Review - Birds of Prey Volume 1

A series of horrific attacks on projects fronted by the charismatic industrialist Nick Devine prompts Oracle to hire Black Canary to investigate. With the terrorist group known as the Green Brotherhood claiming responsibility, Black Canary is charged with finding out why they’ve targeted Devine and stopping them before they can cause any further harm.

Birds of Prey Volume 1 collects Black Canary/Oracle: Birds Of Prey #1, Showcase '96 #3, Birds Of Prey: Manhunt #1-4, Birds Of Prey: Revolution #1, Birds Of Prey: Wolves #1 and Birds Of Prey: Batgirl #1, written by Chuck Dixon and Jordan B. Gorfinkel with art by Gary Frank, Matt Haley and Greg Land.

Birds of Prey Volume 1 chronicles the earliest adventures of the eponymous Birds of Prey, the superhero duo consisting of hacker supreme Oracle and then-former Justice Leaguer Black Canary. The issues collected consist of a variety of mini-series and one-shots that eventually led to the now-iconic ongoing series later made famous by Gail Simone. These initial stories are largely written by veteran Batman scribe Chuck Dixon, with assistance from editor Jordan B. Gorfinkel. Though the narratives vary from story to story, the overall common thread linking these comics is the blossoming friendship between the two lead characters. Through these stories, we’re able to track the evolution of their partnership from its uneasy beginnings to a place of mutual understanding and respect. Specifically, the rigidly logical Oracle learns to accept Black Canary’s impulsiveness and vice versa. It’s an unusual through line for an era that was admittedly light on friendships between women characters.

The quality of the stories themselves varies widely. The opening one-shot, Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1, sees Black Canary acting as a bodyguard for businessman Nick Devine while he is being targeted by the Green Brotherhood. It’s an excellent introduction to the duo of Black Canary and Oracle, effectively establishing who they are, where they were at that point in their lives, and gives them a global crisis to address. This storyline presents Black Canary as a down-and-out superhero with mounting bills and a personal life that’s in the toilet. Oracle gives Canary the opportunity to pull herself out of this situation and go back to being the hero she was meant to be. This character work is quite smart and speaks to the resilience of Black Canary. With that said, there are some ickier elements to the story as well. Canary ends up going to impoverished countries, which are primarily populated by people of colour, and it taints the narrative with the whiff of the white saviour trope. We also get Lynx thrown into the mix as an antagonist and the Green Brotherhood are clearly coded as East Asian. As such, it feels like it’s pushing some kind of notion of Yellow Peril. This trend will continue with successive stories in Birds of Prey, especially since we get a lot of Dragon Lady-esque villains and international adventures where Canary is placed in a role of helping impoverished (mostly non-white) nations.

For the most part, the one shots collected in this trade are fairly unremarkable. Revolution sees Black Canary investigating a human trafficking ring based out of Santa Prisca. While the storyline itself tackles a very real problem in the world, it does so by framing white people as the victims at the hands of Latinx-coded individuals. Given that it takes place on Santa Prisca, the fictional island nation that is characterized by the worst stereotypes associated with Latin American countries, it should be expected that the narrative is going to be problematic. Wolves, by contrast, doesn’t even attempt to delve into real world issues. Instead, the entire thrust of the story is that men are trash (which is true) and that both Oracle and Black Canary needed to be convinced of this in order to bond as friends. Black Canary’s ex-husband comes back into her life and attempts to con her into helping him after he steals money from some gangsters. Meanwhile, Oracle gets targeted by a scam artist who seduces her with the intention of burgling her apartment. Wolves fails to feel like its story is of any import due to its day-in-the-life approach and uses men as the catalyst to the cementing of the characters’ friendship. Batgirl is the most engaging one-shot (aside from the opener). In it, Oracle is kidnapped by the illusion-casting villain Spellbinder in an attempt to manipulate her into giving away Batman’s hideout. As a villain, Spellbinder is dynamic and her motivation is quite clear. We also get to see Oracle’s determination and resourcefulness when the time comes to physically take down Spellbinder. However, the story hasn’t aged well particularly due to the evolving language around disabilities. There’s this pervasive obsession with Oracle being disabled in this one-shot. She’s consistently referred to in ways that aren’t appropriate by today’s standards and it’s really uncomfortable to read.

