Birds of Prey #1
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Art by Jesus Saiz
As a big fan of the old-school Birds of Prey, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how Swierczynski was able to give us a fair degree of fun, real-world stakes and a great introduction to the new team. Diana still kicks a good amount of ass, and there’s a great scene with Barbara Gordon (who walks, just as she does in “Batgirl”) that is worth the price of admission alone.
There’s a bit of a framing device in this character named Keen who is a journalist investigating the “mysterious” Birds of Prey. By using him as our cornerstone, we get a lot of action as well as information in the short 32 pages. Similiarly, there’s a game changer in the last panel that proves that we really don’t know quite what we’re in for.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
Understanding the Black Canary’s checkered past is helpful but not required.
VERDICT
Buy it.
