Review: Birds of Prey Volume 2 - Your Kiss Might Kill

Having been infected with a toxin by Poison Ivy, the Birds of Prey are coerced into helping her in her campaign to rid the world of the most dangerous threats to the environment. There’s just one problem – Black Canary and the others aren’t willing to sacrifice the lives of innocent humans who will be caught in the crosshairs of Ivy’s crusade.

Birds of Prey Volume 2: Your Kiss Might Kill collects Birds of Prey #8-13 and #0, written by Duane Swiercynski and illustrated by Jesus Saiz and Travel Foreman.

After an explosive opening arc, Swiercynski finally reveals Poison Ivy’s motivations for her joining the Birds of Prey. She needs their help in bringing down corporations that are poisoning the Earth as she cannot do so on her own. It’s an interesting plot as it forces the team to confront the moral implications of their actions and tests their unity as a group. It’s evident that none of them trust Ivy, but there’s a spectrum on which each of them falls. Batgirl appears to be the least trusting and instead wishes to get Batman involved, while Katana sits on the other end clearly willing to go with whatever is expected of her. These dynamics are fascinating, but sadly Swiercynski only touches upon them superficially. He doesn’t dig deep enough with these characters and their feelings. In fact, he appears to have a difficult time giving each member of the cast equal focus. Black Canary is clearly the star and Poison Ivy obviously has quite a bit to do, but Batgirl, Katana, and Starling seem to be mere accessories to the narrative.

There’s an overall sense with Your Kiss Might Kill that Swiercynski was rushed or distracted while penning this batch of issues of Birds of Prey. It begins with an insular story that deals with the aftermath of the first arc, which ends on a shocking cliffhanger regarding something that happened in Black Canary’s past. The following issue is a tie-in for Night of the Owls, which derails the entire plot and flow of this collection. It feels unnecessary and disposable. The only decent thing about it is Black Canary’s antagonistic attitude towards Batman the following issue. We get to the meat of the story with the four-part Poison Ivy arc. While still an interesting storyline, it feels like a diversion from what Swiercynski should be dealing with – the truth about and circumstances around Black Canary’s past. It’s aided very little by Travel Foreman’s art, which is ill-suited to the overall aesthetic of this series. Sadly, even the origin issue that closes this collection fails to excite or offer much insight into these characters. In it, we learn that the Birds of Prey were formed while Canary and Starling were working as enforcers for the Penguin and joined forces with Batgirl to take down an operation by Basilisk. The problem is that the issue is too brief and doesn’t dig deep into the characters’ motivations or personalities.

There are indeed aspects of Your Kiss Might Kill that I enjoy. Starling is a standout and her dialogue is consistently witty and on point. The action sequences are also all top notch, particularly in issue #8 as illustrated by the incomparable Jesus Saiz. Even still, I’m uncertain this is enough to really get readers engaged in this title. Overall, I’m left with the feeling of wanting more. I want more character development and for the characters’ personalities to shine as brightly as Starling’s. I want more substance to the stories and more attention paid to resolving dangling plot threads. As it stands, Your Kiss Might Kill reads like a middling and confused entry into the Birds’ New 52 history.

RATING: C+