Amidst the one-shots in this volume, there’s a four issue mini-series (Manhunt) that sees Black Canary teaming up with Huntress and Catwoman. Canary forms an alliance with the anti-heroines due to their shared desire to take down the criminal Archer Braun. Canary and Huntress want to ensure that he is brought to justice for his misdeeds against women, while Catwoman is adamant about retrieving the money he owes her from a previous caper. At first glance, this is the kind of story that would appeal to me on every level since it’s starring three of my favourite DC Comics heroines. Unfortunately, the execution of the storyline is all wrong. First of all, the initial impetus for Canary and Huntress chasing down Braun is that he ghosted them after briefly dating them. Even the way they learn that he’s a criminal is pretty flimsy (they recognize his butt on security footage – really?). There’s even an inconsistency that doesn’t quite make sense. Namely, Canary and Huntress act as if they’re meeting each other for the first time even though they’d actually worked together before (in the 1993 series Black Canary #9-12). Manhunt otherwise features a ridiculous amount of incredible action and highlights just how mighty the trifecta of Canary, Huntress and Catwoman can be. I love their dynamic as a group, particularly how they act as a kind of gradient scale of morality. Under a better creative team, this would be an amazing trio whose adventures would be stellar.

Art-wise Birds of Prey Volume 1 is all over the place. The opening one-shot is illustrated by Gary Frank, as are the covers for each subsequent one-shot and the Manhunt mini. His work is absolutely breathtaking. His composition is amazing, the costuming he provides Black Canary with is memorable, and the action sequences practically pop off the page. Matt Haley’s pencils for Manhunt are nearly just as gorgeous as Frank’s. There are plenty of fantastic panels worth remembering, chief among them a rather menacing Lady Shiva grinning while surrounded by flames. I’m also very enamoured with his Catwoman. I love how he draws her hair and the attention to detail on her mask. Beyond that, he seems to really inject a lot of dynamism into her presence and expressions. That said, Haley does include some rather unnecessary butt shots. Greg Land is one of the other artists who handle art chores in this collection. This is from an earlier point in his career, prior to his descent into infamy for his apparent tracing. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I really quite enjoy his work here. It’s not noticeably trace from anywhere and the women don’t all look like their waists are little more than toothpicks (they’re still small, but not as bad). Land actually appears to put effort into his art here. The other artists whose work is included are Dick Giordano (Wolves) and Stefano Raffaele (Revolution). Their art is mediocre at best here and doesn’t quite match the quality present in the other issues. Raffaele also has some issues with anatomy and includes unnecessary shots of Canary’s posterior.

Birds of Prey is one of those series that I grew up loving as a kid. I collected back issues like candy and remembered those stories through the lenses of rose-coloured glasses. In reading their earliest adventures via this collection, it’s easy to see the many cracks in the foundation of this series. There are a lot of great ideas present, especially when it comes to the development of Oracle and Black Canary’s friendship. Sadly, there are a lot of questionable elements that drag down the overall quality of the work. It should be a surprise to no one given who wrote these stories. Even from a narrative standpoint, Birds of Prey Volume 1 is inconsistent due to the fact that it is mostly one-shots and has no set artist on board. It’s worth a read for the sake of understanding how the team and series came to be, but there are still far better Birds of Prey trades out there.

RATING: C+

Review: Batman - Cataclysm

After an earthquake destroys Gotham City’s infrastructure and kills thousands, Batman and his allies lead the efforts to find and rescue the remaining survivors. Meanwhile, an opportunistic villain known as Quakemaster has kidnapped a seismologist and is threatening to unleash more tremors should his demands not be met. While Batman aids the victims of the quake, Robin is dispatched to stop Quakemaster.

