fan of Huntress and as someone who loves Vixen, Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn was a really enthralling read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between Huntress and Vixen, so much so that I wish there were more team-ups between them. The set-up and overall thrust of the story is pretty standard (going undercover at a cult), but writer Gail Simone puts a neat superhero twist to it and makes the story relevant to its lead protagonist. The two standalone issues that proceed the primary arc serve to wrap up loose ends and do so effectively, particularly with issue 75. It begins amidst the aftermath of a major crossover and pivots that into a new beginning for the characters. Between Dark & Dawn is an excellent collection that I recommend highly. It’s not quite as suspenseful as Of Like Minds or as epic as Sensei & Student, but it’s an impressive arc nonetheless.

RATING: A-