Comic Book Review: Birds Of Prey #3

Book Information
Written by Gail Simone
Penciled by Ed Benes & Adriana Melo
Inked by Ed & Mariah Benes
Colors by Nei Ruffino
Letters by Swands
Cover by Cliff Chiang

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
Chaotic is the best way to describe Birds of Prey #2, very Chaotic. The Birds seem to be all over the place, unsure and second guessing themselves, and being downright unorganized in their crime fighting techniques. It’s just as Black Canary says, have they forgotten how to do this? Honestly, you’d think Black Canary never actually led the Justice League for over two years. The team just wasn’t in top form and on the verge of getting themselves killed.

Ah, but there’s the rub; could it be that Simone is reformatting the BoP into something new, something fresh? Is this a precursor to a much stronger and vibrant team? As much of a cluster-fuck this issue seems to be, Simone sends out some pretty clear messages that make me believe the randomness of #3 is not so random after all, preparing the Birds for a bright new future.

This book isn’t without its structure though. It’s clear that Simone set the team in an unbeatable situation while Oracle is stuck back at base as her kidnappers, savant and creote snatch her from the wheelchair. Simone is doing a great job at making the story feel very chaotic and unorganized in preparation for the coming of a new Birds of Prey. It seems many of the DC heroes are going through some changes recently; Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Justice League, now the Birds of Prey. I couldn’t imagine a better person to give this team a new direction.

And of course we come to the art critique where Ed Benes will receive nothing but praise from me. You wouldn’t know why I like Ed Bene’s art so much, I can’t even figure it out; all of his males and females look the same, have the same facial structure and body type with very little versatility in everything he does. Yet every panel he draws pops out at me and screams perfection. I don’t think I can call him the best DC artist, but he is my favorite. Adriana Melo has a talent that should not be over looked however. As most of you know who follow my posts, I’m not particularly a fan of artist toggling, it irritates the hell out of me. However, the two different styles didn’t irk me as much. Initially I was ready to scream at DC again for putting me through another bit of artistic frustration, but I came to find myself relaxing almost the whole way through the second half without too much trouble.

Now I must voice my frustration with one of the character choices, the Penguin. To be honest, I hate the Penguin; I think he’s a bad character who comes off more annoying than anything else. Even during that incredibly sexy scene where the Birds are seducing the bird brain in his dreams, I found him irritating. I want the Penguin to be banished from the DC Universe into the Marvel world, he can annoy readers there all he wants. He’s almost as bad as Lobo. Ok, I’m done, I’ve vented.

My Awesomely Climactic Conclusion
Now, all that remains is the identity of white-dressed assassin. Black Canary seems to know who it is, but I can’t figure it out for the life of me. Who do you think it is?

Ratings
Writing: 10
Themes: 10
Art: 9.5
Overall: 9.83 out of 10