Batman: Cataclysm collects Batman #553-554, Detective Comics #719-721, Batman: Shadow Of The Bat #73-74, Nightwing #19-20, Azrael #40, Catwoman #56-57, Robin #52-53, Batman Chronicles #12, Blackgate: Isle Of Men #1, Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1, and Batman: Arkham Asylum: Tales Of Madness #1. It features writing by Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Doug Moench, and Devin Grayson, with art by Graham Nolan, Jim Balent, Scott McDaniel, Staz Johnson, and more.

Cataclysm is presented as an 18-part event exploring the aftermath of an earthquake through the perspective of Gotham City’s most iconic heroes (and villains). It is comparable to its predecessor Contagion, which was an impactful crossover storyline that dealt with the frustrations and powerlessness of Batman as he was faced with a threat he couldn’t simply toss into Arkham Asylum. However, much of what made Contagion so effective is missing here. Cataclysm is rather episodic and stumbles through its first few chapters as it continually brings the reader back to the moment the earthquake struck. This constant retelling of events, albeit from the perspective of different characters and parts of the city, fails to progress the overall narrative. It also doesn’t help that the major arc of the story, Quakemaster’s kidnapping of Jolene Relazzo, is buried beneath diversionary tie-ins. With Contagion, titles like Azrael and Catwoman were woven into the narrative. Here they’re filler.

Interestingly, some of the best moments come from the filler tie-ins. One of my favourite issues was Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma, written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by Eduardo Barreto. In it, Spoiler’s father, the crook Cluemaster, leads a group of Blackgate escapees on a looting spree at the mall. At the same time, Spoiler and Huntress are helping those trapped in the mall. It’s a fantastic one-shot that gives readers an unusual team-up between two heroines who are total opposites. Huntress’ aggressive stance on dealing with criminals ultimately comes into conflict with Spoiler’s more tempered approach. This serves a very important dramatic purpose as it heightens the tension regarding Cluemaster’s fate, which depends upon which of the two he eventually faces off against. Another must-read from this collection is Catwoman #56, written by Devin Grayson and illustrated by Jim Balent. The typically self-serving Catwoman willingly helps to evacuate a building after she is caught inside during the earthquake. It’s an issue packed with an character development that peels away the layers of Catwoman’s character to reveal a vulnerable and altruistic person underneath. It also features the most poignant and emotional moment of this entire event (the specifics of which I won’t spoil here).

Unsurprisingly, Huntress and Catwoman, along with Robin, end up being my favourite characters within this collection. Huntress’ very presence picks at the hypocrisy within Batman’s character. Though he’s admittedly quite heroic and selfless throughout, he’s incredibly condescending towards Huntress when the two cross paths. She’s put in hours of hard work rescuing people and stopping criminals, to which Batman tells her to go home and rest. The context of the situation gives it a misogynistic and hypocritical vibe. Since he fails to provide the same “advice” to Robin or Nightwing, it comes across as him effectively telling Huntress to go back to the kitchen. I love the lip she gives him. Her attitude is refreshing within a cast of characters who are otherwise way too eager to be on Batman’s good side. With regards to Catwoman, despite only appearing twice, those appearances linger long after finishing this trade. As I’ve said in my reviews of Knightfall and Contagion, she has a unique voice as a character and is given a lot of great punchy dialogue. As for Robin, well, he gets brownie points for actually being the only character to do detective work in this storyline to deduce the identity of Quakemaster (which is actually a pretty brilliant reveal, by the way).

Cataclysm isn’t one of the best Batman crossovers out there. It fails to thrill or innovate in the ways that its predecessors did and is largely a slow, meandering storyline that drags over the course of its 18 chapters. There are some bright spots throughout, of which I’ve highlighted a couple. If anything, Cataclysm is really meant for completionists looking to read every modern Batman story. Otherwise, it’s easily skipped and little is missed from it. My suggestion? Read the issues Huntress appears in, Catwoman #56, and the issues of Robin that are included here. Almost everything else is disposable.

RATING: C

Review: Batman - Contagion

When a deadly virus is unleashed on Gotham City, Batman and his allies race against time to find a cure before its citizens can be decimated by the infection. While the police attempt to maintain order in the city, Robin and Catwoman join forces to track down survivors carrying antibodies in order to formulate an antidote. With time running out, it becomes clear that Batman very well be facing the one threat he can’t beat.

Batman: Contagion collects Azrael #15-16, Batman #529, Batman Chronicles #4, Batman: Shadow Of The Bat #48-49, Catwoman #31-35, Detective Comics #695-696, and Robin #27-30, written by Doug Moench, Alan Grant, and Chuck Dixon.

Contagion was the first major Batman event following the commercial and critical success of Knightfall. Unlike its episodic predecessor, it is a tightly plotted crossover that unfolds as a clear and concise arc. It begins with an outbreak of the Ebola Gulf-A virus, which quickly spreads across Gotham City. With the GCPD on the frontlines as it happens, Batman works towards finding a cure before all life in the city is decimated by the virus. It’s a gripping storyline that presents Batman with an enemy that he can’t simply beat up and throw into Arkham Asylum. Much like with Knightfall, he’s pushed to his limits, but this time learns to accept the help of those around him (including his enemies). As such, we get a really great sequence where Batman relies on Poison Ivy to deliver a potential cure to the infected due to her immunity to diseases.

Interestingly, Batman doesn’t actually feel like the star of this crossover. His presence feels muted in comparison to the rather prominent roles Nightwing, Huntress, and the GCPD play in keeping the peace in a city ravaged by a plague. Furthermore, Robin serves as the nucleus of this arc. He’s the one who is tasked with the mission of finding the antibodies to manufacture a cure and who later joins forces with Nightwing and Huntress while Batman is busy with Poison Ivy. The real scene stealer though is Catwoman. With a bounty out on the survivors of the virus, the Feline Fatale is determined to be the one who finds them. This initially puts her into opposition with Robin, but the pair put their differences aside in order to team-up and find the survivors. This subplot is the most well-written and exciting part of Contagion, largely due to how action-heavy it is and since Catwoman’s dialogue is so electric and sassy. The character injects life into an otherwise dour and melancholy crossover.

Batman: Contagion is impressive start to what would become a tetralogy of Batman crossovers from the 1990s. It is a grounded and carefully plotted storyline that is evenly paced throughout. Despite there being a lack of a distinctive (physical) antagonist, Contagion features Batman at a point of apparent hopelessness and gives readers a lot of great action sequences courtesy of Nightwing, Robin, Huntress, Catwoman, and Azrael. My sole complaint regarding this specific collection was the decision to include some of the issues that take place in the aftermath of the main event. The Robin issues are fantastic, but the Batman-focused ones seem out of place and unnecessary. Aside from that, this is essential reading.

RATING: A-

Review: Batman - Knightfall Volume 2, Knightquest

With Bane finally off the streets, Jean-Paul Valley turns his attention to the seedy underbelly of Gotham City. As the new Batman, he hopes to cleanse the city of its criminal elements in a way Bruce Wayne never dared. He must face off against the Joker, Catwoman and two Clayfaces, but his real challenge may very well be apprehending the unhinged serial killer known as Abattoir.

Batman: Knightfall Volume 2 – Knightquest collects Detective Comics #667-675, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #19-20, 24-28, Batman #501-508, Catwoman #6-7 and Robin #7. It features writing by Chuck Dixon, Jo Duffy, Alan Grant and Doug Moench.

Knightquest was the banner used for the series of stories that occurred immediately after the critically-acclaimed Knightfall crossover. It was split up into two parts – the first, dubbed “The Crusade,” followed Jean-Paul Valley’s nightly quest to rid Gotham City of criminals and the second, called “The Search,” detailed Bruce Wayne’s attempt to rescue Jack Drake and Shondra Kinsolving. This trade paperback only collects the issues under the banner of “The Crusade.” The decision to focus on this particular set of stories is odd and makes it difficult for the reader to fully engage in the material. Jean-Paul Valley is wholly unlikeable and there are so few interesting villains here that it makes it difficult to engage in the narrative. For example, much of “The Crusade” focuses on the new Batman’s search for the serial killer Abattoir. It’s an interesting concept, but is continually interrupted by a series of Z-list villains who show up and require Batman’s attention. The exclusion of “The Search” is puzzling, especially since Bruce Wayne is absent for nearly this entire trade and then re-appears towards the end with passing references to what happened while he was away. At nearly 700 pages, this hefty trade really could have stood to have included those arguably very crucial issues.

For the most part, Knightquest is a forgettable mess of stories that lack excitement and that fail to re-capture the tension that pervaded Knightfall. The point of this particular storyline seems to be the descent of Jean-Paul Valley into moral corruption. The goal is to get him to that point where he’s willing to kill and does so without remorse. Unfortunately, we have to suffer through issue upon issue of stories with varying qualities of enjoyment and the character he eventually kills is one that no one will particularly miss. That said, there was an interesting internal conflict that permeated throughout this collection. Jean-Paul has visions of his father and Saint-Dumas duking it out for control over his thoughts, acting essentially as the figurative devil and angel on his shoulder.

While the majority of the stories within Knightquest are nothing to write home about, there is a four issue arc that crosses over with Catwoman that is stands above everything else as being entertaining and engaging. In it, Catwoman must prevent a group of terrorists from getting their hands on a dangerous chemical that kills and destroys everything in its path instantaneously. In an interesting turn of events, Batman suspects her of foul play and believes that she’ll fence the chemical to terrorists (despite the insistence of the GCPD that it’s entirely against her MO). Batman nearly ruins Catwoman’s entire plan, but she manages to persuade him to team up with her to stop the terrorists. The reason this storyline works so well is that the writers give readers someone to contrast Jean-Paul’s Batman against and someone to root for. In Catwoman we see how an anti-hero should be written. She operates outside the law and does many things that are illegal, but there are certain things she will not tolerate (terrorism being one of them). Where Jean-Paul’s Batman is grim and monotone, Catwoman is vibrant and charismatic. She cracks jokes and has witty repartee with just about every character that crosses her path. These issues are also packed with fantastic action sequences. Notably, we see the new Batman chase Catwoman from the docks to a warehouse where we see Catwoman rather epically knock a humongous gargoyle over in an attempt to squash her opponent. Of course, these issues entirely point towards the reason why Catwoman was such a fixture in the early-‘90s and why it was one of the best books DC Comics had been publishing. She’s literally one of the only enjoyable aspects of Knightquest.

Overall, Knightquest is a disappointing collection of stories. Jean-Paul Valley makes for a rather uninteresting protagonist and the writers do very little to make readers relate to him. His adventures as Batman are severely lacking in conflicts against notable villains and the exclusion of “The Search” issues really hinders the overall reading experience presented here. While the four-part crossover with Catwoman is a major standout and a Renee Montoya-focused Mr. Freeze one-off is brilliant, the rest of the stories here are mediocre at best. Of course, I’m not entirely convinced that the writers were fully committed to Jean-Paul as Batman and the point of “The Crusade” may very well have been to prove why Bruce Wayne is and probably always should be Batman.

RATING: C+

Top 10: Best Catwoman Stories

Despite being one of Batman’s most iconic foes, Catwoman has largely been a bit-player for most of her history. Prior to the 1980s, she appeared sporadically as a villain and later became a minor supporting character in the Batman comics. After the astronomic success of Batman Returns, DC Comics were finally given the push to give the Feline Fatale her very own ongoing solo series.

Chronicled here are ten of her best solo ventures. These include a variety of stories featuring Catwoman at her best. For any fan of the Feline Fatale or anyone looking to learn more, these are ten stories you do not want to miss!

10. “Birds of Prey: Catwoman/Batgirl” (2003)

This two-part series tells the story of Catwoman and Batgirl teaming up to stop a serial killer. Written by John Francis Moore, this series revisits Catwoman’s past to reveal her long-standing distaste for injustices committed against women. It also gives a rare glimpse into Catwoman and Batgirl’s history together.

09. “Devil Does Your Dog Bite” (1996)

Catwoman v1 #33-36

When Chuck Dixon took over Catwoman’s solo title in the mid-1990s, he introduced a new and dangerous foe for the Feline Fatale – Hellhound. In this four-part narrative, Catwoman is kidnapped by Hellhound and is tasked with recovering a lost artifact. This adventure is highly inspired by Indiana Jones and forces Catwoman to overcome some rather crazy traps.

08. “Wild Ride” (2003)

Catwoman v2 #20-24

After a year of ups and downs, Catwoman decides it’s time for a break and heads off on a road trip with her friend Holly Robinson. Writer Ed Brubaker shows the Feline Fatale having fun and has her interact with a bevvy of interesting guest stars. From Captain Cold to Hawkgirl, this five-part adventure is light-hearted and solidifies Catwoman’s place in the DC Universe at large.

07. “Larceny Loves Company” (1996)

Catwoman v1 #28-30

Despite her independent nature and distrust of others, Catwoman reluctantly teams up with a group of thieves to pull off a high-stakes caper. Chuck Dixon delivers another action-packed adventure for the Feline Fatale and, in the process, crafts some rather colourful characters.

06. “No Man’s Land” (1999-2000)

Catwoman v1 #72-76

When an earthquake decimates Gotham City, Catwoman left her hometown and briefly moved to New York City. While on the outside, Gotham City was declared a No Man’s Land and Catwoman was subsequently barred from returning. However, when Batman asks for her help, she sneaks her way back into Gotham City and finds herself in the middle of Lex Luthor’s scheme to take over the city. This five-part arc features Catwoman facing off against the likes of Lex Luthor, Mercy Graves, and the Penguin, and shows how capable she is of taking down even the most dangerous of enemies.

05. “She-Cats” (1997)

Catwoman v1 #42-44

Following Chuck Dixon’s departure on Catwoman’s title, veteran Batman writer Doug Moench took over the writing duties. One of his most memorable contributions to the series was the introduction of the villainesses Alley Cat and Cyber-Cat. While the former was largely a joke villain, the latter became Catwoman’s most dangerous enemy to date. This three-part story featured Catwoman facing off against these two copycats as they vied for the same prize.

04. “Anodyne” (2002)

Catwoman v2 #1-4

After faking her own death, Selina Kyle donned her Catwoman costume once more when prostitutes began showing up dead in her neighbourhood. This four-part narrative was the start of a new series for the Feline Fatale helmed by the critically acclaimed writer Ed Brubaker. It’s stylish, dark, and ushered in a new era for Catwoman.

03. “When in Rome” (2004-2005)

With the popularity of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s work on Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, the pair teamed up once more to address the dangling plot threads they had left behind with Catwoman’s character. This mini-series sees Catwoman travelling to Italy to discover the truth about her heritage. Along the way, she goes shopping, steals some stuff, and faces off against Wonder Woman’s nemesis Cheetah.

02. “Catfile” (1995)

Catwoman v1 #15-18

When Catwoman is captured by a covert government agency, she is caught in a web of international intrigue after being forced to cooperate with them. This high-stakes adventure is Selina’s most memorable capers and features some of the wittiest writing she has had to date. Chuck Dixon does an amazing job and this served as a brilliant introduction into his run on her first solo series.

01.  “Relentless” (2002-2003)

Catwoman v2 #12-16

Arguably one of the best runs to date, Ed Brubaker’s time on Catwoman’s second solo series remains the most consistent depiction of the Feline Fatale. His crowning achievement was this five-part narrative introducing Black Mask as a nemesis for Catwoman. This story is full of unexpected twists and features some of the most devastating events that have ever happened to the Feline Fatale and her closest allies. This Catwoman arc is not to be missed!